It’s just past noon, sunlight pours through a high window, warming his skin, while the only other light comes from a monitor blinking quietly.
Three chairs, two microphones, and one recorder wait as track and field athlete Joshua Melendez, who also majors in a computer science major. Walks into the room five minutes early.
The top-ranked community college athlete in the 1500 meters, Melendez doesn’t fit the typical mold of an elite competitor. At 5-foot-6, he carries himself with quiet humility rather than showy confidence. He moves lightly, more ready to listen than to talk.
He enters the room, sits down, and glances up. “You a journalism major?” he asks, his gaze steady. “That’s cool.” Though he’s the guest, Melendez starts the conversation—curious, humble, present.
Melendez, a sophomore and one of Cerritos College’s top athletes, offers insight into his success.
“Talent can only take you so far. I mean, you still have to work. Like in high school, I was nowhere near as fast as I am now,” said Melendez.
His story illustrates that greatness is a process, and hard work is what truly defines success.
Melendez began running in fifth grade, with his parents as his coaches, but it wasn’t until middle school that he began competing seriously.
“When I got to compete, it was there that I kind of saw, ‘I’m pretty good at this.’ And then, it wasn’t until recently where I was like, ‘I’m way better than I thought I was,’ or at least better than what I thought I was in high school.”
He puts in the work early—long before most students are awake. “At our peak, we do something like average, maybe eight to nine, and peak 10 [miles],” Melendez said.
Melendez’s rise in track and field has been impressive. He holds the 3000-meter record at Cerritos College with a time of 8:32.67, breaking a 10-year-old record previously held by Anthony Lozano.
He’s also second in school history for the 1500 meters, with a time of 3:51—just shy of the top spot. These achievements reflect not only his talent but his relentless dedication to pushing his limits.
Melendez has committed to Benedictine College, a Catholic university, where he plans to pursue a theology degree with a focus on secondary education.
A Catholic himself, he chose the school for its academic goals and the added benefit of receiving scholarships for both academics and athletics.
His focus is on succeeding academically and achieving his long-term goal of teaching theology at the high school level.
Beyond his confidence and athletic focus, Melendez is refreshingly down-to-earth. He lights up when talking about his favorite post-workout meal: a breakfast burrito from a local spot called Douglas, stacked with eggs, hash browns, sausage, and salsa.
“I’d probably play soccer. Yeah, because I played soccer for about 12 years,” Melendez said. “I was just better at running, honestly. I saw it as a way to have better opportunities, so I decided to stick with it instead of continuing with soccer.”
Although his impressive list of accolades—including being a three-time MVP and two-time All-Del Rey League selection at St. Paul’s High School, as well as making Cerritos College’s Superstars list—are remarkable, Melendez’s journey highlights growth through training.
Tomorrow, he may be a Catholic high school teacher. But today, Joshua Melendez is the top-ranked community college athlete in the 1500 meters in the state and a student at Cerritos College.
