A steady downpour and muddy conditions during last Saturday’s Southern California Regional Championships were perfect for David Rosales to make another top five finish.
“The race was great, really great,” David Rosales said. “It was raining and a little overcast. They were the perfect conditions for me.”
Rosales finished third with a time of 20:21.
Rosales’ performance helped the men’s team finish in sixth place in a field that included 28 full teams along with individual participants.
Alex Villaescua and Anthony Lewis were both able to finish near each other in 25th and 27th place.
Freshman Dezhan Bland finished in 50th after improving his time from last month’s race by two minutes finishing with a time of 21:25.
One of the team’s top runners Justin Caracoza fell to the back pack after falling in the first mile of the race.
“It was tough for Justin, after he took that spill, it was hard for him to get back in a rhythm,” Dean Lofgren, coach, said. “He wasn’t able to get back into it after that, but he finished strong.”
With its finish, the team easily advanced to the state championships which was given to the top 12 teams finishing in the race.
“We’re looking forward to state and we usually always have a strong finish in state, but we will have a strong opportunity to do well,” Lofgren said. “With the perfect storm we can definitely finish in the top five. If everyone is able to have one of their best races and put everything together at the same time, we are more than capable of finishing in the top five or better at state.”
The men’s team finished the race in sixth with 175 points, 20 points away from fourth place.
Now the men will prepare for the state championship which will take place Nov. 19 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
“We definitely will work hard and make sure our guys are ready,” Lofgren said. “I know David (Rosales) has his own goals, but I definitely believe he can finished in the top ten. If he does what we all know he can, he will do great. For only being a freshman he has done great this season so far.”
