Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2013
Carmelo Rios captured NCAA Division II titles in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 1981 and 5,000 meters in 1983, also placing second in the steeplechase in 1983, thus earning three All-American certificates.
He set school records in the steeplechase (8:28.89) and 10,000 (28:52.04), both established in 1983 and still standing 30 years later. Rios also has the fourth-best 5,000-meter time at Cal Poly of 13:57.64 and won four California Collegiate Athletic Association individual titles -- steeplechase in 1981 and 1983, 5,000 in 1983 and cross country in 1982. He also was NCAA Division II West Regional champion in cross country in 1982.
Rios competed internationally following his Cal Poly career, qualifying for the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Helsinki in 1983 and earning a silver medal in the steeplechase in the 1983 Pan Am Games in Caracas, Venezuela. Rios represented Puerto Rico in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles and was bronze medalist in the 1985 Central America and Caribbean Games in Nassau.
A four-time Puerto Rico national champion in the steeplechase (1983, 1984, 1986, 1987), Rios was a member of the National Asics Aggie Running Club from 1985-93 and worked as a community health specialist in the public health department for the County of Santa Clara for many years. A graduate of Lennox High School who also attended Long Beach City College, Rios has one son, Zakarie Kohlbrenner, and one daughter, Tatiana Kohlbrenner.
At Long Beach City College, he won the state community college championship back to back in 1979 and 1980. He was also the Southern California champion at 10,000 meters and the third individual at the state Community College Cross Country championships. In 2013, he was honored in the Long Beach City College "Hall of Champions."
