Former Madera South cross country standout Eduardo “Lalo” Herrera placed second at the Florida State Winter Classic to lead the Colorado Buffaloes to a third place team finish.
The Buffaloes, who are ranked 13th in the country, actually tied for second with sixth-ranked Iowa State, but lost in the tiebreaker. Fellow Pac-12 opponent Stanford, ranked 12th in the nation, won the team race Feb.5.
The day belonged to Herrera, who had one of the best cross country races of his life for his second-place finish, according to Linda Sprouse of the Univeristy of Colorado athletics department.
He moved to the front of the pack from the start and continued his way up until he was in third overall, which is where he would stay until he made a move between the 5k and 6k splits, pushing him into second.
From there, he would continue to push, maintaining his position for the outstanding finish. He finished a full 13 seconds ahead of FSU’s Adriaan Wildschutt. ISU’s Wesley Kiptoo won the race in 22:48.8.
“He’s had a wonderful last six months,” head coach Mark Wetmore said. “He worked so hard this summer when everything was shut down and he was home alone; he had the best summer of his life. He is a completely different runner than a year ago.”
Daniel Ruiz (Madera) wrestled in his first match for Loras College based in Iowa. He lost his 157 pound match on Jan. 10, 4-0 against Nebraska-Kearney.
Colleges across the nation are getting started and many Madera athletes open their athletic campaign this weekend. Check next week’s Madera Tribune Sports section for their updates.