After leading the Golden Eagle track and field and cross country teams to some outstanding performances – in 2024-25, Tina Fernandes returns for her 13th season as Cal State LA’s head coach for men’s and women’s cross country, women’s indoor track and field and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field.
The 2024-25 season was highlighted by three All-America awards for Jonon Young – one in indoor track and two in outdoor track. Young also successfully defended her California Collegiate Athletic Association titles in the long jump and triple jump and was named the CCAA Field Athlete of the Meet for the second straight season. Drew Hill captured the 100 meters and was named the CCAA Newcomer of the Meet, while Matthew Bender won the conference title in the javelin for the men's team.
Fernandes led the Golden Eagles to an improved finish of fifth place in the conference for the women and the men stayed in the chase for a top-three finish before settling for sixth.
Cal State LA had four individual conference titles, eight All-CCAA finishes, eight All-West Region awards and two All-America awards in outdoor track and field.
Fernandes also led men’s and women’s indoor teams to great success. Young earned her third indoor All-America award by finishing fifth in the triple jump and Cal State LA earned All-Region awards by Tafirenyika, Hill, Jesus Chavez and Young.
She also led the cross country programs to improved finishes in 2025 with young rosters showing great promise.
Fernandes continues to be involved nationally with a number of important posts. She is the President of the USTFCCCA for Division II Track and Field and member of the Division II Executive Council Committee. Fernandes is also on the USTFCCCA Board of Directors for Division II Track and Field and she just concluded her tenure as a member of the NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee.
In Fernandes’ first 11 years as head coach, the Golden Eagles have picked up 87 All-CCAA awards, seven CCAA All-Star awards, 41 individual CCAA championships, 118 All-West Region awards, 35 All-America awards, two individual national championships and one first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American in cross country and track and field.
The 2023-24 season was highlighted by a national championship in the indoor triple jump by Young, the first for Cal State LA in indoor track and field since 2008. Young also finished second in the indoor long jump to help the Golden Eagles to an 11th-place national finish, which was the highest for the program since an 11th-place finish in 2008.
Young was named the NCAA Division II West Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year and assistant coach Sean Fernandes was named the West Region Indoor Assistant Coach of the Year.
She also led the Golden Eagles to improved performances in men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. She guided the men to a third-place finish in the CCAA Championships – a one-spot improvement from 2023 - and the women to a sixth-place finish, which was a jump of five positions from 2023.
The Golden Eagles once again featured some of the best athletes in the conference as Leon Tafirenyika had a hand in four more conference titles to pace the men, and Young won a pair of conference titles to pace the women.
Tafirenyika was named the CCAA Track Athlete of the Meet and picked up the CCAA High Point Award, while Young was named the CCAA Field Athlete of the Meet.
Cal State LA earned four All-America awards with Tafirenyika earning first-team honors in the 200 meters and second-team honors in the 4x400 relay and on the men’s side and Young earning first-team honors in the long jump after a second-place finish and second-team honors in the triple jump. Cal State LA also earned 16 All-Region Awards – 13 on the men’s side – and 13 All-CCAA awards, including eight conference titles.
The 2022-23 season was highlighted by a sensational finish by the men’s track and field team. The Golden Eagles placed fourth in the CCAA and then finished 25th in the nation at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Colorado. Cal State LA earned several big individual awards with Tafirenyika earning CCAA and West Region Track Athlete of the Year honors as well as being named the CCAA Track Athlete of the Meet after a dazzling performance at the conference championships. Qwintin Workman earned CCAA Newcomer of the Meet honors as well.
Cal State LA earned three All-America awards with Tafirenyika finishing in the top-four in the 200 and 400 meters and Porte-Joie Tshiaba earning All-America honors for a third time in the high jump. Cal State LA also earned 13 All-Region awards and nine All-CCAA awards, including five conference titles.
The Golden Eagles faced significant injury troubles on the women’s track and field team, but a short-handed squad gave its best effort at the CCAA Championships. The cross country teams also had to battle through major difficulties in 2022.
Fernandes led Cal State LA to some outstanding academic success in 2022-23. The men’s track and field program earned an All-Academic Team award from the US Track & Field and Cross Country Association for the first time in program history in 2023 with Burrell Adams, Phillip McElroy II and Shawn Simms earning All-Academic Athlete recognition by the USTFCCA. Fernandes’ emphasis on academic success has resulted in record team grade point averages and graduation rates.
Fernandes guided the Golden Eagles through a challenging 2021-22 season as the Golden Eagles finally returned after the track and field season was cut short in 2020 and the entire 2020-21 academic year was canceled by COVID. That eliminated the 2020 cross country season and the 2021 indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.
Despite smaller roster sizes, Cal State LA did well in its return in 2021-22. Cal State LA had its first All-CCAA runner in men’s cross country since 1998 when Moises Marquez finished 13th at the CCAA Championships in 2021.
The track and field seasons were highlighted by All-American performances in outdoor track from Tafirenyika and Tshiaba and the 4x400 relay team of Tafirenyika, Shingirai Hlanguyo, Clifton Johnson and Jesus Nichol II.
Both the men’s and women’s outdoor teams finished fourth in the CCAA, which marked great improvements for both teams.
Cal State LA excelled academically as well as Hlanguyo and Nichol II both earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete Awards in track.
The 2019-20 season was highlighted by improved finishes by the men’s and women’s cross country teams in the fall, several individual marks that wound up in the program’s all-time top-10 during the women’s indoor track and field season and several sensational early-season marks in outdoor track before the season was halted after three weeks.
