Now in his ninth season on the coaching staff, Clarence Rhone has a long history at the high school level. For over 25 seasons, he has coached the boys and girls middle distance runners at Long Beach Poly High and had numerous state champions during that time. The boys 4x800 relay team holds the national and state record (7:28.6), while the girls 4x800 relay team currently holds the state record at 8:58.0. In addition to his duties as a track coach, Rhone is also the JV girls’ basketball coach and an assistant on the varsity team for the last 19 years. He’s led his teams to 16 Moore League titles as a head coach and six state championships as a varsity assistant coach.

As a track athlete, Rhone competed one season at Long Beach Poly High and set the school record in the 1500 meters, 1600 meters, 3000 meters and 3200 meters. He then competed for two years at Pasadena City College and specialized in the 800 meters (1:54) and 1500 meters (3:50) before moving on to Cal State Long Beach for two more seasons. He registered personal best times in the 800 meters (1:52) and 1500 meters (3:49).

Rhone earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with a minor in African Studies in 1989 from Cal State Long Beach. Rhone, 56, has two children – Cameron (16) and Kendall (14), and lives in Long Beach.