RUNNING : Pinto Puts Some Distance Between Herself, Kansas

Make no mistake, Martha Pinto has no regrets about attending Kansas State. She loved the area and the school.

But Pinto saw little room for improvement after distance Coach John Capriotti resigned to accept a position with the Nike International track club after the Wildcats won the Big Eight cross-country title in Pinto’s sophomore season in the fall of 1992.

“The team was falling apart and it wasn’t like it used to be,” Pinto said. “People would just show up when they wanted to. I decided to leave after that.”

Pinto opted for Cal State Los Angeles for her junior year. In May, Pinto will return to Kansas to compete in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in the Division II national championships in Emporia, about a 15-minute drive from the Manhattan campus of Kansas State.

She’s excited about running at a level comparable to her senior year at Katella High of Anaheim in 1991, where she finished second in the 3,200 meters in the California State meet, running 10 minutes, 42.51 seconds. She also ran 17:44 on the three-mile cross-country course at Mt. San Antonio College, the 20th fastest high school time.

In March, Pinto ran a personal best 35:12.20 in the 10,000 at the Stanford Invitational, the fastest Division II time in the country at the time.

At Kansas State, Pinto ran 35:49 to finish second in the 10,000 in the Big Eight Conference championships as a sophomore. Last year, Pinto, hampered by a knee injury, ran three minutes slower for the distance and was forced to redshirt the season.

“It was ridiculous,” Pinto said. “I was supposed to be getting better, not worse. I wasn’t running anywhere near to the times I was running in high school. I was depressed and putting myself down.”

Pinto began her comeback in cross-country last fall, placing third in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. championships and Division II Western Regionals.

“I’m getting my confidence back,” Pinto said.

Cal State L.A.’s strength in the distances and sprints have made the Golden Eagles the favorite to win their fourth conference championship in a row.

Marisol Cossio, a transfer from Los Angeles City College and a three-time All-American, finished second in the 10,000 in the 1994 Division II national meet. Marisa Avendano, the CCAA and Division II Western Regional cross-country champion, and Marisol Pedraza are returning All-Americans in the 3,000 and 1,500.

Angeleta Graham finished second in the 400 in last year’s nationals in 53.85, and sophomore Oshonda Posey is the defending CCAA champion in the 100 and 200.

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In the Mt. San Antonio College Relays April 14, Michael Granville of Bell Gardens won the 400 for the third year in a row in 46.49.

The meet-record time was the fastest in the nation this season, nearly three seconds over runner-up Cory Hall (49.16).

Only Granville and Fairfax’s Danny Everett, a 1988 Olympic silver medalist who ran 46.71 in 1985, have broken 47 seconds in the meet’s 37-year-old history.