Former Tornadoes standout named CCAA runner of the week

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.

Brian Trejo (Hoover High, 2009) San Francisco State cross-country sophomore: The former Tornadoes standout was named the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s Male Cross-County Runner of the Week for the period ending Sunday.

Trejo was sixth overall in a 43-runner field at the season-opening Stanislaus Invitational on Saturday, finishing in 27 minutes 13 seconds in the 8K race. It was the fourth-straight race, dating back to last season, in which Trejo has been the Gators’ top runner.

Trejo was the top college runner in the race and his effort propelled the Gators to the team title.

On Sept. 25, Trejo and Co. will return to competition at Stanford.

Kalii Robinson (Glendale Community College, 2009) Southern Oregon University junior linebacker: Robinson, an All-Northern Conference second-team selection last season, has gotten off to a stellar start as No. 24 Southern Oregon is 2-0 and ranked in the NAIA Top 25 for the first time since the 2004 season.

The Raiders defeated Simon Fraser, a school from British Columbia, 31-18 on Saturday with Robinson notching an interception and 2.5 tackles for loss and seven total tackles.

In the Raiders’ first game of the season, a 34-30 win over Eastern Oregon on Aug. 28, Robinson led the Southern Oregon defense with 11 tackles.

Southern Oregon continues its three-game road trip to start the season at Willamette on Saturday.

Mike McDonald (Glendale Community College, 200?) Southern Oregon University junior quarterback: Now with his fourth college, the former All-Area Football Player of the Year has found a starting spot with Southern Oregon, of which former Glendale college and All-Area pick Tanner Farwell, an offensive lineman, is also a part of the squad.

McDonald threw two touchdowns on Saturday in his team’s 31-18 victory against Simon Fraser. He also had two interceptions, completing 14 of 30 passes for 167 yards. He ran for 14 yards in five carries and tossed scoring passes of one and 35 yards to receiver Vance Beach.

McDonald’s biggest highlight thus far came in his debut on Aug. 28 against Eastern Oregon.

For his efforts, he was named the NAIA Independent Offensive Player of the Week, as he threw three touchdown passes in the final 5:30 of the contest to lead Southern Oregon back from a 16-point deficit and to the 34-30 win against an Eastern Oregon squad that was ranked No. 21 at the time.

He finished the game with 346 yards, having completed 21 of 40 passes with touchdowns of 31, 20, 49 and 17 yards.

Rachel Lange (Crescenta Valley High, 2008) BYU cross-country junior: Lange and the Cougars began their 2010 campaign at the Utah State University Invitational on Sept. 4.

Ranked 20th in the country, BYU scored 23 points to take home a win in the four-team cluster meet, besting Weber State, Utah and Utah State.

Lange finished fifth overall and third for the Cougars in a time of 17:20.3

BYU returns to action on Saturday at the Aztec Invitational.

Zack Torres (Crescenta Valley High, 2009) UCLA cross-country sophomore: Torres and the Bruins began their season on Sept. 4 with a team victory at the Fullerton Invitational, garnering 23 points in the winning effort.

Torres was the Bruins’ No. 6 finisher and took ninth overall in a time of 26 minutes 11.8 seconds. He was the second-best underclass finisher for the Bruins on the day.

UCLA is back in action on Saturday at the Aztec Invitational.

Rosa Del Toro (Glendale Community College, 2010) Long Beach State cross-country junior: The junior transfer, who’s the reigning state community college champion in the 1,500, ran unattached, along with fellow Glendale college transfer Nina Moore, in Sept. 4’s Fullerton Season Opener.

Due to a snafu with class scheduling, both Del Toro and Moore are not yet roster members at Long Beach State, but the duo finished ahead of anyone that currently is.

Del Toro took fifth overall in the 6K event, finishing in 22:35.6, while Moore finished sixth in a time of 22:37.5

Also in the race, Karen Rosas, who’s currently redshirting at GCC, finished 17th in 23:04.03.

All three runners were members of last season’s state-title winning GCC women’s cross-country team.

Long Beach State is set to run in Saturday’s Aztec Invitational in San Diego.