JL is a family-owned business, run and staffed by athletes. For over 25 years, we have been designing, engineering, and manufacturing our technical training and racing clothing in California--even before it was cool to be 100% American made!

At our factory we have complete control over the means of production, over the timing, and over our impact on the community and on the environment.

We source our materials as close to production as possible, use recycled fibers when available, and have solar panels on our roof! All our workers enjoy fully paid health and dental insurance, retirement and profit sharing benefits. Our employees repay our commitment to them with consistent, quality work--you'll recognize it in every garment we make.

So who are we? Clearing the bar in the photo above is Laura Sweitzer (Mills), our Manager of Track & Field sales. Laura was a high school standout--her records in hurdles, long jump, high jump still stand at University HS in Irvine, Ca. In the summer of 1980 she competed for the US Jr. All Star Team in Taiwan, and won Jr. Nationals Heptathlon in 1981. On a track scholarship to UCI for the heptathlon, her javelin record still stands there, and while at OCC Laura set the record for shotput. She made NCAA's in javelin in 1985. Training under Olympic coach Dave Rodda, Laura competed for Coast Athletics Track Club. Her connection to track & field is nourished by her work at JL with today's athletes and coaches. Laura lives and plays with her husband and two daughters in Sacramento.

The thrower (the one with the legs) to the left is Ken Mills (Mills), shown while competing for UCI in the early 80's. Laura's older brother Ken is the Vice President of JL. Though he found his calling in the throwing events, Ken surprisingly (for his build) also excelled in both high jump and long jump. He set many records while at University High School; his record for the discus only fell in 2000, and his shot record held til 2004, broken by an athlete that Ken coached. In 1980 he competed for the US Junior National Team in Canada, and was recruited to UCI where he was a points leader for the team. The name Mills is still on the record at UCI for the Discus. Ken trained under Art Venegas with the top throwers of his generation. Faced with the dilemma of every top-class track athlete of the period, Ken made the decision to remain clean. Though this contributed to his early withdrawal from competition, it is part of what defines Ken and what he brings to his management style at JL. Dedication with honesty and hard work--no shortcuts.

Robert Frichtel (looking a bit crazy, right) ran Cross Country and Track and Field at Hemet High School in Hemet, CA where he was a key runner on a two-time State qualifying cross country team.  Hemet finished 7th and 3rd respectively as a team and Robert finished Top Twenty individually. In High School Track he ran a 4:09 mile and place 3rd in State and ran a 1:50.5 800m at Nationals. He attended UC Irvine and became one of their key middle distance runners.  Robert remained undefeated in inter-conference competition and was a consistent conference scorer. When not at the office, he still runs for fitness and competes in an occasional half-marathon.  His current habit is outrigger canoeing and he hopes to cross the Catalina channel for the second time this fall. Robert is also an active SCUBA Instructor and is usually found on, in or around water.

Carrie Roldan (formerly Carrie Quinn, left) was a standout high school distance runner for Edison High school in Huntington Beach, CA in the Early 90s.  There, she was a member of two California State Championship cross country teams.  Later, she attended UC Irvine, where she competed in the 800, 1500, and 3000m and was also a member of a Big West Championship cross country team.  After college, Carrie worked as a receptionist at JL before accepting an assistant coaching position at Santa Margarita Catholic High School.  Soon after, Carrie returned to her Alma Mater (Edison, HB) as head girls cross country coach.  There, she had great success, but left after the birth of her second child.  Always busy, Carrie soon found herself volunteering with UC Irvine distance runners, as well as serving as the California Individual Manager for the Nike Cross Country Nationals.  She and her husband, Jim Roldan, are also co-owners of EPI Sports.  Her love of all things track and field has brought her back to JL where she is passionately serving our track and cross country customers.

Candice Chavez Candice (photo at the right) began running cross-country and track her freshman year at Esperanza High School (Anaheim, CA). She immediately fell in love with running and the competitive nature of racing. With some hard work, Candice became one of the top runners for a team that was loaded with talent (multiple CIF qualifiers). Candice earned a scholarship to UC Irvine, where she landed a spot on the All Time Top 10 list for the 5k. A multiple conference scorer and track MVP, Candice continues to run competitively for local club team, RunRacing, now that her college days are over. In the spring of 2010, Candice ran her first half marathon in 1hr 18min and now has her sites on qualifying for the 2012 Olympic trials.

Here are the faces to go with the voice (or email) at the other end of the line!!!

Laura	Carrie	Candice	Robert