Humberto Rojas

Steve Virgen

People who know Humberto Rojas call him, “Pepino,” a nickname he

earned five years ago when the Estancia High senior trained for

boxing. The nickname has stayed with him because he still lives up to

it, though now he applies his style and mentality to cross country.

Rojas was named after Pepino Cuevas, the WBA welterweight champion

from 1976-1980, a fast and powerful boxer. Five years ago, Rojas’

trainer, who had also worked with Cuevas, came up with the nickname

because he thought Rojas had some of the same qualities as Cuevas.

“I used to move around fast in the ring,” Rojas said. “I liked

boxing because I just liked getting mad and punching other people.”

Rojas gave up boxing, competitively, to focus more on running.

But, he still seems to unleash a knockout-type effect on the

opposition.

“I learned to keep it up and not to give up,” Rojas said of the

values he learned from boxing. “In boxing you can get tired and they

will hit you and hit you, and you will go down. In cross country, I

think about that and it keeps me from going down.”

Last week, Rojas maintained his aggressiveness and broke the

course record at the Huntington Beach Invitational. He finished the

three-mile course in 15:47 and proudly took home the first-place

trophy. It was a feat that was very special for Rojas.

For the past three years Rojas tried to break the record at

Huntington Beach. As a sophomore Rojas won his race in his division,

but a different runner broke the record and received the trophy. Last

year, Rojas finished third.

“This year I thought, no matter what, I’m going to get first and

I’m going to get the course record,” Rojas said.

After Rojas’ performance, which helped the Eagles finish second in

the meet, Joan Carlisle, who is also the girls track and field coach

and a teacher at Estancia, asked if Rojas wanted to put the trophy in

the school’s display case, but Rojas said, no.

“I told her, ‘I’m taking this one home,’ ” Rojas said.

Rojas also won a tri-meet, which included Golden West League foe

Saddleback and cross-town rival Costa Mesa Sept. 26. The 15:15

first-place clocking along with his early-season success does not

seem surprising considering Rojas is intent on making his senior

season special. However, Rojas injured his ankle in mid-August and

Estancia Coach Charlie Appell became concerned.

“It looked pretty bad at that point,” Appell said. “It looked like

he would be out three weeks. It happened in mid-August, which is a

bad time because the season was coming quick. But he came back sooner

than expected and he came back convincingly.”

Even though Rojas injured his ankle, he still built enough

confidence that he was in the best shape of his life. He never

trained as hard during the summer since he’s been at Estancia.

“(The ankle injury) hasn’t had much effect on me this season,”

Rojas said. “I trained harder this summer because I wanted to compete

with the top runners in Orange County and at the State Meet. I want

to be up there with them.”

Rojas plans to run for Orange Coast College next year, and the

year after, all the while planning to transfer to a university. The

plan has become more of a reality because of the teachers at

Estancia, and especially because of Appell, Rojas said.

“Charlie has taught me a lot,” Rojas said.

“He’s been like my dad because he taught me how to take care of

myself in school, and how to concentrate on the goals. I get along

with him so much. I know him well. He’s more than a coach for me.”