Diana Rosete

Steve Virgen

It would be easy for Diana Rosete to think about “what if?”, but

that wouldn’t reflect her personality. There’s a certain aura of

carefree within Rosete, the leader of the Estancia High girls cross

country team.

She could spend her time wondering what could have been had she

started running competitively at an early age, or even as a freshman.

But that doesn’t happen with Rosete.

If there’s a bump in the road, she runs over it. If there’s a

cloud in the sky, she concentrates on the clear. She’s got so much

spunk and positive thinking Tony Robbins should take notes.

“I probably would have been better, but you never know what really

is going to happen in the future,” said Rosete, a senior who started

competing in cross country as a sophomore. “I don’t know if I would

be faster. I don’t really regret not running before my sophomore

year. I’m OK. I’m happy with how I’m running so far.”

So far Rosete has fulfilled the vacancy of Estancia’s No. 1 runner

since Liz Huipe graduated in 2001. As a sophomore, while learning

under Huipe, Rosete finished 20th in the CIF Division III finals.

Then, the following year when Huipe moved on to Vanguard University,

Rosete broke through and claimed a personal record at the Mt. San

Antonio course (19:35), earning All-CIF laurels. Rosete finished in

sixth to advance to the state meet, where she finished 21st.

This year, Rosete has set goals to advance to the state meet

again, and this time she wants to finish in the top 15 at Fresno.

“I’ve made some improvements this year,” Rosete said. “But not as

big as the improvements as last year. At the beginning of this season

I was just running. But now it’s time to get ready for league finals

and state.”

Rosete appeared to start her quest for her goals when she made her

debut at the Orange County Championships Oct. 19. She did not compete

in the meet when she was a sophomore because it conflicted with her

work schedule, and last year the Eagles didn’t enter the O.C.

Championships because there were too many injuries on the team.

However, this year, Rosete made the most of her one chance in the

O.C. Championships. The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week won the

Division III race and completed her best time of the season,

finishing in 18:33, the sixth-lowest time among seniors.

“She’s on a good roll right now,” said Estancia Coach Charlie

Appell, who also mentioned Rosete trains with the boys team

throughout the week. “She takes that as a challenge and she doesn’t

want to be beaten by the boys. But we tell her to train and not to

treat it as a race.”

Rosete also said training with the Estancia boys, mainly the

junior varsity team, has intensified her stamina and provided

confidence.

“(The training) actually helps me a lot,” Rosete said. “The boys

help me push myself, especially when we do our 800 (meters) workouts.

They sometimes let me lead the pack and see how I react. That has

helped a lot.”

Rosete was faced with that situation in the O.C. Championships.

She ran a smart race, Appell said. She started out with a solid,

steady pace and gradually passed runners until she caught Ocean

View’s Kaylyn Gallo.

“I caught up to her,” Rosete said. “And, when I get to the girl up

front I usually stay with them for 10 seconds and compare their pace

to mine. When I caught up to her I felt strong and I felt her kind of

falling back, so I decided to take off and go for it.”

Just as in a cross country race, Rosete also plans to take the

next step as she prepares to move on to a college to compete. She

said her decision lies between Cal State Fullerton and Vanguard,

where she would reunite with Huipe.