ORANGE COUNTY ON THE GO : HIGH SCHOOL CROSS-COUNTRY : Laguna Hills’ Rocha Finds Times Get Lower as Grades Rise

Martin Rocha no longer considers certain numbers more important than others.

Fortunately for the Laguna Hills High senior, he discovered early enough in high school that college recruiters consider a high grade-point average just as eye-catching as a low elapsed time.

During his sophomore year, Rocha’s GPA slipped below 2.0 and he was on the verge of being ineligible for the spring track and field season. After meeting with his coach and parents, Rocha decided to use a one-time waiver that would allow him to continue competing for a quarter. He also vowed not to get caught in that situation again.

“I was in the wrong crowd early in high school,” he said. “I let my grades slip and I didn’t realize how important they were.”

Rocha, who hopes to attend Arizona next year, lifted his GPA to 3.2 for the fall semester of his junior year, then finished with a 3.0 last spring. He said it’s no coincidence that his success in the classroom has translated into more success in cross-country.

“I want to do as well in school as I do in sports,” said Rocha, who also plays soccer. “If I do good in school, it makes me happier to do both. It just makes me a happier person.”

At the Woodbridge Invitational last Saturday, Rocha finished in 15 minutes, 18 seconds--the fastest time among county runners--while placing second in the Division III senior race. Rocha’s time was also the second-fastest in school history on that course. Steve Frisone ran 15:14 in 1988 and later medaled in the Division III state final.

For Rocha, it was a big improvement over the previous week, when he ran 16:35 to place eighth in the Division II senior race in much tougher conditions at the Laguna Hills Invitational.

“I was planning on doing a lot better, but in the first mile I died,” Rocha said of the Laguna Hills race. “As soon as I felt the heat, it drained me and I was running in pain the rest of the way.”

Rocha was third in the Pacific Coast League finals last season and hopes to improve in the Sea View League. He would also like to stay with the leaders at the Orange County Championships and possibly crack the top five.

Rocha said he still spends time with old friends, but his focus on academics and athletics hasn’t waned. If anything, it has helped him continue toward his goals.

“I have an ability,” Rocha said. “But most of my friends are still just bumming around. I don’t want to end up like that.”

SECOND TO NONE

Newport Harbor junior Amber Steen finished 37 seconds behind winner Anita Siraki of Glendale Hoover at the Woodbridge Invitational, but Steen doesn’t consider that a defeat.

“Actually, she doesn’t count, she’s a national runner,” Steen said.

Siraki is regarded among the top returning runners in the West after placing third last season in the Southern Section Division I championships, fourth in the state meet and 15th at the Foot Locker West Regional.

Siraki did Steen a big favor after the division finals last spring. Steen missed qualifying for the Masters meet in the 1,600 by one position, but when Siraki scratched to concentrate on the 3,200, Steen got in as an alternate. Steen took advantage of the opportunity and won the event with a personal-best 5:01.83.

UNTRACKED

The Brea Olinda girls’ cross-country team won the Division I title in a roundabout way at the Sunny Hills Invitational last Saturday. The fifth-ranked Wildcats accumulated a 99:42 team time to edge third-ranked Esperanza (100:11), Marina (104:14) and Cerritos (109:25).

During the sophomore race, the leaders ran off course and into a dead end. Some continued off course until they got back on track, while others retraced their steps and then continued in the right direction.

“The whole sophomore pack, instead of taking the road, went into a parking lot,” Brea Coach Pam Barstow Valenti said. “I have always told my girls not to cut the course, so they went back.”

Brea’s team time was second only to top-ranked Corona del Mar, which won the Division II team title with a combined time of 96:41.

THIS WEEKEND

Villa Park’s Augie Escobar will be trying for his first local victory of the season at the Dana Hills Invitational this weekend. Escobar, who was third in Division II last season, won the Golden Gate Invitational in San Francisco last Saturday.

The top-ranked Katella boys’ team will travel to Charlotte, N.C., for the Great American Cross-Country Festival.

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