Tigers 3rd in the State!!! Click on headline for complete results.

Wow, fastest team time ever by a Valencia team, 1:20:09, 16:02 average per runner on the 5k course! 5 runners ran PR's: Sean 15:29, Benji 15:55, Matt 16:19, Cristian 15:51, and Chase 17:13 (5k times). Sean moves to #2 on the all time Woodward Park course, Benji #9, Tayyab #12, Matt #19 and Cristian #20! Benji was the 6th fastest sophomore runner at the State Meet from all divisions! Sean averaged 4:59 per mile and is the 30th fastest runner in the State!

The team ran a brilliant race featuring a smart, conservative first mile, and two more miles of moving up through the field. In the last mile alone the team shaved 105 points from the team score! Sean ran his best cross country race ever finishing in 12th place, Benji and Tayyab ran side by side pushing each other, and Matt and Cristian powered together through the masses. Brad rallied nicely from a cold all week and Chase took a risk and gave it his all for as long as possible.

Mt SAC was the turning point of the season as we discovered that we could run with the better teams in our division and with the amazing progress of the sophomores in particular, it came to pass! The life lesson here is to never quit or give up on yourself or your dreams. Commit until the end, then evaluate. In this case, our season long efforts are deemed a complete and utter success, congratulations to this very special group of runners!

Thank you to Coach Garcia, the super fans, parents and alumni who contributed to this memorable day!

Fantastic video of the State Meet by Dr. Ruiz! 

Wow, what a meet, way to Carpe Diem and Carpe Cursum! Five runners ran Mt SAC best times (Sean, Benji, Tayyab, Matt and Julio) and Benji and Matt ran all-time PR's! Our motto has always been,  "Champions run their best when it counts" and once again it comes to be! The end result is a 2nd place CIF Champion Runner Up plaque and a trip to Fresno to compete at the State Meet!

Benji Preciado was amazing and determined as he caught up to Sean Krinik on Reservoir! Sean finished in solid 10th place, 15:23 and Benji was 15th in a fantastic 15:34. Tayyab Khan had a very good day finishing in 31st with a time of 15:48. Matt Ruiz had another terrific run and was our fourth runner in with a 15:54 clocking and 33rd place. Brad Cooke struggled a little with a cold but never gave up fighting, placing 62nd with a 16:12 time. Cristian Aviles and Julio Gonzalez were our 6th and 7th runners in 16:45 and 16:51 and gaining valuable experience for next year on this course.

Our team time of 1:18:52 was the second fastest ever run by a Tiger team! The team 1-5 gap of :48 was awesome as well. Thank you to all the fans, parents, teammates, and alumni who came out and supported the team :)

Video courtesy of Matt's dad!

The Tigers advance to the CIF Finals for the 11th year in a row and this year is very special as we have been scratching and clawing our way to the top all year long and we are getting closer and closer...

Huge breakthrough runs by Sean Krinik, Benji Preciado and Matt Ruiz!!! Sean looked relaxed and focused, running a complete race, and being rewarded with a third place and a Mt SAC PR of 15:28 :) He has trained like a champion, and on this day, he raced like a champion! Benji was smart, patient and determined and broke the 16 minute barrier, 15:59 to finish as our #2 runner! Matt was amazing for the second week in a row with a breakout 16:09 clocking, our #3 runner! Matt runs with heads up poise and knows how to compete, he makes it look simple! Benji and Matt moved up nicely in the last mile, a perfect strategy.

Tayyab Khan, Brad Cooke and Cristian Aviles have had better runs at Mt SAC but it not for a lack of trying! Tayyab and Brad may have used too much energy on the first loop of the race (check the photos). Perhaps a little more patience in the first mile, move up gradually, and finish with a great 3rd mile would be more effective. Cristian Aviles ran a great first mile and a solid last mile, we will figure out how to get a better 2nd mile. He has been such a solid performer all year for the varsity. Diego Baiza continues to struggle a bit in big fields but his dedication and commitment to the program has inspired many!

We all get to race one more time at MT SAC this year and keep improving and gaining experience...keep learning and growing as athletes!

The team finished 2nd in our heat to top ranked Loyola. Overall, we are ranked 6th by team time and 7th by points. The top 7 go on to the State Meet and it is very exciting to know we have a really good chance to make it! If all runners run their Mt SAC PR's, our team time is 80:00 which is the 3rd fastest of the teams in Division II! We can do it!!! 

