The playground where Michael Hernandez grew up running and jumping and swimming wasn't around the block, or down the street at a nearby park. 

Actually, all it took was a quick jaunt through his boyhood home in Moreno Valley and right out the back door. Because all the space and toys that he needed to play and run around in and flop around in the pool was smack dab in his family's backyard. 

A veritable jungle gym existed in the Hernandez home where a tennis court that doubled as a basketball court and swimming pool were at the leisure. Count a trampoline, too, and young Michael was more than up to the task of keeping himself active. 

That backyard was where the 21-year old Cal Poly Pomona senior honed his athletic skills. The time and energy spent clearly paid off as the 5-foot-10 inch kinesiology major is one of the nation's top decathletes. 

“I've been involved with track and field as long as I can remember,'' Hernandez said. “I can't remember not being active. We had it all at home and competition wasn't hard to find.'' 

The decathlon, a two-day, 10-event process, is right up Hernandez' alley. The event includes the 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meters take place on Day One. The second day includes the 110-hurdles, the discus, pole vault, javelin and ends with the metric mile – the 1,500 meters. 

Versatility and talent are the bedrock for the event Hernandez calls his own. Last season, he finished ninth at the NCAA Division II championships – just one place out of earning his first All-American honor. 

“People who compete in multi-events (the women compete in the seven-event heptathlon, while the men compete in the 10-event decathlon) are those who are willing to try anything,'' said Broncos assistant coach Lauren Reimer, who coaches the men and women multi-event student-athletes. “You look for power, explosiveness, speed and reaction. You look for the pop. And if you don't have a sense of aggressiveness, the decathlon isn't for you. 

“Michael has those skills. He has the pop and he's not afraid. He has that sense of fearlessness that all good multi-event athletes must have.'' 

Reimer should know. She was one of the top heptathletes in the country while in high school in Texas and later competed at Georgia Tech. 

This season, Hernandez earned an NCAA provisional qualifying score of 6,654 points at the Cal State Northridge meet in late March. Head Coach Troy Johnson figures that Hernandez has the ability to surpass the qualifying total of 6,900 and perhaps reach the 7,000-point level.

Owning a personal-best of 6-7 in the high jump and more than 15 feet in the pole vault, Hernandez' versatility is the key to his success. Thank his dad for the prowess in the jumps as he fashioned a high jump pit in the backyard with PVC pipes and air mattresses for a mat. 

“I think people are surprised that I go that high in the high jump,'' said Hernandez, who one day would like to compete in the decathlon for the Mexican Olympic team. “I'm only 5-10, but I've got pretty good spring. 

Hernandez knew track and field would be something that he could enjoy. He immediately took to three-stepping the hurdles in the first race he competed in when he was pre-teen in amateur track. 

At most, Hernandez will compete in three decathlons in a season – the Cal State Northridge meet, the CCAA meet in early May and should he qualify, the NCAAs to be held in late May in Charlotte, N.C. 

Reimer and Hernandez plan on competing in a throw, a jump, a hurdle and a hard run in regular-season meets. But don't count on him regularly running the 1,500 – the final event of the two-day decathlon. 

“When it comes to the metric mile, you really just try to survive,'' he said. “The decathlon is hard enough as it is with the other nine.''