Bio

Dennis Hansen was recruited by Coach Ray Southstone to run track and cross country at El Camino College from Torrance High School where he had just broken the venerable Louis Zamperini's long-standing Torrance High mile record. In his one year of both sports, Dennis excelled and helped the cross country team to a successful season, while also setting the school record in the mile of 4:23.2 and earning the "Blanket Award" for both sports. Even more impressive though, was his earning the Outstanding Runner Award, the Outstanding Performance Award; and ultimately, the Athlete of the Year Award for all sports. At that time, he was the first athlete in El Camino College's history to win both the Outstanding Performance and Athlete of the Year awards in the same year.

Dennis was hired straight from El Camino College by the Torrance Fire Department where he continued with a long, successful career, most recently as an operations specialist. He currently resides in Whittier with his wife Susan.