(Click on article title for complete results.) 

The team ended the regular season with highlights from every level! The Varsity claimed its 7th Empire League title in a row and go on to CIF competition. The JV and Frosh/Soph won convincingly as well.

Tayyab Khan earned the title of "Empire League MVP" by virtue of his first place finish in the Varsity race! What a long way he has come from just one year ago, when he lay helpless in a hospital bed weighing 85 pounds, recovering from a bacterial infection throughout his body! Sean Krinik placed 2nd, Benji Preciado 6th, Brad Cooke 7th, Matt Ruiz 8th, Cristian Aviles 10th and Diego Baiza 11th! Sophomore, Matt Ruiz had a huge breakthrough day, posting a 40 second PR, 16:03 on this challenging course. Tayyab, Benji, Brad, Matt and Cristian all PR'd and our top six runners made All-Empire League :) 

Shivnay Kumar led the JV winning effort with a 1st place 16:43 time, followed by Julio Gonzalez with a 2nd place 16:49! Troy Czegledy, Josh Rangel, Danny Diaz, Connor McCullough and Michael Pope rounded out the top scoring 7. Shivnay, Julio, Danny, Michael, Leon Cisneros, Garret Gomez, Ricardo Lira and Matt Vo all ran their best times of the season!

The Frosh/Soph were led by Chase Brothers who ran in front from the gun completing the course in a fine, 16:50 clocking. The top freshman in the League was our own Brian Garcia who finished in 2nd place followed by Tigers, Gio Ruiz and David Miranda taking 1st through 4th place! Matthew Pope was the next runner for the team in 7th place, Jarrett Castillo in 10th place and Jose Gallardo in 15th for our scoring seven. Running PR's were: Brian, Gio, Matthew, Jarrett, Jason Duarte, Thien Nghiem, Jason Wan, Daniel Ramos, Said Gonzalez, Jason Chi, Jonathan Munoz, Arturo Ramos, Clarence Chu and Alex Nguyen. WOW!

It was a great regular season and a great way to end with 3 Individual Champions, 3 Team Championships and 27 lifetime PR's!!! Click on heading for complete results. Next up, the varsity compete at the CIF Prelims at Mt SAC!

The team took a step forward with results from the Mt SAC Invitational! The varsity has a nice top 5 pack. More work to do, but the potential is there. When we get over the colds and flu, we will really shine! We know we have a chance to make top 7 at CIF Finals, just need to get healthy! Sean and Benji still have the flu, and Cristian is recovering.

The varsity pack of Sean Krinik, Brad Cooke, Tayyab Khan, Benji Preciado, and Cristian Aviles had a 1-5 gap of 43 seconds. The team placed 3rd in Division II, outrunning a few teams ranked in front of them in the latest CIF polls. When Sean can perform as our front runner, our score and team time will really drop! Benji and Cristian both improved a minute and a half over last years times at Mt SAC :) Brad dropped 20 seconds and Tayyab came back from a years absence to drop over a minute.

The Friday JV race was tough as it was in the 90's and a little lonely on the course without the whole team there, so it was awesome to have three of our runners come home with medals! Ivan Jimenez led the Tigers, followed by Danny Diaz and Jesus Escobar all placing in the top 15. Leon Cisneros and Matt Vo ran very close to their best times, PR's will come for them at League Finals to be sure!

Saturday's JV National Championship was exciting and nice for this group to run in better weather than last week. The group finished in 5th place for the Division II teams! Troy Czegledy was the top finisher, followed by Shivnay Kumar, Julio Gonzalez, Ruben Aguilar, Jake Perez, Josh Rangel, and Michael Pope. Shivnay recorded a PR :)

Brian Garcia and David Miranda both came home with medals placing 10th and 11th and helping each other along the way. The freshman placed 4th. Jason Duarte and Ivan Gomez ran together and came in as our 3rd and 4th scorers followed by a really good run by Kevin Escalante! Said Gonzalez has come on strong the last two weeks too. Arturo Ramos ran a PR!!!

Gio Ruiz had a great run, placing 2nd and running very close to his best time. Jarrett Castillo, Matthew Pope, Thien Nghiem, Jason Wan, Spencer Hernandez and Kevin Lopez were the top 7 this week. The team placed 5th and despite being at the meet all day, all the sophomores had outstanding runs. Jonathan Munoz ran a PR, he gets stronger each week! Clarence Chu ran his second race of the year, finally getting over an appendectomy and the flu, what a welcome back run!

