24 Almond Facts
SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2014
In California, just like in several other states, there are certain high school sports that not all students are
exposed to. One of those is the javelin, a track and feld event where an athlete throws a spear about 2.5
meters in length as far as possible. For 15-year-old Cerah Moren, great-granddaughter of
Blue Diamond
grower Lee Moren of Turlock, the javelin has been her passion for as long as she can remember.
“My dad introduced me to all the track and feld events when I was very little,”
she explained. “I chose javelin because I was good at it and it’s unique. Not many
people do it.”
That’s because the javelin throw is banned in California high schools. The
California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) ruled the javelin throw too dangerous
for high school competition and banned its use for all CIF-sanctioned meets.
Currently, for fear of liability, the javelin throw is not an event in high school
competition in 36 states, though USA Track and Field youth competitions for the
same aged athletes do hold javelin competitions.
Without a team at Pittman High School to compete with, Moren, with her father
as her coach, travels far and wide to compete in track and feld meets. Typically,
athletes don’t get exposed to the javelin until college, which is where Moren gets a
leg up on the competition.
“Around the second or third grade, I remember my biggest win was at Junior
Olympics, the youth Olympic competition. I remember I got frst and it was a big
deal. I hit a personal record that day and then I got the world record for 10 and
11-year olds!” she said of one of her most memorable meets.
Another memorable experience was her international training in Pihtipudas,
Finland, at age 12. She was able to learn and compete with the best javelin
throwers Finland could offer, and that’s saying something. After all, Finland leads
the world in overall Olympic medals in the javelin throw with 25!
TurlockTeenTurns Unique
Sport into Passion
Back at home, Moren has competed in
large competitions across the United
States. She competed at the Penn
Relays, a nationally televised meet for
high school, college and professional
track and feld athletes. For Junior
Nationals, which she equated to an
Olympic-like event for youth athletes,
she competed in Oregon at just
14-years-old.
Although she is just entering her
sophomore year of high school, she
has entertained attention from several
colleges interested in her athletic
ability. “There have been a few schools
that have asked me to visit them and
would like to see me compete at some
point. I’ve also received letters from
Hawaii and UCLA, and have spoken
with the San Francisco State track
coach who invited me to compete at
one of their meets,” she explained.
“But I’m still exploring my options. I
haven’t really thought about where I
would like to go yet.”
Just like other high school sophomores,
Moren is looking forward to turning 15
and a half and receiving her learner’s
driving permit. “My uncle works for the
family farm and he told me that if you
work on a farm at age 15, you can get
your license earlier. So if that is true and
if it lets me get a driver’s license sooner,
I’m not going to turn that down!”
“Cerah has been
my little almond
blossom since
the frst day she
visited the ranch,”
said her great-
grandfather Lee