Men's Track & Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- steve.laguna@csun.edu
- Phone:
- 677-3867
Steve Laguna joins the Cal State Northridge staff for the 2013-2014 season as an assistant coach for the Cross Country and Track & Field programs, managing the men in both. He comes to the program with extensive experience and success at almost every level of Cross Country and Track, with an exceptional previous three years at Cal State Los Angeles.
In his second year at Cal State LA, Laguna coached the
Golden Eagles to a surprising third-place finish in the California
Collegiate Athletic Association in cross country for the 2011
season, placing three runners in the top-10 to earn All-CCAA
honors, recording their best team finish since 2007. That followed
with a dominating show in the middle distances at the 2012 CCAA
women’s outdoor track and field championships with Valerie
Sanchez winning both the 800-meter and 1,500 championships and Lisa
Ohberg earning All-CCAA honors in the same events. That same season
Sanchez also earned All-American status in the mile in indoor
track, while Ohberg earned All-American honors in the 1,500 in
outdoor. In his final 2013 season, off a cross country season
that saw two of his athletes earn All-CCAA , he coached Sabrina
Lopez to the NCAA Finals in track in the 10,000, while his
returning All-American, Ohberg, repeated as an All-American,
finishing 2nd in the country. Cal State L.A. had a
conference champion in the women’s 10,000 meters twice and
earned six other All-CCAA awards in the women’s 800, 1,500
and 5,000 during his tenure, and many of the schools top 10
performances were athletes coached by him.
Prior to this, Laguna was an assistant coach at Cerritos College,
where he helped the women’s cross country team to a
16th-place finish at the state championships and the
men’s team to a 10th-place finish in 2009. In the
spring of 2010, both the men’s and women’s track and
field teams at Cerritos finished third in the state. Laguna coached
multiple athletes to both the Southern California and State
championships and also coached one athlete to a school record in
the 800 meters at the USATF Junior Championships of that year.
Prior to Cerritos College, Laguna was at East Los Angeles College
for four years, first as an assistant coach and then head coach for
the cross country and track and field programs. He was instrumental
in the programs’ success as they reached top-10 finishes
respectively. Individual state champion and school record holder
Oscar Ogwara was among the athletes he coached.
Laguna was also the head girls cross country and track and field
coach at his alma mater Rosemead High School, where his teams
captured three consecutive league titles in his five years there,
with his 800 meter athlete running a school record at the
California state finals.
In addition to other stints at El Monte, Alhambra, and Huntington
Park high schools and Rio Hondo Junior College, Laguna was an
assistant coach at USC, where he was involved in coaching several
All-Americans in the distance events.
Laguna possesses USATF Level-I Certification.
He graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in
international relations and he received his Master’s from Cal
State L.A. in political science. While at USC, he competed in the
track and field and cross country programs and was also in the
marching band. He currently teaches political science at
various community colleges.
Laguna has been married to his wife, Emily, for 5 years and they
are the proud parents of a son, Desmond, who just turned two.
