Santa Barbara High’s Nico Tassos crossed the finish line first in the Div. 2 race of the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational on Saturday to lead a strong Dons performance.
Tassos ended the three-mile race with a time of 16:03, pacing his team on its way to a ninth-place finish.
“It was a really well-executed race,” Santa Barbara coach Olivia Perdices said. “He came through the mile in third, and when he pushed up the Switchbacks after the mile mark, nobody had a response. That’s a long time to run at the front. He stayed composed and owned it.”
The rest of the Dons’ boys team was powered by course bests from William Covington (15th), Asa Gonzalez (40th), Jack Shapiro (92nd) and Ethan Walp (93rd).
“All of those guys moved up in the second and third mile,” Perdices said. “I love how they managed the course and were able to finish aggressively.”
The girls team placed sixth as a group thanks in part to 11th and 13th-place finishes by Madeleine Van Bebber and Itzel Rayos Jimenez, respectively.
Tallulah Downs (37th), Ariadna Aguilera (42nd) and Belen Catalan Jaimes (57th) rounded out the Santa Barbara High racers.
“The girls finished well against some quality teams,” Perdices said. “Itzel and Maddy ran with a lot of confidence today. That was fun to watch. Things are coming together for them at the right time.
“Both squads have been great about trusting the work they and their teammates are doing all season long. We’re looking forward to continuing to improve through the Channel League Finals and into the postseason.”