Former Mustang is back on track

Bryce Alderton

The idea was to get in shape for the fire academy. Little did Gegi

Van De Walker know her exercise regimen would benefit the Orange

Coast College women’s track and field team so much.

The woman with the innocent smile and shiny blond hair who earned

13 varsity letters at Costa Mesa High, has returned to bring her

competitive attitude, work ethic and results to the school across

Fairview Road.

And the Pirates, the defending state champions, have benefited.

They finished the dual-meet season 6-0 and are getting into prime

position for the Orange Empire Conference preliminaries April 20.

Van De Walker, 23, has been a big part of that success, despite

not running competitively for five years.

As a senior, she was part of the 1997 Mesa girls cross country

team that won the CIF State Division IV title in an upset, garnering

the first state championship for any sport in school history. Van De

Walker placed 13th individually, finishing the 5,000-meter Woodward

Park course in Fresno in 19 minutes, 39 seconds.

Later that year, Van De Walker earned first-team All-Pacific Coast

League laurels as a sweeper on the girls soccer team. In the spring,

she anchored Mesa’s 400 relay team, which won its first PCL title.

She also placed second in league in the 300 hurdles.

As a freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Van De Walker ran for

the first two weeks of the track season, but realized she didn’t have

the desire to dedicate her time to the sport.

She graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in environmental

horticulture last June and is taking classes at OCC this semester in

preparation for beginning the fire academy in November.

So what drew her back to the track?

“I’m having fun out here. I like competing,” said Van De Walker

between events at a tri-meet won by Coast over Riverside and

Fullerton on April 2. “I wasn’t planning on running, but it’s a good

way to keep in shape for the fire academy.”

In that meet, Van De Walker ran the anchor on Coast’s winning

1,600 relay team, using long strides to pass Riverside’s Latisha Bush

in the final 100 meters. Annie Garton, Elda Hernandez and Hanni

Geider, along with Van De Walker, ran the race in 4:00.3, a season

best.

Van De Walker, who wasn’t a sprinter in high school, placed second

in the 200, 400 and triple jump while taking third in the 100 hurdles

in the meet. She holds the 10th-best time in the state this year in

the 400 (58.8) and the 13th-best clocking in the 200 (25.7).

OCC Coach John Knox, in his third season coaching both the men’s

and women’s teams, spotted Van De Walker jogging on the OCC track

earlier this year and spoke with her about joining the team.

“I found out she ran track at Mesa and made sure she had enough

units and we went from there,” Knox said. “Without her, the team

would not be the same.”

Van De Walker has experimented with several different events and

found success.

She finished second in Southern California in the heptathlon at

the Southern California multi-events championships two weeks ago at

Mt. San Antonio College, competing in the high jump and long jump for

the first time among the seven events she entered.

The finish qualified Van De Walker for the state championships.

She ran the 100 hurdles, 200 and 800 and also competed in the shot

put and javelin throw. She will try the pole vault at the OEC

preliminaries.

During high school, Van De Walker ran more distance events like

the 800 meters and participated in the 1,600 relay. This year, she

has broadened her repertoire.

“Sprinting is a new thing. I’m not in shape to do the 800,” she

said. “I can’t do the 800 like I used to. Sprinting is my only

option. I go wherever they need me the most.”

Dave Fier, a longtime OCC coach who guides the distance runners,

appreciates Van De Walker’s versatility and athletic acumen.

“She is good,” Fier said. “She is getting better all the time and

learning new events.”

Van De Walker also puts in many hours in the weight room.

“A few weeks back, she was saying she needed to gain 15 pounds.

You never hear a girl say she wants to gain weight. She is very

positive.”