Escobar Was Shoe-In to Run Down Division II Title

Augie Escobar kept his favorite running shoes tucked away in the darkest corner of his closet. Every now and then, the Villa Park senior would look inside the cardboard box just to admire their beauty and count the days until he would finally show them off.

He first brought them out at the Orange County Championships last month and finished second, then dusted them off for the Southern Section Division II finals eight days ago and took first.

By the time he brought them to Fresno for the state championships at Woodward Park Saturday, they were no longer the same shiny shoes, but their value to Escobar remained the same.

“I would always say to them, ‘You’ve got some good days ahead of you,’ ” Escobar said. “And today was one of those days.”

Escobar captured the Division II state title on the 5,000-meter course, pulling away from the lead pack in the final mile and winning in 15 minutes 27 seconds.

Escobar said it was the highlight of his high school running career, which also includes section and Masters titles in the 3,200 meters last spring and a third-place finish at state.

“Finally I won a state meet,” Escobar said. “I’ve been working hard for it, so it paid off finally.”

Escobar covered the first mile in 4:50, then came through the second mile in 9:55. At that point, he held a slight advantage over a pack of runners led by Norwalk’s Puneet Mahan, whom Escobar defeated at the section finals and prelims.

Escobar, who was surprised he didn’t have more of a cushion, made one for himself and finished two seconds ahead of Stuart Eastman of Placer.

“I know I’m stronger than the other guys mentally and physically, so I figured it was time to go,” Escobar said. “I didn’t want to get caught up in a kick finish because anybody can win those. I wanted to make it so I had a clear victory right there.”

With the extra breathing room, Escobar was able to begin his celebration before the finish line.

“I didn’t tell anybody, but I wanted to throw my arms up if I had room to do it at the finish line,” Escobar said. “And I had a little bit, so that made me feel good.”

Katella’s Danny Mejia had the second-best individual performance among county runners, placing second behind Travis Laird of Santa Barbara San Marcos in the Division I race. Mejia crossed the line 10 seconds behind Laird in 15:31, followed by Esperanza’s Ryan Bousquet in third (15:32).

“I didn’t think I would get into second that easy and that soon,” said Mejia. “I went after the leader, but he was too far ahead and that was too much of a kick for me.”

Mejia’s effort helped the Knights take fourth in the team standings (165). Chino Don Lugo was first (67), followed by Clovis Buchanan (97) and Poway (111).

Santiago produced the county’s top team finish, placing second in Division II. The Cavaliers, who won their first Southern Section title a week earlier, placed their first four runners in the top 23 and finished with 119 points. Santiago, which began the postseason ranked fourth in the state, finished 63 points behind top-ranked Eureka.

The Cavaliers were led by junior Rudy Corona, who placed 15th overall in 16:02. Teammates Rene Rangel, Juan Corona and Adrian Delgado all finished within 37 seconds of Rudy Corona--who almost didn’t come out for cross-country this season because he was torn between the team and his after-school job at a fast-food restaurant.

He made the decision to join the team after getting permission to train during his third-period physical education class, so he could work in the afternoon and evening.

“I made an effort to practice and I came back,” he said. “I told the team I was going to help them come back to state and get a better finish.”

Backed by Escobar’s victory, Villa Park placed sixth in the Division II race. Santa Margarita, led by Steven Murray’s 10th-place finish (15:52), finished ninth.