Draft:Yacine Guermali

Yacine Qilban Guermali (born July 26, 1999) is a Filipino-American distance runner who specializes in the 1500 and 5000 meter distances. He most recently competed at the Philippine National Track and Field championships, where he won two national titles in the 1500 meter and 5000 meter finals. He currently is based in Blacksburg, VA, training with newly founded professional training group, SOVA.

At the amateur and collegiate levels, Guermali boasts many accolades. He first won a WIAA state title in cross country, breaking the tape first for his Camas Papermakers back in 2016 with a mark of 15:12 over the 5k course in Pasco, Wa. Additionally, Guermali held personal bests of 1:58 over 800 meters, 3:57 over 1500 meters, and 8:32 over 3000 meters in high school. As a collegiate athlete, Guermali signed an NLI to attend Gonzaga University, in Spokane, Washington for six years. It was during his tenure with the zags where he flourished under the tutelage of head cross country and track and field coach Patrick Tyson.

Under the direction of Coach Tyson, Guermali went on to have a stellar career, earning multiple all-WCC selections, as well as NCAA west Regional and NCAA National appearances at the division one level. He currently remains the school record holder in the men’s outdoor 1500 meter race with a time of 3:42.96 and the men’s indoor 5000 meter with a time of 13:33.99.

Born to Said (Adam) Guermali and Juliet Guermali, Yacine has a younger sister and older brother. Guermali chose to represent the Philippines, his mother’s nationality, and has since garnered the nickname, Penoy Pre. This is a nod to track and field great Steve Prefontaine, a pioneer in the sport during the 1970’s. Guermali hopes to do the same for the Philippines in the coming years.