Mesa Men’s Cross-Country competed in the San Diego-Imperial USA Track & Field Championships on Nov. 12 but were unable to claim the first-place prize. The Adidas/Movin Shoes team won first-place.
The four-mile open race, which was held at Mission Bay Park, was also host to other teams such as BSK/Running Center/FLEXER, Prado Racing Team, and the San Diego Track Club.
Mesa’s team was composed of Collin Buell, Michael Gonia, Richard Le, Havel Respes, Salvador Salinas, Ernie Sanchez, Nick Tammadge, Patrick Tilley, and Mark Wolfson.
Gonia led the Mesa team, coming in 20th place at 22:02. Tammadge, coming in 22th place at 22:13, followed Gonia.
Salinas had an emotional finish, coming in 24th place at 22:22. Sanchez and Respes followed, coming at 23:16 and 23:19. Wolfson trailed at 23:46.
Tilley, Buell, and Le each finished at 24:24, 24:49, 25:44, respectively.
Mesa’s Head Coach Thom Hunt co-directed the SD-USATF Championships. Hunt has worked hard with the team, helping them each to grow throughout the season.
“We train all year for the championships,” said Hunt, “I want all of them to individually have a good race.”
“Our coach trained us well,” said Buell, “We want to get better, and we know what makes us better.”
The team trained hard for this season, by taking a summer training course to get back into shape.
“We’ve trained hard during the summer, since June,” said Tilley.
“[Our coach] runs a really good run. We run anywhere from eight to twelve miles a day,” said Buell.
When reflecting on the rigorous training, Wolfson commented that although the beginnings were tough, the training grew on him and has become apart of his routine.
“It’s been engraved into us,” said Wolfson.
Hunt promoted the importance of teamwork and working together as a unit to grow, which was greatly reflected by the team.
“[We] learned how to train better,” said Respes, “… with a lot of support.”
“They all push each other,” said Hunt, “They set their own goals. We work towards them.”
The Mesa Men’s Cross Country will be competing at the State Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov.19.
