Racing Against Time — Corsairs Adapt Through Track & Field Closure
The Track & Field and Scoreboard Replacement Project started on Dec. 1, 2025, and was anticipated to be completed by April 15, 2026. During the construction and repairs, funded by local voter-approved bond Measure AA (2008), the Morrison Track and Corsair Field, located at Santa Monica College’s main campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., were closed to enrolled SMC students for courses held on the field, college athletic programs and the local Santa Monica community.
Under the supervision of Vanir Construction Management and Environmental Construction, the field turf was replaced, the track was completely resurfaced and new lines and distance markers were painted during the winter semester. The scope of the project also included the installation of a new digital scoreboard with three individual parts on the existing south wall of parking structure 3, taking place during the first half of the spring semester.
Track & Field Corsairs and their coaches were most affected by this ongoing construction because various competitions were taking place during the winter and spring semesters leading into the Western State Conference Championship scheduled to start in the middle of April.
Leading into the track & field season, all coaches got together and discussed alternatives, created a plan of where to work out and what to do, and tried to be innovative.
Sprint practices were held at Lincoln Middle School’s track for the first few weeks and alternated between pavement at Clover Park and uphill streets in Santa Monica, which was hard on athletes’ knees and ankles. Corsairs head coach Larry Silva said, “We’ve been doing block starts inside the gymnasium. We put mats down, and we put the blocks on top of the mats, and we sprint inside.”
Discus, shot put and javelin throws were practiced at Clover Park. Sometimes alternative workouts took place in the weight lifting room and gym hallway on rainy days, and at the SMC pool for water workouts.
“Through all that creativity, we’ve been able to get our team really ready, and I think we haven’t missed a beat,” said Silva. The only question is, would we be faster if we would have had a track? But we are very competitive without the track.”
The use of the full Morrison Track was delayed by a week due to electrical changes for the scoreboard and machinery still needed on the track surface to lift and install the final missing part of the “Santa Monica College Corsair” board. Athletic Director Reggie Ellis supported the Track & Field team by giving the Corsairs access to the Morrison Track as soon as possible and when it was safe to do so, just the week prior to spring break. Other programs like football and men’s and women’s soccer stepped on the new Corsair Field right after spring break.
Ellis did not know about any official opening ceremony and assumed that the gate to the renovated Morrison Track & Corsair Field would be open to the public again when the renovation was completed. He signed the beneficial occupancy document on April 23, which officially turned the project over to the college. Signs with opening hours for public use beginning Saturday, April 25, 2026, were updated and posted on the gates.
In the meantime, the Track & Field Corsairs were competing in the Western State Conference Championship prelims and finals on April 17 and April 24.
Alberto Bravo won gold in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase. Balmore Montes, long-distance assistant coach, said, “He wanted it really badly this year. So that was another mentality he had going in. There was no second place for him. It was time to win.”
Joshua Lesley won bronze in the 400-meter dash, and Lesley, Brandon Mahoney, Jeff Martinez and Pierre Valenti raced to third place in the 4x400-meter relay. Additionally, Corsairs qualified in sprint distances of the men’s 400-meter dash and the men’s 4x100-meter relay, in long distances of men’s 1500-meters, 5,000-meters and 10,000-meters, and in field events in the men’s javelin to compete at the SoCal prelims and finals for a chance to qualify for the State Championship.
The results of the meets demonstrated that the team remained competitive despite limited access to its home facility.
