From CHS runners to Junior Olympians: CHS students race for the silver

COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy

From left to right, Paul Ross, Henry Falotico and Colin Domonoske with their silver medals from last month’s USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Lawrence, Kansas.

From CHS runners to Junior Olympians: CHS students race for the silver

When Claremont High School freshmen Henry Falotico, Colin Domonoske and Paul Ross first started competing for the CHS cross-country squad last fall, neither of the 3 athletes foresaw themselves racing on a national stage just 3 months later.

Yet on December 8, 2007, the freshmen laid aside their high school underclassmen status and embraced national notoriety as the 3 helped the Southern California Roadrunners track team attain silver place medals at the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Lawrence, Kansas.

The total distance for the race was nearly 2.5 miles and contained 285 total runners. Though Lukas Verzbicas of Illinois was the first overall individual finisher at 13:16.04, it was the Equalizers “A” squad that ranked first in the team standings with a 1:10:11.82 time. The Roadrunners—containing the 3 CHS athletes—finished second overall at 1:11:16.90.

“It was an experience—something to remember,” Colin said. “The weather was really cold—around 22 degrees with strong winds and icy conditions. It felt odd to be in conditions that were that cold because here in California, we’re used to more hot conditions.”

The frigid temperatures in Lawrence didn’t stop the 3 CHS athletes from putting on a solid effort in the championships, with Paul’s 14:10.71 time for 32nd place making him the second runner for the Roadrunner’s Team A squad to cross the finish line. Henry placed 35th with a time of 14:13.42 and Colin’s 14:25.59 mark earned him 57th place.

In order to compete at the championships, the 3 CHS freshmen qualified in two races held in November in Walnut and San Diego. What is even more significant about the CHS athletes’ participation is that coming into last fall, the 3 had not participated in cross-country competitively.

“We were kind of asked if we wanted to run with them [Roadrunners] to be in the Junior Olympics,” Paul said. “I had no experience running competitive cross-country before this year. I initially started running as conditioning for soccer but I fell in love with running itself.” (story continues below)

Photo special to the COURIER

From left to right Paul Ross, Colin Domonoske and Henry Falotico run side-by-side in the recent Dana Hills Invitational. Last month, the three Claremont High School freshmen competed at the national level in Kansas.

One of the aspects that made the experience fun for the Claremont runners was that they had the opportunity to run against competitors from their own age group located throughout the country. Even with the event having national implications, Henry made sure that the event was an enjoyable one.

“We went in with a relaxed attitude and it was really fun,” the 14-year-old said. “Going into the race, I really didn’t know what to expect. Yet it was cool to participate in a race where I wasn’t racing against older kids or I wasn’t the shortest kid.”

This past cross-country season featured the rise of freshman runners at CHS, some of whom were not only on the varsity squad but also were the top runners on the varsity team. Henry and Paul were the most successful varsity boys trotters for the Wolfpack in the league finals, finishing in 13th and 17th place respectively.

The efforts of Henry, Paul and Colin throughout the season also landed the 3 on the All-Time Top Times at Mt. SAC list that contains 50 of the best times at the venue. Freshman teammates Alfredo Metoyer and Keenan Gilson also had solid seasons and tried out for the Junior Olympics as well, indicating that CHS will have a strong varsity presence over the next few years.

“I joined cross-country thinking it would be fun but I didn’t know it would be this good,” Henry pointed out. “It was a surprise because our freshman group ended up having the top times ever for freshmen at CHS.”

Next up for the Claremont Junior Olympic trio is track season, which will begin in the spring. In the meantime, Henry, Colin and Paul will continue to look back on their championship experience with fondness while anticipating what lies ahead.

“It felt like a great accomplishment and that all of our hard work paid off,” Colin reflected.

Paul agrees.

“I thought that we would have done pretty well in general but to win silver medals was a big surprise that was really cool,” he said. “Think about it. We were the second best team in the nation—wow.”

—Landus Rigsby