Aguirre 45th at state meet

Uriel Aguirre placed 45th among Division I boys in the CIF state cross-country meet November 29 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

The Fallbrook High School senior had a time of 15:55 on the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) course.

“We were really pleased,” said Fallbrook coach Marco Arias. “He finished up his cross-country career running a personal best.”

Fallbrook had qualified for the state meet as a team in 2006. Aguirre, then a sophomore, ran the course in 17:05.

At this year’s CIF San Diego Section meet November 22, Aguirre completed Morley Field’s 5,000-meter course in 16:27 to place fourth among Division I runners.

“He gave it all he had, so there were no regrets,” Arias said of Aguirre’s performance at the 2008 state meet. “You’d always like to finish higher, but 15:55 was incredible for him.”

Prior to the race Arias and Aguirre had set a goal to finish under 16 minutes. “We were both pleased with what he did as far as time,” Arias said. “We were just happy the way he raced.”

Aguirre had a time of 4:35 after the first mile. “That’s exactly what he wanted to be,” Arias said. “The second mile, he still looked strong.”

Aguirre was the only representative of Fallbrook’s boys team to compete in the state finals. Noelle Garcia represented Fallbrook’s girls at Woodward Park.

Arias noted that both Aguirre and Garcia worked during the summer to improve their racing skills.

“I’m glad that there efforts were rewarded,” Arias said. “They worked all summer long to get to this point.”

Aguirre is leaning toward competing in cross-country’s Foot Locker regionals. He also plans to run for Fallbrook High School’s track team.

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