CLOVIS, Calif. — Ricardo Banuelos didn’t get much of a break this offseason before he competed in one of the biggest races of his career in Clovis, Calif.
The Allen Community College runner qualified in April for the USA Junior Championships in San Francisco. According to Red Devil coach Vince DeGrado, Banuelos wasn’t even sure he wanted to participate in the 10,000 meters in Clovis.
“I don’t think he realized how big of a deal this was until he was warming up and saw who else was in this race,” DeGrado said. “When he qualified for it, I was talking to him about training and he asked if I thought he should run. I was like, ‘It is a once-in-a-lifetime event.’ He will never be able to qualify for this again.”
His oblivion played to Banuelos’s advantage. He went into the meet loose and ready to compete.
“The experience was fun,” Banuelos said. “I didn’t feel any pressure at all so I was able to run fast.
“It was a big meet but there was something about it that just made me feel comfortable.”
Banuelos finished in 13th place in the 19-and-younger division. Banuelos said even though he would have liked to have done better, he is happy with the result.
“I was happy to prove that I can run well against people at the D-I level,” Banuelos said.
DeGrado said he also was happy to see his runner — who will compete as a sophomore at ACC come fall – perform so well.
“I told him that I don’t care if it’s Division-I, Division-II or whatever, at least you know it is 19 year olds you are competing against,” DeGrado said. Banuelos has had to face several runners several years his senior at the junior college level.
Thomas Pollard of Iowa State won the race with UCLA’s Colin Burke taking second. The field also featured competitors from the University of Illinois, Oklahoma State University and several other Division-I programs.
