The Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District (SCV35) is proud to announce Rio Rico High School senior Roshan Tinoco-Miranda won the Division III Boys individual state title at the AZ AIA state final at Crossroads Park, November 13th, in Gilbert, Arizona.
Roshan’s time of 15:32:32 was faster than Division I athletes who competed earlier in the day. This was Roshan’s second consecutive cross country state title, and the 16th individual state title for the Rio Rico High School cross country program.
Although COVID may have slowed Roshan’s team training, it certainly did not slow his determination to race. One day after winning the state title in Gilbert, Roshan, former head coach Stephen Schadler, and current head coach Jolanne Palumbo flew to Terre Haute, Indiana to compete in the XC Town USA Meet of Champions, held November 15th.
Roshan came in 26th among 161 champion runners from 
across the nation at his second major race in three days. Despite a canceled spring training season, he managed to set a personal record during the second mile of his three mile race, “something that doesn’t typically happen,” says former head coach and mentor, SCV35 Assistant Superintendent. “The pandemic really was make or break for Roshan in terms of his willingness to up his game and take control of his own destiny. Large amounts of training was required to be done "on your own" and without fail, he got it done. This means waking up at 5:30 am all summer long...by himself. Completing his long runs on weekends...by himself” explained Schadler.
Although he intends to continue running next year, Roshan has not chosen a school yet. “He is still exploring his post-secondary options but I know that wherever he lands, he still has plenty of room to grow,” Schadler said.
Race Photos courtesy of Arizona Skies Photography