Video of Individual Sweepstakes

Video of JV Championships.

Orange County Championships did not go as well as we had hoped but there were highlights as well!

The team placed 9th in the Sweepstakes race. Our #1 and #2 runners placed as our #3 and #5 runners hurting us up front. Benji Preciado was our fastest Tiger of the day, placing 31st, running a PR 15:50, and earning All County honors! He was the fastest sophomore in the Sweepstakes race and third fastest in all of Orange County! Brad Cooke had a great race, especially the third mile, where he moved up to 37th place, good for a 15:57 PR and 25th fastest junior in Orange County! Cristian Aviles also recorded a PR and finished as the 14th fastest sophomore of the meet! Matt Ruiz ran really well in his first varsity race. He took some chances to help the team and hung on to finish with his second fastest race time ever.

Chase Brothers won the sophomore race in a determined and confident run! He ran a huge best time of 16:45! Gio Ruiz was 11th and Kevin Lopez also ran a PR in this race.

The freshman race was exciting as Brian Garcia and David Miranda gradually moved up to 3rd and 4th place but disappeared with less than a mile remaining! Apparently, a course marshall was directing running warming up to go a different way than the race course and the group our freshman were in followed his direction instead of the course! We figured they ran a 17:20 time based on their position in the race before the wrong turn, excellent times for these two. Brian, David, Said Gonzalez, Jeremy Wan and Arturo Ramos also ran PR's in the frosh race.

It looked like a duel meet with Canyon High School as we placed 6 runners in the top 20 but still placed 2nd, two very good teams! Julio Gonzalez led the effort with his 3rd place finish. Jake Perez, Ivan Jimenez, Shivnay Kumar, Ruben Aguilar and Josh Rangel were our top 6 runners. Julio, Shivnay, Leon Cisneros, and Ricardo Lira all ran best times despite the 90 degree weather and a 12 noon start time! 

Next up is Mt SAC where the varsity will "man-up" with no excuse running and show what a good team they are! 

The varsity really shined at the Empire League Challenge Meet! It was the first race for the team with the top 7 running together and the energy and team packing was fabulous! Sean Krinik and Tayyab Khan led with a 1-2 finish, followed by sophomore, Benji Preciado in 4th, Brad Cooke 6th, Cristian Aviles 8th, Diego Baiza 9th and Troy Czegledy 16th. Tayyab, Benji, Cristian and Diego all ran personal best times!

The JV boys also were impressive and scored a perfect 15 team score with the top 7 places claimed by Tiger runners! Julio Gonzalez won the race followed by Jake Perez, Ivan Jimenez, Ruben Aguilar, Josh Rangel, Michael Pope and Danny Diaz. Recording PR's were: Julio, Ivan, Michael, Danny, Raul Bustamente, Leon Cisneros, Matt Vo, Garret Gomez, Calvin Ferniza, Tim Dong, and Chiranj Modi.

The Frosh-Soph runners also scored a perfect 15 with the race going to Matt Ruiz in a scorching 16:45! Chase Brothers, Gio Ruiz, David Miranda, and Brian Garcia finished 2-5th place. David Miranda was the top freshman this week and Brian Garcia had another good showing for the frosh. Most of the Tigers ran their best times, 19 PR's in just this race! PR's were run by the top 5 listed above and: Matthew Pope, Jose Gallardo, Jarrett Castillo, Jason Duarte, Gabe Guerrero, Thien Ngiem, Jason Wan, Tom Gonzalez, Spencer Hernandez, Said Gonzalez, Luis Diaz, Jason Chi, Jonathan Munoz, Arturo Ramos, and Alex Nguyen.

Thank you to all the volunteers who donated time, food and drinks, it was a very successful meet!  

The frosh/soph team enjoyed the morning races and came to shine! They finished in 2nd place behind State and Nation ranked, Arcadia High School. Benji Preciado was the fastest Tiger of the day nearly winning the FS race with a 17:24 5K time. Cristian Aviles ran a great race finishing in 7th. Matt Ruiz, Chase Brothers and Gio Ruiz sealed the deal with top 10 finishes in their race. Freshman, David Miranda had a breakout race with his 7th place in his race and recording a PR on this challenging course! Brian Garcia and Jarrett Castillo contributed to the teams top 7 scorers. Also running best times when converted to 3 miles, Matthew Pope, Gabe Guerrero-Gabany, Spencer Hernandez, Daniel Ramos, Kevin Lopez, Luis Diaz, Jason Chi, Jonathan Munoz, Arturo Ramos, and Alex Nguyen.

