WALNUT, Calif. – Winning one prestigious boys sweepstakes race at the Mt. SAC Invitational is remarkable.
Winning two puts you in elite company.
That was the scenario Saturday for Concord De La Salle senior Trey Caldwell, who accomplished the feat at the 76th Mt. SAC Invitational Presented by Nike when he won the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes race.
Caldwell, a Colorado commit, won in 14 minutes, 46 seconds to produce the fastest time on the revised 3-mile Mt. SAC circuit, beating runner-up Mason Nguyen of Beckman (15:03).
The course was revised this year from the old 2.93-mile layout, taking out Poop-Out Hill, but extending the finish with the final 300 meters being showcased on the track inside Hilmer Lodge Stadium.
A year ago, Caldwell won the Division 1-2 individual sweepstakes race in 14:49.
The last boys athlete to win consecutive Division 1-2 sweepstakes titles at Mt. SAC was Kevin Ramos Leyva of Rubidoux High in California, who secured victories in the individual sweepstakes races in 2017-18.
Ramos Leyva happened to be in attendance Saturday and shared his respect for the dominant performance showcased by Caldwell.
“That’s good company,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell anticipated Saturday’s race would be a tight one.
“I was preparing for it to be more of a dogfight without Poop-Out taking people out before we got to the finish,” Caldwell said. “But I was able to trust my training and know I was super strong. I’ve put in a lot of mileage, a lot of good workouts to put the hurt on everyone else. To be able to know that by the time we get to the track, the race is mine.”
Trey Caldwell of Concord De La Salle | Photo courtesy of Ken Martinez
At the mile mark, Caldwell was in a virtual dead heat with Nguyen (six seconds ahead of third place), but had moved to a four-second lead over Nguyen (and 15 seconds ahead of third place) at the 2-mile split.
“I was doing what I think (Long Beach Millikan’s) Jason Parra’s goal was last year,” Caldwell said. “Make sure, that as early as possible, that either there’s no one in the race or only a handful and I think I was able to do that. By the time we got to the mile, I felt there was only one guy with me.”
That one guy, Nguyen, said he learned something from Saturday’s race.
“Showing how fast I went out, all those hills, and seeing how much energy I had for that (final) 300, showed I can maybe push it more at the end and maybe I have a lot of things to work on,” Nguyen said.
Mason Nguyen of Beckman | Photo courtesy of Ken Martinez
Nguyen, a junior, didn’t win the individual title, but led Beckman to the team title with 103 points, beating out Glendora (131) and Mira Costa (141).
Ryan Barris placed seventh in 15:22, Nathan Horrocks captured 12th in 15:30, Jude Tenorio took 33rd in 15:56 and Anthony Barrera clocked 16:11 to finish 49th for the Patriots, who won the Division 1-2 team sweepstakes crown for the first time in program history at Mt. SAC.
“It’s an amazing experience for me and my team,” Nguyen said. “After our win at Clovis (Invitational) we try not to get ahead of ourselves too much. We focus on what we can do, try to take it step by step and trust our training.”
The winner of the Division 1-2 individual sweepstakes race was senior Issaiah McCorvey of Lancaster (15:08), who didn’t take the lead for good from senior Camden Luecht of Rancho Bernardo (runner-up, 15:20) until the final mile.
Issaiah McCorvey of Lancaster | Photo courtesy of Ken Martinez
“It was definitely a lot of patience, trying to stay relaxed through the first two miles,” McCorvey said.
Luecht added a runner-up finish at Mt. SAC to his second-place effort Sept. 21 in the Division 1 invite race at the 44th Mt. Carmel/ASICS Invitational at Balboa Park’s Morley Field in San Diego.
“I knew I have a little more strength than speed. I wanted to use that (strength) on the uphill and really separate that second mile. After we got down the switchbacks,” Luecht said. “I knew it was going to be between three people at most. I didn’t want it to be a close race once it came down to the last mile. Issaiah caught me in the second mile. …I caught him right before the gauntlet (in the final half mile). Once we got into the gauntlet and I passed him, he had another gear and I was a little out of energy at that point.”
Other boys varsity winners from Saturday’s races were: Rancho Cucamonga’s Nolan Koopman (Division 1-2 blue, 15:49), Hemet’s Owen Teague (Division 1 blue, 15:49), Lakewood’s Gabriel Rojas (Division 1 red, 16:09), Alisal’s Gustavo Perez (Division 1 blue, 15:52), Paso Robles’ Brian Arndt (Division 2 blue, 15:42), Santa Barbara’s Nicholas Tassos (Division 2 red, 16:03) and California High’s Zaylen Barragan (Division 2 blue, 16:00).