When PLHS’ Class of 2023 walked across the graduation stage earlier this week at Point Loma Nazarene University, one senior may have set a speed record for the distance. And it wouldn’t be the first record he set.

Senior Manuel “Manny” Correia ran the fastest 800M time in school history earlier this year and later added a pair of CIF championships to his list of accomplishments.

Correia’s record-breaking run came at the Escondido Invitational meet in April when he recorded an all-time Pointer best of 1:51.44, a mark that was also the best in the San Diego CIF section this year. His winning 800M time at the CIF finals was 1:53.11. He is ranked sixth in the state.

Correia also won the 1600M CIF title with a time of 4:10.65.

In his younger days, Correia spent time playing multiple sports at St. Charles Borromeo Academy where he attended school from kindergarten to eighth grade. While there, he ran in parochial school meets and played soccer as early as first grade but became more serious in sixth grade after another parent urged the Correias to get him involved in running.

When it came time for high school, Correia had to make a choice. With his father a Pointer alum, the family chose Point Loma, “And I’m glad they did!” Correia said after a recent workout.

When he arrived at PLHS, Correia met Keith DeLong, who has coached distance runners since arriving at PLHS in 2007. DeLong is regarded as one of the school’s most dedicated and hardest-working coaches and the two began a four-year bond.

“Manny is one of the best all-around kids we’ve ever had come through the program here,” DeLong said. “He has a great work ethic, puts out 110% all the time, and does above and beyond training on his own in the gym and weightlifting. He’s got a great personality. He’s confident but doesn’t have an arrogant bone in his body. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

“My relationship with my coach is definitely strong,” Correia said. “I text him, I call him with all kinds of questions.”

When did Correia realize his potential was high?

“Definitely in my sophomore year when I broke the two-minute barrier (in the 800M) and got first in the league finals, it opened my eyes,” Correia said.

A look at Correia’s career marks shows huge improvements in his times under the mentorship of DeLong.

As a freshman, Correia’s best 800M time was 2:13.55, more than 20 seconds above his school record. In the 1600M event, Correia has dropped his time from 4:50.45 all the way down to 4:09.83, a drop of over 40 seconds.

Correia isn’t done running and will attend UC Santa Barbara next year, entering as an undeclared major but hoping to major in Computer Science.

“I’ll be receiving a really good education there, it’s like Point Loma, near a beach, and I love their coach and the team. They’re really supportive of each other,” he said.

Manny Correia has had a great run during his years at PLHS.