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Tony Sandoval, a familiar name in San Francisco Bay Area track and field circles, begins his 26th year of association with the California track and field program and his first as the interim Director of Track and Field, after serving numerous seasons as the associate director of track and field. Sandoval previously served 10 years as Cal's head women's coach prior to the merger of the men's and women's programs into a single entity.
Sandoval specializes in coaching men's and women's distance events, 800 meters and above, as well as cross country. His expertise extends to meet management also, as he has a wealth of experience conducting major cross country and indoor and outdoor track invitational. Sandoval was a member of the NCAA Track & Field Rules Committee (1981-88) that directs all three Division I championship meets. Under his tutelage, members of the Cal women's team earned All-America honors on 23 different occasions. Most recently, Sandoval added two more honors from two-time NCAA champion Alysia Johnson in the 800 meters, giving her a total of five times receiving the honor. She earned the accolade both indoors and outdoors, in 2007 and 2006 to her one 800 honor in 2005. Chloe Jarvis earned indoor All-American honors in the 800 meters in 2005. He also added Erin Belger to the list of All-Americans, as Belger finished third in the 800 at the 2002 NCAA Championships. In cross country, Bridget Duffy earned All-America honors under Sandoval in 2003.
The Bears finished in the Top 20 three times between 1987 and 1990, in addition to taking fourth at the 1990 NCAA Indoor Championships. Cal scored a school-record 23 points at the 1990 outdoor meet to claim 11th place, tying the 1987 team for the program's highest finish ever. Other athletes Sandoval has coached include 2000 Olympian and All-American Bolota Asmerom; six-time All-American Richie Boulet; three-time middle distance All-American and AIAW 800m champion Louise Romo; Kirsten O'Hara, an All-American in cross country, 5000 and 10,000; Elissa Riedy a two-time All-American in the 1500 and once in cross country; Laura Baker, an All-American in the 800m; Sally Wood, All-American in the 5000; Sabrina Han, All-American in the 10,000; and Magdalena Lewy, an All-American in the 5000 and one of the United States' top long distance runners who placed fifth in the marathon at the 2005 Olympic trials; All-American Tenaya Soderman in the 10,000; Susan Vigil, an 800-meter national champion at New Mexico.
Sandoval also has coached cross country runners to All-America honors nine times: Marilyn Davis, Riedy, O'Hara (three times), Duffy, Boulet, Wood and Han. In addition, Boulet earned indoor All-America honors in the 3000 three times and Lisa Lopez was an indoor All-American in the mile.
The 1986 NorPac Conference Track and Field Coach of the Year, Sandoval also serves as Cal's head cross country coach, a role he also filled for the women's program before the merger. Last fall, Sandoval guided the men's cross country team to its first appearance as a team to the NCAA championships. In 1993, under Sandoval's guidance, Boulet became Cal's second All-American in men's cross-country. Sandoval guided the women's program to a pair of top 20 finishes in 1984 and 1988. In their first NCAA appearance in 1984, the Bears finished 15th nationally. Cal returned as a team in 1988 to take ninth place.
Sandoval has more than 30 years of coaching experience, having begun his career a year out of college by developing the Duke City Dashers track club in Albuquerque, N.M. DCD became a "super club" with numerous national level and record-breaking boys and girls age-group athletes in cross country and track and field. Many of those age groupers developed into national level AAU and collegiate runners. In 1972, three DCD athletes coached by Sandoval were Olympic trial finalists. Under Sandoval, Lynn Bjorklund was DCD's most accomplished runner, winning three AAU cross country championships and two AAU two-mile championships. Bjorklund was world ranked in the two mile/3000 in 1974 and 1975 and remains the national high school record holder for the 3000.
Sandoval started his collegiate coaching career with New Mexico's women's team in 1975, serving as an assistant before taking over the head coaching duties. His UNM track team finished as high as ninth nationally. He also developed 10 All-Americans, including long distance and cross country runner Karen Crammond, middle distance runners Regina Draminga of Uganda and Tecla Chemabawi of Kenya, and 1979 800m national champion Vigil (a former DCD runner) during his eight years with the Lobos.
Active in all areas of amateur track and field, Sandoval served as the head coach for the 1995 U.S. Junior Pan American women's track and field team, which competed in Santiago, Chile. He also served as an assistant coach for the U.S. team at the 1991 Pan American Games in Cuba. Formerly the long distance coordinator for women for the Olympic Development subcommittee of the AAU, Sandoval has had four U.S. national team assignments, including the head coaching position for a U.S. junior team that competed in Cuba and Canada in 1987. In addition, Sandoval was the head coach for United States at the World Cross Country Championships in Glasgow, Scotland (1978), and Madrid, Spain (1981).
A 1968 graduate of New Mexico, Sandoval was a three-year letterwinner in cross country and track and field for a Lobo team that won two Western Athletic Conference titles in cross country and three conference championships in track and field. Sandoval competed in the mile, two mile and steeplechase events, and was an all-time top 10 performer in both the mile and two mile.
Sandoval attended Albuquerque High School in New Mexico and won the 1962 state cross country title and captured the 1963 state 880 yard championship.
Sandoval received a double master's degree from UNM in exercise physiology and guidance and counseling in 1974. He taught in the undergraduate physical education department at UNM while working on a Ph.D. in sports psychology. Sandoval and his wife, Barbara, reside in Pleasant Hill with their daughters, Lisa and Marcy. Lisa is a Cal graduate and a former Cal track athlete. Marcy currently attends Diablo Valley College.
Sandoval's California Women's Head Coaching Career
Year W L Conference NCAA 1983 0 1 3rd (NorPac) 49th 1984 3 3 3rd (NorPac) 38th 1985 1 4 4th (NorPac) 40th 1986 3 2 3rd (NorPac) 31st 1987 4 4 7th (Pac-10) T11th 1988 2 5 7th (Pac-10) T17th 1989 5 4 8th (Pac-10) 57th 1990 6 1 4th (Pac-10) 11th 1991 1 4 8th (Pac-10) DNS Totals 25 28 (.472, nine seasons)
