Since the last 2 races so far have been excellent, more is to come from this impeccable team that really knows how to obliviate their competition. From a range of Junior Varsity to Varsity races all around they were able to win 1st place for each one. Sounds to me that this team with the proper coaching from all 3 coaches is destined to become “State Champs” for sure. Now it’s time to cover all 4 races of this Leauge Meet and reminisce on how unique this team is with their work ethic.

Kicking off at the Big 8 League, we have the Santiago JV girls kicking butt coming in with a final score of 1. Santiago Corona (20 points) 2. ML King (36 points) 3. Roosevelt (89 points) 4. Centennial Corona (107 points). What made them secure the least amount of points was their clever thinking running amongst each other. From 2nd to 6th place all these girls ( Mylie Madrid{10}, Josselyn Palacios{11}, Jaela Jaffe{9}, Taylor Aguinaldo{12}, Kate Lee{9}) were able to score 20 points ranking them 1st overall in that race. Now I don’t know how they managed to pull this off, but it really goes to show this team is very equipped for their competition.

Moving into the second race of the meet, the Santiago JV boys proved to the team that their work is really paying off. At the end of their race, the final results were 1. Santiago Corona (18 points) 2. Roosevelt (58 points) 3. ML King (59 points) 4. Corona (117 points) 5. Centennial Corona (150 points) 6. Norco (182 points). The winner to close out this whole race was the man himself Kyle Sheehan(12). What makes Kyle Sheehan (12)“ The Man” is the fact that he left it all on the course when the race was over. I had the chance to speak with him about his influential performance while recapping the race perspective to me “It felt great to win the JV race, but it would not be possible without my teammates.  My teammates are the ones who are pushing me day in and day out to become the best runner I can be. I felt like running the JV race allowed our upperclassmen and me to connect with some of the younger runners on the team.  It was an opportunity to build stronger team comradery.” Realizing you are a runner role model to the younger generation eliminates all factors of negativity being flowed around on this team. This is another contributing factor to how this team accomplishes so many incredible things.

Now coming down to the halfway marker of the meet, the Santiago Varsity girls put on the show for their competition and let them know what they came for. The final result for this race was 1. Santiago Corona (32 points) 2. Roosevelt (66 points) 3. Norco (69 points) 4. Centennial Corona (88 points) 5. ML King (96 points) 6. Corona (153 points). Rylee Blade(10) was able to single handly claim a first-place overall moment while also helping lead the girls’ varsity level to victory. She filled me in on her insight about what attributes gained from this race “It feels really good and super happy about all the hard work that’s paid off. From the beginning of the season til now.” Having a mentality like this will definitely carry her throughout this season, and will only lead to bigger and better things.

To finally put on the finishing touches of the meet, the Varisty boys wasted no time securing the top spot. Without any hesitation, they left the final score as 1. Santiago Corona (26 points) 2. ML King (53 points) 3. Roosevelt (61 points) 4. Norco (99 points) 5. Centennial Corona (125 points) 6. Corona (166 points). Of course, you know I had to interview the top dog on the team Dylan DeLoyola (12) on how he felt post-race. Dylan DeLoyola (12): “It feels good to lead the boys to the victory and it kind of feels special to place first after seeing the other guys do it last year.” Another runner in this race who worked his butt off to be in this race is Antonio Olmos (11). With him, only being a junior in high school running at this type of competition level really shows to everyone that he should be running with the big boys. He also told me how his confidence contributed to this race “ My confidence would come from all the time and effort I put in every day, but most of all the support and trust I receive from my teammates and Coaches that I also try return to them.” Having the same mentality as Kylee Sheehan(12) is what makes all these runners and Antonio Olmos(11) himself a real beast when it comes to running against their competition.

With all 4 races to be accounted for it was time to see Ricardo Ethridge’s perspective on the team’s overall performance for this first Big IIIV League Meet of the season. “ This is what I kinda expected basically based on how we trained. You know the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare, and our kids have prepared really well this summer into this fall season. So I already knew we were going to perform well, and it wasn’t much of a surprise it was expected based on how the kids trained this season.” Hearing this statement expresses that he trusts his team to process the work he is giving to them, so they can go out into all future races producing good results.

Now being 3 races deep into the season with overall expected achievements, it’s time to take the team up North to run at Asics Clovis Invitational. Where they will compete against runners with the same ambitious mentality as them.