The women’s cross country team won their second consecutive SoCal title with a score of 54. The men’s team avenged their close loss last year by securing the SoCal title.
It was the first time the same school won both the men’s and women’s races since Mt. San Antonio College did so in 2017. The fastest runner from Mesa was Alexis Noble who recorded a time of 19:02.7. Noble was most impressive and proved why she started off for Mesa. “Her natural competitiveness and competitive mindset were the reasons she always shows up and finishes strong,” head coach Sean Ricketts said. The win was possible due to the other ladies stepping up. Joelle Tonne (19:03 1), Natalie Allen (19: 34 5), Suhey Arce (20:25.2), Isabelle Moret (20:35 1), Kate Touchet (20:36 5), and Haidyn McKenzie (20:49.5) helped secure a score of 54, which was a massive gap between second place.
Team captain Ian Rosen recorded a time of 20:42.3 and won the men’s individual title, which is the second consecutive season for Mesa. Rosen led by example, which helped team chemistry and light a fire under the others to do their best. Strong leadership is crucial for team success.
Ricketts does not have a strict or laid back coaching style. Everything must have balance and the focus is to guide and educate the athletes. “By providing team autonomy it allows them to build great relationships, which everyone contributes to,” Ricketts said. “It is a huge time commitment with three hours a day for six days a week, which includes consistent energy system routines such as aerobic threshold, lactate threshold, lactate dynamics, vo 2 max, and lactate systems and atp/cp systems,” Ricketts shared after asked what training looks like. It is evident the athletes take their health very seriously, which allows them to be as strong as they are. Ricketts expressed the confidence he has that both teams are capable of winning the state title, but made clear it is up to them to go out and earn it. Taking care of yourself physically and mentally is vital for daily performance. Ricketts states “the focus right now is recovery which includes diet nutrition, sleep, supplemental training, and mental health.”
Going all out in an attempt to win the upcoming state championship Nov. 23 at Woodward Park is next on the list for Mesa’s cross country.
