Mondol and Molesky Look to Set New PRs at SoCal Combined Events Regional Championships

Khalil Mondol and Allison Molesky will look to take their recent success to new heights at the Southern California Combined Events Regional Championships this week. The pair of Allan Hancock College athletes will represent the Bulldogs at the two-day event hosted by San Diego Mesa College that starts on Tuesday, April 7.

Mondol, a sophomore, is one of 27 men who qualified for the decathlon, while Molesky, a freshman, will compete against 26 other women in the heptathlon. Molesky, a Nipomo High School graduate, is the first Hancock female athlete to qualify for the SoCal Championships in the heptathlon.

"It's really exciting," said Molesky, who qualified after completing her first heptathlon last month in Northridge. "A few weeks ago I was still undecided if I would compete at Northridge, and now I am headed to the SoCal Championships."

Molesky, who won two Los Padres League 100 meter hurdles titles, set two personal-best marks at the Northridge Invitational last month where she competed against athletes from four-year universities. She set a new personal record in the shot put with a top throw of 21 feet, 2.5 inches, and in the javelin throw with a mark of 41-9. She finished with a total score of 2,353 points and placed ahead of an Idaho State athlete.

"The last few weeks I've been trying to do a little bit of everything and learned a few new tricks in the shot put," said Molesky. "I know I can improve my time in the 800 meter run, the javelin and 100 hurdles."

Her ultimate goal is to finish in the top 15. The top six finishers in the heptathlon and decathlon automatically qualify for the State Championships.

Mondol set five personal-best marks at the Northridge Invitational last month. He finished with a total score of 3,214 points. He ran a personal-best time in the 100 meter dash at 12.81 seconds. He bettered his javelin throw with a mark of 107-6, as well as set career-highs in the long jump at 17 feet, 400 meter dash at 59.76 seconds, and in the shot put with a toss of 23-4.5.

"It was the first time I competed in a decathlon," said Mondol. "It was really reassuring to set five personal-best marks while competing with athletes from four-year universities." 

Mondol hopes to set personal-bests in the five events he did not eclipse in Northridge, the 110 hurdles, high jump, pole vault, discus and 1,500 meter run. He also hopes to break the 4,000 point barrier.

"I am really excited to see my hard work continue to pay off," added Mondol, who was primarily a pole vaulter during high school. "I really focused on becoming a decathlete and improving in all 10 events the last year."