Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Humberto Rojas

Steve Virgen

There are three reasons Estancia High boys cross country standout

Humberto Rojas won the Pacific Coast League title Nov. 2.

Reason No. 1: Alberto Munoz. The former Estancia runner set a record

that Rojas is focused on breaking (14:57 on a three-mile course). He

didn’t break it to win the PCL crown, but it motivated him nonetheless.

Reason No. 2: The Eagles. Though cross country is mainly an individual

sport, Rojas buys into the team concept big-time, honestly.

Reason No. 3: Mike Casillas. The senior runner pushes Rojas to improve

and vice versa. If ever a definition of friendly competition, Rojas and

Casillas display such in each race and each training session.

With those reasons on his mind, Rojas sped to the front from the start

of the race. He concentrated on maintaining his fast pace and from time

to time glanced behind to see his friend, Casillas.

“I went out as hard as I could,” said Rojas, the Daily Pilot Athlete

of the Week. ‘I was going for the school record.”

After two miles, Casillas crept closer to Rojas, about five yards

behind him. But that just pushed Rojas all the more. In the last mile,

Rojas shifted into an early kick up the hill at Irvine Regional Park and

outdistanced himself from Casillas.

“That’s when I didn’t see Mike,” Rojas said.

Down the stretch, Rojas maintained his lead and captured his first PCL

title in 15:14. Casillas finished second in 15:24 and Aaron Van Geem took

third in 15:43 to help the Eagles win the PCL championship.

Last year in the same race, Rojas came in sixth in 15:51.

“He’s still clowning, but he’s more mature this year,” Estancia Coach

Charlie Appell said. “He has the concept, as he gradually improves, that

this will help him for athletic aid for (college). His confidence is

pretty high.”

Rojas’ improvement dates back to the spring when he worked on his

kick, an all-out sprint, during track season. Then, in the summer, he

sometimes trained with Casillas, his running partner since their days at

TeWinkle Intermediate.

“We’re best friends, me and Mike,” Rojas said. “He lives across the

street. We have the same type of doors that face each other. I go out and

scream his name and he comes out. We push ourselves to get better, to

have the same endurance. When we race, if he’s right behind me, sometimes

I let him go. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter who gets first.”

In the PCL finals it mattered. But some races Rojas approaches

casually, usually the instances when Appell finds the junior clowning.

He’ll poke fun at his teammates or just say anything to get a laugh. But

when it’s a big meet, Rojas forgets the joking and delves for the

intense.

“I run to keep myself motivated,” Rojas said of his love for running.

“I just like to beat people and I like to be up front.”

Rojas will attempt to enforce that mentality at today’s CIF Southern

Section preliminaries at Mt. San Antonio College.