Fresno, CA – Yahaira Zuniga placed second and the San Diego Mesa Men's cross country team won the CCCAA State Championships on Saturday with a dominating performance over the last mile by scoring 50 points, defending their 2019 State Title and earning the programs 5th state title at Woodward Park. The top 5 scorers placed in the top 16, had a 21 second time gap, and four athletes earned All American honors. The Men's overall team time (1:42:26 - 20:29 avg), broke the 2019 squad's school record by 54 seconds.
Yahaira Zuniga Dyestat Interview
Men's Team Champions Dyestat Interview
The Women's team did not run a scoring team due to COVID protocols. The Women were lead by Sophomore two time All American Yahaira Zuniga placing 2nd in a school record time of 18:06 in the 5K race. Freshman Gina Queck was 15th 19:14 (#13 All Time), Sophomore Beyonce Wright was 46th 20:04, and Freshman Raegan Beckham placed 92nd 21:16.
In the 4 Mile race, The Men's State Champions were lead by Sophomore Esteban Magana 4th Place 20:18 (#10 All Time) and Sophomore Jonathan Kelly 6th Place 20:22 (#11 All Time), followed by scorers Freshman Juan Rosales 12th Place 20:32 (#15 All Time), Freshman Devin Provence 14th Place 20:33 (#16 All Time), and Freshman Jesus Villarreal 17th Place 20:39 (#18 All Time). Notable finishers included Sophomore Franky Dolores 25th Place 20:50 (#25 All Time) and Freshman David Millan 28th Place 20:55 (#27 All Time).
Coach Sean Ricketts explained. "It was great to see our student athletes come back strong this year after not having a season during 2020," he said.
"There was a a lot of meaning to Yahaira's runner up finish and school record time. It has been great to see her development along with the Women's team. The men's program continued the legacy of our program by defending their state championship and moving into position and earning the win the second half of the race. They truly run for one another and demonstrated that on Saturday".