In addition, the Golden Eagles enjoyed tremendous success in the classroom. Hlanguyo earned CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 honors in men’s track and field and Rebecca Ruiz earned a USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete award in cross country.
Both cross country teams improved their finishes in the CCAA Championships, led by a four-place improvement from the women’s team. Ruiz led the way and her victory in the Coyote Challenge was the first individual title for the program since 2013.
The early-season success for the Golden Eagles in outdoor track resulted in five members of the men’s team and two from the women’s team being named to CCAA All-Star teams, while the women’s indoor track and field teams had nine individual and relay marks that moved into the program’s top-10 list.
The 2018-19 highlights came from women’s cross country, where senior Ericka Taylor finished sixth in the CCAA Championships for the best individual performance since 2013, and in outdoor track and field where Valexsia Droughn, J’Liyah Miles and Porte-Joie Tshiaba earned All-America awards.
Droughn won the conference 100-meter title and was named the CCAA Newcomer of the Meet, while Miles won her third conference title in the long jump and fourth overall. Miles was fifth in the nation in the 100, while Tshiaba was fourth in the men’s high jump.
The most successful moments in 2017-18 came in track and field, where Fernandes led a team that picked up five All-America awards in outdoor track and two in indoor track. Ingvar Moseley became the program’s first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-America first-team honoree, highlighting Fernandes’ emphasis on academics for her student-athletes.
Khallifah Rosser completed his outstanding collegiate career with three more conference titles and an All-American honor in outdoor track and field before finishing third in the USA Track & Field Championships in June of 2018.
Fernandes led the men’s and women’s cross country teams to 10th-place conference finishes in 2017 and then coached J’Liyah Miles and Ashlea Maddex to All-American finishes in indoor track and field. The men’s track and field team finished fourth in the conference and the women were fifth in outdoor track.
Fernandes led the women’s cross country team to an improved finish in the 2016 CCAA championships and also oversaw the return of the men’s cross country program. The Golden Eagles’ women’s team improved two places in the CCAA while finishing eighth, while the men’s team finished ninth. The Golden Eagles were sixth on the men’s side and seventh on the women’s in outdoor track and field in the spring.
Moseley’s points while finishing third in the high hurdles put the men in 38th place nationally and his fifth-place finish in the indoor 60-meter hurdles gave the Golden Eagles a 38th-place finish.
Khallifah Rosser captured a national championship in the 400 hurdles to highlight the 2015-16 academic year. The men finished fifth in the conference in outdoor track and the women finished seventh, while a short-handed women’s cross country team finished 10th. Rosser was named the West Region and CCAA Track Athlete of the Year. Megan Thompson won a pair of conference titles and was named the CCAA Female Track Athlete of the Meet, while Miles won the long jump and was named the CCAA Freshman of the Meet.
Fernandes also represented Team USA at the North American Central American Caribbean Under-23 championships in July as the women’s sprints/hurdles coach. The Team USA women won both relays and earned medals in the 100, 200 and 400. Rosser competed at the meet and earned gold medals in the 400 hurdles and 4x400 relay.
Fernandes led the cross country team to an eighth-place finish in the CCAA in 2014. She then led the men’s track and field team to a fifth-place finish and the women to an eighth-place finish in the CCAA in the spring. The year was highlighted by a second straight All-American award in the men’s 100 meters by Gregory Veals, who was also named the CCAA Male Track Athlete of the Year for a third straight season after capturing conference championships in the 100 and 200 meters.
In her first year with the program, Fernandes guided the cross country team to a fifth-place finish in the CCAA, which was an improvement by one spot from 2012 to start the year. She then led the men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams to sixth-place finishes in the conference despite several key injuries and small rosters. The women’s team also improved one position from its 2012 finish. The year was highlighted by an All-American award in the men’s 100 meters for Veals, who was also named the CCAA Male Track Athlete of the Year.
Fernandes joined Cal State LA after spending 14 years as the women’s sprints assistant coach at USC.
She was also the Olympic coach representing Puerto Rico at the 2012 London Games and she was the coach and team leader for Puerto Rico at the 2008 Beijing Games.
During her career at USC working with legendary coach Ron Allice, Fernandes coached 67 College Division I All-Americans, 11 individual NCAA champions, 56 Pacific-12 Conference champions and 179 All-Conference student-athletes. She also coached USC record-holders in the 100 meters, 200, 400, 4x100 and 4x200. Two of her student-athletes also set Pacific-12 Conference records.
Under her guidance, the USC sprint team was considered one of the best in the country and she was named the West Region Sprints Assistant Coach of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in 2005 and 2007.
She was also recognized by USC with one of 12 Remarkable Women Awards in 2011. Those awards honored accomplishments and contributions to campus life by faculty, staff or students.
Fernandes was also chosen by the U.S. Olympic Committee for its Mentoring Women in Sports program in 2006.
Among the runners she coached at USC was Angela Williams, who won an unprecedented four consecutive NCAA Division I 100-meter titles and also captured the prestigious Honda/Broderick Cup as the nation’s top female collegiate athlete in 2002. Fernandes was on hand when Williams was inducted into the Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame in 2024.
Before joining USC, Fernandes was a head girls cross country and track and field coach for the Compton Unified School District from 1993-97 and developed eight league champions.
A fine sprinter herself in college, Fernandes competed for Long Beach City College and Fresno State.
She earned her Master’s degree in Education and a teaching credential in Physical Education.
She is married to Sean Fernandes and the couple has two children: Twin Fernandes and T’Icis Fernandes.
