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Seconds after finishing fourth despite having been mere inches away from the leader in the State Championship men’s 1,500-meter final at Antelope Valley College on May 22, Lancer freshman Richard Zarazua stepped off the track and walked towards the awards podium. Zarazua stepped onto it and constantly kept looking up at the first-place winner, giving him a “that-could-have-been-me” stare.

After the ceremony, the 5-foot-8 Zarazua removed some of his long hair off his face and glanced down at his medal with a smile as a spectator yelled out “great job, Richard.” It was then Zarazua realized that, with his fight, he had put the PCC distance team on the map.

“No one found us as a threat before, and now they do,” Zarazua said. “Making it to State makes me want to work harder for next year and help the distance team improve.”

Third-year head coach Armand Crespo was impressed with how Zarazua approached his race.

“(Zarazua) ran the race live and he put himself in a position to win,” Crespo said. “He believed that he could win that race and that’s what it takes to be a winner. It was an amazing year for Richard…coming from where we’ve been; we haven’t been strong in distance in a long time. Now it’s coming back, and when you have leaders for next season like Richard, you can’t go wrong.”

The 19-year-old’s road to State finals wasn’t an easy journey.

Zarazua missed the entire 2009 season because of injuries. The freshman found out he wouldn’t be able to race just three days before the first meet. However, as he watched his teammates compete, Zarazua kept telling himself that he would make up for the lost year by working hard once he got back to full strenth.

“It hurt me inside because I knew I could have been there,” Zarazua said about the 2009 season. “I kept reminding myself that I’m just as good as any runner out there, when I’m healthy.”

Last summer Zarazua got up at 6 a.m. every day to run on his own before going to practice at 7:30 a.m. Some days he even ran twice a day and didn’t run less than 75 miles per week. Zarazua’s work ethic began to rub off on his teammates.

“Every time I got to practice in the summer, Richard was already sweating from his pre-workout run,” said Tracee van der Wyk, who raced in the women’s 1,500 and 800 meters at State. “By Richard giving it his all in practice makes me feel like I can do it too. Watching him and seeing how fast he is, pushes the entire team.”

Crespo has found it to be a pleasure coaching Zarazua

“It’s been a dream to coach Richard…he’s a good athlete. He’s easy to coach because he listens and wants to win. He’s not afraid, he’s willing to work hard. Richard leads by example and is a supportive person. He supports his teammates and cares about them. He likes to see them improve.”

“I’m really not a vocal leader, I just want to help my teammates become better runners and improve their personal record times,” Zarazua said. “I make sure I give it my all…It’s dedication and will to win.”

Someone who noticed Zarazua’s passion for winning is his younger brother Esteven Zarazua, currently a senior at John Muir High School who will join the Lancers next season.

“Richard helped me become a better runner…he made me want to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone, which lead to me raising my fitness level,” said Esteven Zarazua, who plans to run the 1,500-meters at PCC.

With the help of his brother and the rest of his teammates, Richard Zarazua plans to win an individual state title and a team championship for the Lancers in 2011.

Richard Zarazua leads the pack during the 1500-meter run at Hilmer Lodge Stadium at Mt. SAC during the South Coast Conference preliminaries. Zarazua’s work ethic helped the team place four runners at State. (Steven Valdez)

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