SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos, who ran at Cal Poly in 2024 and competed at Wake Forest from 2018-23, has been named an assistant coach for the Cal Poly track & field and cross country programs, Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Jake Stewart announced.
Martinez de Pinillos, who helped Wake Forest earn three consecutive top 15 team finishes at the NCAA Cross Country Championships from 2021-22, will assist the distance runners on the Mustang track & field and cross country teams.
“I’m just extremely grateful for this opportunity to help support this exceptional group of young men and women,” he said.
Across five seasons competing at Wake Forest (2018-23), Martinez de Pinillos posted five marks that currently sit on the Demon Deacons’ all-time top 10 list in track and field. In the spring of 2022, the San Diego native and 2018 Cathedral Catholic High grad ran the seventh-fastest outdoor 5,000-meter time in school history (13:39.83) and the eighth-fastest 10,000-meter (29:07.07), qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminaries in both events. He also qualified for the East Prelims in 2021 in the 5,000.
In cross country, Martinez de Pinillos helped the Demon Deacons capture their first Atlantic Coast Conference title in 28 years during his final season with the program in 2022, aiding the team to an historic fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships while serving as a team captain. Wake Forest also placed 10th and 15th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships while Martinez de Pinillos was on the team, and in 2021 he finished 16th in the NCAA Southeast Regional with a personal best 10K time to earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors.
After earning his bachelor’s in communications and a master’s of science in management at Wake Forest, Martinez de Pinillos transferred to Cal Poly for his final season of eligibility in track and field in the spring of 2024, helping Cal Poly capture its first Big West Championship in men’s track and field in program history by scoring team points for the Mustangs in both the 5,000 (eighth) and 10,000 (seventh).
