Colton High “Fact of the Day” – Oct. 3
Albert Guardado, Jr. (left) graduated from Colton High in 1992, then went on to international success as a light flyweight boxer. Here he fights Madagascar’s Anicet Rasoanaivo during their bout at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Colton High School opened in 1895. It is one of the oldest high schools in the Inland Empire. In this daily feature, we celebrate Colton High’s rich history.
In 1996, Colton High alum Albert Guardado, Jr. fought for the U.S. in boxing at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. A light flyweight (under 105 lbs.), Guardado came within one victory of the bronze medal.
Guardado was raised in Colton, where his father, Albert, Sr., worked for the Santa Fe railroad. At Colton High School, Guardado, Jr. was an excellent student, maintaining a 3.5 grade point average. He graduated with the class of 1992.
After high school, Guardado moved with his family to Topeka, Kansas. Trained by his father, he took his boxing program with him, and found success in the midwest. Guardado was a two-time gold medalist at the 1993 and 1994 U.S. Championships before being named to the 1996 U.S. Olympic team.
“That was the time of my life,” Guardado told the Wichita Eagle in 2016. “The Olympics was a totally different experience than anything I’d ever been through or have ever gone through.”
Recently, the CHS Publications Department experienced a major theft as over $20,000 in photography equipment was stolen from our studio over Spring Break. This included all cameras. Any amount you donate will help rebuild our program. Thank you!
