Schultz eclipses 2010 meet record with 4-mile effort of 19:16.1, Brown prevails in 3-mile competition in 18:14.5, with Mt. SAC sweeping both team titles

By Landon Negri for DyeStat

WALNUT – Christian Schultz doesn’t speak like someone who likes, or even craves, attention. But his performances speak otherwise.

Schultz followed up a big win Sept. 23 in the SoCal Preview meet with an even more eye-popping run Friday morning in the Community College Division of the 74th Mt. San Antonio College Invitational.

The unassuming 24-year old obliterated the 4-mile course record and won the men’s race by more than two minutes by clocking 19 minutes, 16.1 seconds.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

Mt. SAC swept the other top spots, with sophomore Hannah Brown winning the women’s 3-mile race in 18:14.5. The men and women claimed team victories for the host Mounties.

Schultz bolted to an immediate lead, and after a mile and a half was already ahead by 30 seconds. He continued building on that with a lead so large that by the time he was at the bottom of the second switchbacks, the top remaining runners were still making their way up.

His time bested the previous 4-mile course record of 19:52 set by El Camino College’s David Cardona in 2010.

“I don't have much of a kick, or too much 800-meter speed,” Schultz said, “so I just wanted to go at a sustainable pace for myself. I knew that just meant going out and maintaining as strong of a run as I could. 

“I’m pretty good with pacing,” he added later. “I’m nervous most of the time, and I always feel like I’m just going to crash at the end or something, and everyone’s going to outkick me. But I just tried my best.”

Schultz is originally from Ridgecrest and ran for Burroughs High School, though not at the elite level he’s at now. He has helped Cerro Coso re-establish a program this year “just for fun,” and says he’s just a guy who has been training hard on his own for several years.

“It’s pretty lonesome out in the desert,” he said.

But he’s certainly gaining notice, even in larger population centers.

Schultz won the San Diego Holiday Half Marathon in December in 1:03:21.66. At the SoCal Preview Meet at Kern County Soccer Park, near Bakersfield, he outdueled Mt. SAC’s Jesse Alvarado to win in 19:27.2.

And then Friday.

“I’ve been training a lot the last two years,” Schultz said, relying on a lot of trail running.

“I know I’m in pretty good shape, but I’m not familiar with the times, and I haven’t run in cross country in years.”

As Schultz ran away Friday, the race behind him was more competitive. 

The trailing pack spread out after the first run up the switchbacks, yet came back together before the second time ascending. And Chaffey College sophomore Andrew Tafolla was the biggest benefactor, surging in the final mile to finish second in 21:20.2. Glendale Community College freshman Nicolas Diconti was third in 21:21.8.

Then came the Mt. SAC pack that won the team title.

Freshmen Austin Ledgerwood and Andres Chavez were fourth (21:22.2) and fifth (21:26.2), respectively. Sophomore Elijah Ocegueda, the 2021 winner, was sixth in 21:30.6, and sophomore Jalen Griego was seventh in 21:31.1.

Mt. SAC, which also got a 10th-place finish from freshman Jonathan Aguilar in 21:48.8, eased to the win with 27 points. Glendale was second with 53, and Cuyamaca, from Spring Valley – near San Diego – was third with 94 points.

“I was feeling a little bit fatigued before the race, so I knew I had to especially be conservative going on the uphills and the flats,” DiConti said. “I knew with this Mt. SAC course, this is the first time I’ve ever raced here, I’m a freshman, I knew that that second switchbacks was really tough, so I was kind of saving myself for that. And so that second Valley loop and then that switchbacks is really where I hammered in. And it's all about downhill running.”

Glendale’s Nos. 2 and 3 scorers followed the four Mounties runners, with sophomore Jorge Ramirez placing eighth in 21:31.8, and sophomore Abdiel Quero finishing ninth in 21:45.0.

Cuyamaca’s lead runners, sophomores Nate Cruz and Jose Arredondo, were 11th (21:51.4) and 12th (21:53.9).

Brown and El Camino’s Sequoia Gonzales had gone second and fifth, respectively, at the SoCal Preview meet. But Friday saw a 1-2 finish, with Brown pulling away in the final mile to win on the 3-mile course in 18:14.5.

“I wanted to keep a steady pace throughout the whole race,” Brown said, “and then, after Poop-out (Hill), I kind of surged ahead a little bit and took the next hill with the same kind of effort, and then went on the downhill pretty hard to the finish.”

Gonzales did her best to keep up but faded slightly after the 2-mile mark. She was the runner-up in 18:34.4.

Brown, sophomore Claudia Vera (sixth, 19:06.3) and freshman Cassandra Apahidean (seventh, 19:07.8) paced the Mounties’ victory with 53 points.

“You could tell at the end of the race, they were just putting all of their effort in,” Brown said.

Gonzales and fellow freshman Ami Jacobson (fifth, 19:06.1) led El Camino to a third-place finish with 113 points. Glendale, led by freshman Destiny Lopez (eighth, 19:08.3), was the second-place team with 81 points.

Chaffey sophomore Brianna King finished third individually in 1845.5, giving her two top-10 finishes at Mt. SAC, where she was seventh a year ago. College of the Canyons freshman Milca Osorio was fourth in 18:56.4.

Long Beach sophomore Ailene Rios was ninth in 19:14.4, while sophomore Marisol Munoz of Oxnard was 10th in 19:32.0.