Sobrato graduate wins 800; set to walk on at UCLA
FOLSOM — The opportunity to win the 800 meters in the Golden West Invitational, his final meet as a Sobrato High School runner, was too much for Alan Rios to pass up.
He spent last week training to break under 50 seconds in the 400 meters on top of running his usual half mile Saturday at Folsom High School. Once he found out he was the top seed in the latter race, though, Rios put all his chips into the 800 meters.
The UCLA-bound SHS graduate couldn’t remember the last time he was favored to win a race.
“I’ve always been second or third or fourth going in, so it was going to be a different feeling knowing everyone’s gunning for me,” said Rios, who was coming off setting a South Valley prep record (1:53.57) June 4 at the CIF State Championships. “It was different, but I definitely liked it.”
Rios celebrated the occasion with a first-place finish and one more medal to wear with his SHS uniform. Rios wedged himself into the middle of the pack for the first lap, then moved outside with 300 meters left and through the final 100 to triumph in 1:55.99.
Though the meet lacked its usual strength in the 800 — there were only three state qualifiers — Rios still had to deal with 96-degree weather and headwind of up to 20 mph. His legs felt heavy from last week’s 400 training as well.
“It was a very hard race for a lot of reasons, so it felt great to win it,” Rios said. “It took a lot of strategy. No one was willing to take the lead with all that wind after the first lap. We knew it was going to be a horse race in the end.”
Rios has “battle scar” on his thigh to show for it; he caught another runner’s cleat as he moved away from the pack. Unfazed, Rios moved behind the lead runner with about 120 meters before pulling ahead for good down the stretch.
Angelo’s Kieren Broussard, who ran in Rios’ heat at state, crossed second in 1:56.26, and Michael Reher of St. Ignatius followed in third (1:56.81).
Rios, his prep career officially in the books, will continue training in the 400 and 800 during summer. He plans to wear a UCLA singlet for his next race. Rios has been in contact with UCLA middle distance coach Johnny Gray, a three-time Olympic medalist in the half mile, and has been told he will have a chance to prove himself at the next level.
Rios introduced himself to Gray at state.
“I told him I went 1:53,” Rios recalled. “He said, ‘We’ll get you down to 1:49.'”
