Steve VirgenA certain community college in Costa...

Steve Virgen

A certain community college in Costa Mesa will assuredly benefit from

two Estancia High products next year.

That became evident after Estancia’s Humberto Rojas finished

second in the 1,600 meters (a school-record 4:10.58), and fellow

senior teammate Zack Novak earned a tie for sixth place in the high

jump (6 feet, 6 inches) at the CIF State track and field

championships Saturday in front of 11,862 at Cerritos College.

Rojas and Novak, who will compete for Orange Coast College next

year, won medals and displayed huge improvement from what they

achieved last year. In addition, the duo’s appearance Saturday was

the first time Estancia showcased two boys in the state finals since

Eric Dorn (high jump) and Doug Miller (pole vault) represented the

Eagles in 1986.

Last year in the 1,600 at the state finals, Rojas finished ninth,

in last place, with a time of 4:27.73. But that only motivated him to

come back stronger the following season. After the 1,600 last year, Rojas said his goal was to win the state title in 2003, and he came

awfully close when he used a devastating and effective race-ending

kick during the final 300 meters. So did Rio Mesa’s Phillip Reid, the

champion who finished in a personal-best 4:08.49.

“That last lap, I felt strong,” Rojas said. “I started to go after

[Reid]. I was surprised by him. I thought he wouldn’t have that much

left.”

Reid also had determination created from last year’s state finals,

where he finished second in the 1,600 meters. This year, he was

favored to win, but not by much. The 2003 field of 1,600 CIF runners

featured a prestigious pack of nine runners. Dana Hills senior

Brandon Babiracki was spirited by plenty of hype and was known as the

runner who was most capable of defeating Reid.

Rojas, the CIF Southern Section Division III champion in the 1,600

meters, finished second last week at the Masters Meet with a

personal-record time of 4:12.73, leaving most to think that he had

already peaked. However, he caused many eyebrows to raise Saturday.

Rojas, who wore his usual bright pink shorts, picked up speed before

the 800-meter mark.

“I said to myself, ‘What am I doing here,’” Rojas said.

He maintained the lead briefly, falling behind to eighth before

the final lap, when he caused excitement while passing six runners.

“The kid’s got heart,” Rio Mesa Coach Jeff Wrout said. “I wasn’t

surprised by him at all. He’s a great runner and I had a gut feeling

he would be in the top three. Most people were talking about

Babiracki from the Southern Section, but Rojas has great speed and a

lot of determination.”

Estancia distance coach Charlie Appell was also impressed with

Rojas, affectionately known as, “Pepino.” Perhaps, Appell knows Rojas

better than anyone. The coach and the runner share the same birthday,

they are both left-handed and they are both avid fans of track and

field. Plus, they have worked together for the past four years.

During the 1,600, Appell said the key for Rojas was to stay away

from “Mt. SACitis,” their own term that comes from Rojas’ freshman

year, when he suffered from side aches at a race at Mt. San Antonio

College and continually battled with that pain throughout the season.

He also reverted to that last year at the state finals.

“He has come a long way from last year,” Appell said.

The same could be said for Novak, who did not even qualify for CIF

last year. He finished his season at the Pacific Coast League finals

with a 5-8 clearance. But this year, he began to show his competitive

fire after winning the Golden West League title with a 6-4 clearance,

which was a personal best.

Two weeks later, he bettered his personal record and cleared 6-6

to win the CIF Southern Section Division III title. Then, a

Cinderella-type story really started to unfold. He grabbed the fifth

and final qualifying spot at the Masters Meet last week. On Friday,

he won a jump-off to advance to the state finals.

“It was exciting,” Novak said. “I’m sixth in the state! Sixth in

the state, out of how many schools in California? A thousand? That’s

awesome.”

Novak cleared 6-4 on his first attempt; 6-6 on his second try. On

his second attempt at 6-8 he came very close to clearing it. Cole

Herron of Sanger won the event at 6-10.

“He was over,” Estancia boys track and field coach Steve Crenshaw

said. “All he needed to do was finish it. He just needed to kick his

feet over.”

Novak’s near clearance motivated him for what he will do next year

for the OCC Pirates.

“That 6-8 is not going to be hard, I promise you that,” Novak

said.