Two meets into the season, the Warrior cross country team is looking forward to a strong year, its hopes in the hands of a collective group of freshmen and returning key runners.
After finishing second in its conference and ninth in both the Southern California and state championships, the men’s team looks to make a step up this season.
“We have slightly higher standards and aspirations,” coach Dean Lofgren said. Lofgren added that as long as the team can stay healthy and continues to improve throughout the season, it could easily be in the top 10.
The team has started off on the right foot. It is currently ranked sixth in the Southern California section.
The team is led by freshman Jose Lezama, David Cardona and Jimi Duffin. The top returning sophomore, Rio Enomoto, is looking to regain his form from last season. Noah Lopez and Joey Bianchi further bolster the sophomore core runners. Freshmen Ryan Noro and Patrick O’Rourke round out the top eight men on the team.
“We’ve added an extremely talented group of freshmen,” Lofgren said. “Lezama and Cardona are two of the top men in the state if not in the country, and Duffin had the best summer of all on the team.”
The team will be without its No. 1 runner this semester, Steve Calise, who graduated over the summer. In addition, two other top runners on the team have transferred to new schools. Alex Gorney has moved on to USC and John Flores transferred to San Francisco State University.
Even so, the team is off to a solid start with an overall third place finish at the Ventura Invitational at Arroyo Verde Park, and an overall 10th place finish at the Irvine Invitational at the UC Irvine campus.
At the Ventura Invitational, Lezama finished first overall with a time of 21:35.00, 45 seconds ahead of the second place finisher, and 1:10 ahead of the third place finisher.
Lezama’s time was the second fastest time ever recorded on the course. Duffin finished just behind in fourth place with a time of 22:52.00. Cardona was unable to compete in the meet due to a work obligation.
At the Irvine Invitational, the team faced more of a challenge against major California universities along with the regular community college competition, in addition to a five-mile course instead of the usual four-mile course.
In a field of 214, Lezama came in 19th with a time of 25:47.7, with Cardona finishing in 26th place with a time of 25:58.8. Enomoto and Duffin followed next in 96th and 109th places with respective times of 27:32.9 and 27:50.2.
Lofgren said that the men’s team faced difficulties with pacing in the slightly longer race
“We got a little crazy early on,” Lofgren said. “The guys went out a little too fast, but it was a good learning experience early in the season.”
The women’s team looks to build upon its races this season after coming off a particularly thin year. Courtney Stevens, a top contributor last season, has also moved on to San Francisco State.
“If you put aside last season, we have one of the strongest programs in the state,” Lofgren said.
Naomi Altamirano, who is currently battling injury, and sophomore Rebecca Caracoza, lead the women’s team. Dajonai Polite, Diana Jenkins, and Jackie Pineda round out the top women runners.
“Once Naomi gets healthy, her and Rebecca will lead this group,” Lofgren said. “The others will progress as the season goes on,” he added.
On the women’s side, Caracoza finished 10th in the Ventura Invitational, with a time of 23:31.00. With the Irvine Invitational, Caracoza finished with a personal best in the 5,000-meter distance in 34th place with a time of 20:27. O’Rourke finished with a time of 25:56.8.
This season the men have a shot at the state title, as long as they continue to develop their skills and teamwork to make them better. For the women, this season will be a growing experience, with the freshman being able to learn from the experience of runners like Caracoza.
“The women could be dark horses this season,” Lofgren said. “As long as we stay dedicated to our running, we should progress very well.”
Both teams move on this Saturday to the Orange Coast Classic, where they will be facing the state’s top ranked men’s and women’s teams from Orange Coast College in the field along with the three time state champion San Bernadino Valley College and well as 20 other colleges competing for the top spot in the event.