The varsity struggled a bit without front runner Sean Krinik who enjoyed a college visit to Cal Berkeley! The top 7 runners this week for the varsity: Brad Cooke, Diego Baiza, Tayyab Khan, Troy Czegledy, Jake Perez, Julio Gonzalez and Ruben Aguilar combined for an 8th place finish. Despite the tough course, Garret Gomez and Chiranj Modi ran PR's when the 5k times are converted to 3 miles! 

The tigers finishes 3rd Overall at the Sunny Hills Invite, but the real story belongs to the junior and sophomore teams who claimed victory in the team races! Very encouraging, indeed...

The seniors got the day started with an exciting race up front as Sean Krinik finished with a trademark wicked kick finishing in 2nd place! Diego Baiza made a nice jump this week, a 16:44 PR and 24th place. Hard working Shivnay Kumar, Raul Bustamante and Leon Cisneros all ran personal records. 

The freshman were next, and with a few dinged up runners, still managed to place 2nd! William Garcia was the standout runner in this race, running a big PR, 17:51 and placing 10th. Brian Garcia came on the second half the race in 16th place, followed by David Miranda, Kevin Escalante and Jason Duarte for the scoring five. Nine of the ten freshman all improved their times from the last race! Biggest improvements were made by William, Kevin Escalante, Jason Chi, Jeremy Wan and Arturo Ramos.

The juniors were led by Brad Cooke, Troy Czegledy, Jake Perez, Julio Gonzalez and Tayyab Khan. Brad ran a very even paced run finishing aggressively in 6th place and joining him in the top ten was Troy! Running personal bests were: Troy, Jake, Ivan Jimenez, Danny Diaz and Michael Pope.

The sophomores were dominant in their race, the last of the day. They had the most challenging conditions starting in 90 degree weather at 12:00 noon but it did not stop them from recording solid times and great placing. Benji Preciado continues to impress, he dueled back and forth for the lead ultimately finishing in 2nd place with a fine 16:28. Cristian Aviles placed 3rd, Matt Ruiz was 5th, Chase Brothers 9th and Gio Ruiz 13th to complete the scoring pack! Wow, 4 runners in the top 10! Jarrett Castillo made a nice jump this week, running a PR as did Matthew Pope, Gabe Guerrero-Gabany, Jason Wan, Tom Gonzalez, Spencer Hernandez, and Jason Chi.

Click on story heading for complete results. 

The Tigers are off and running!

The team learned a lot at the Laguna Hills Invite, the first race of the season. The freshman started things off by earning 3rd place of 17 teams and overall, ran smart and within themselves. Look for more aggressive running in two weeks as this group now has idea of the distance and intensity required in a cross country race! The team was led by some nice packing up by Brian Garcia, Ivan Gomez and William Garcia. David Miranda moved up nicely as the teams #4 and Jason Duarte rounded out the top 5.

The sophomores improved their team place by one, taking home the 2nd place plaque this year. Last year they were 3rd. Benji Preciado and Cristian Aviles both finished in the top ten, 7th and 9th places! Matt Ruiz and Chase Brothers worked together for most of the race with Gio Ruiz not far behind to make a very close scoring pack. All five runners start their season with lifetime best times! Also recording PR's and showing much improvement over last year: Jarrett Castillo, Jason Wan and Kevin Lopez.

The juniors were led by Tayyab Khan who returns from 16 months of recovery and rehab from a very serious illness last year. He ran near the front, testing himself with courage and finishing with a gutsy 14th place. We are so glad to have him back as he is getting stronger each week. Brad Cooke finished in 19th place with the final scorers in a tight pack, Julio Gonzalez 30th, Troy Czegledy in 31st, and Jake Perez in 32nd place. Tayyab, Julio and Jake all PR's! The juniors placed 4th, a big improvement over their groups 8th place last year.

The seniors took home the 3rd place plaque, and were led by Sean Krinik finishing 4th with the teams fastest time of the day, 16:00. Diego Baiza, Cristian Lopez, Steven Suarez and Josh Rangel rounded out the scoring for the Tigers.

The next event is the Sunny Hills Invite on September 26, two weeks of valuable training!