Bakersfield College cross country runner Robert Quintero ran his best time all season in the 4-mile race at the California Community College Athletic Association state championship Nov. 21 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
Quintero’ s time was 20 minutes, 57 seconds and was first for BC and 28th overall.
“I was thinking ‘I couldn’t believe I was up here,'” said Quintero. He added, “I was with the top group. I took off in the beginning, and I was scared I was going to die off. I realized I was up there and my confidence was up and everyone was cheering for me. I broke 21 [minutes]. That was my goal, and I set my goal.”
Quintero described BC coach Dave Frickel’s reaction after the race. “He was so happy. He was shocked actually. He said, ‘Can you believe you did that?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I did that.'”
Finishing second for BC men was the only other BC male, Francisco Mejia, who finished 104th.
Quintero described Mejia’s struggle in the race, “The first mile I thought he was going to go with me, and he just stayed back. When the third mile came up, he always [usually] catches me, and I was expecting him to catch me already and when I looked back – [he wasn’t] there,” said Quintero.
“In the second mile, I heard coach [Frickel] say ‘Let’s go, Francisco!’ about 10 seconds away and then he [fell behind]. I was expecting him to be up there, but I don’t know what happened. He had a bad race I’m guessing.”
Frickel said about the runners, “Francisco, unfortunately [had a bad race]. He’s run well all year. Emnet [Habebo], [in] the last couple races, she’s ran better than what she had. So everybody finished off on a pretty good note.”
Daniel Tapia, from Hartnell in Salinas, finished first overall in the 4-mile race with a time of 20:04. San Bernardino Valley took the men’s team title and BC did not place as a team due to having only two runners.
BC’s Emnet Habebo finished 136th overall in the women’s race and was the only BC woman to run at state.
“She had a good race at the end,” said Frickel.
“The one that had the greatest race was obviously Quintero. That was a huge improvement. The first time he ran there, he ran over 23 minutes … he stepped it up. He was pretty stoked about that.”
Glendale’s Nina Moore was first overall in the women’s 5-kilometer with a time of 17:47 and helped Glendale take the women’s team title.
Quintero is preparing for track and field in the spring, but he said happily, “I want to rest for a week. I’m focused on the 1,500 meters and 800. I’m really focused on the 1,500. I want to break four minutes on that.”
The BC sophomore added, “Last year I didn’t run cross country. This year I did, so I have a better base.”
When asked what he sees himself as a cross-country or track and field runner, he replied, “I’d say both. I’m equal in both.”
Frickel added about Quintero’s efforts, “He’s pretty excited. I think he’s going to have a real good year. He’s starting understand that you can train at a higher level and compete at a higher level,” he said. “He was fifteen seconds between getting a medal at state championships. There was a small gap between him and an award.”