Cross Country runners Vincent Sarino and Mauro Rosales enter their senior year at the front of the pack. The co-captains have consistently paced the Friars with strong times, but they are more concerned with keeping their teammates on track than passing personal records.
The seniors’ friendship has fostered a partnership built for team success. On the same page, always pushing each other, Rosales and Sarino are leaders poised to help the Friars run at their best.
The runners’ friendship goes back to freshman year when Rosales tried out for track. In his first practice, he was already catching up with the varsity runners. His fast start caught Sarino’s attention and they quickly became friends.
From then on, the two became competitive at practice, challenged each other, and worked hard to top each other’s personal records.
“I kind of consider myself Vince’s shadow,” joked Rosales. “And I’m totally fine with that because he always pushes me either way. We’re always helping each other out in runs and races.”
Rosales and Sarino’s first championship came during their sophomore year when Cross Country won Trinity League. The more they raced together, the more they realized just how much they build off each other.
“We like to call each other the dynamic duo,” Sarino said. “I notice that when we race individually we don’t always have our best race, but for some reason whenever we race together we always find a way to pull through and go to that next level.”
“It’s like an extra gear together,” added Rosales.
Both seniors were key members of Track’s first CIF championship team in the spring and will look to chase after another team championship with Cross Country this fall.
When it comes to leadership, the duo has grown a lot since competing amongst top runners freshman year. Like they do for each other, Rosales and Sarino pick up their teammates when they’re down and encourage them to keep going.
“Vince has become a leader by both word and deed. He is out front at every practice and the team sees that. Then he encourages his teammates to give everything they can, very supportive. Mauro leads primarily by action, they see him give a great effort at practice. No matter how tough the workout he remains the happy warrior,” shared Gibbs.
Rosales and Sarino’s team-first mentality has fueled Cross Country’s strong team chemistry.
To stay together outside practice, the team has a group chat for extra training, discussion of what they want to accomplish, and encouragement.
One team highlight is the annual bonding and training trip to Mammoth. Starting last summer, the runners have enjoyed living in a house together while practicing altitude training. The combination of difficult runs while having fun help the team become more of a family, making the Mammoth trip a favorite memory of Rosales.
While the duo recognizes the team does not have a “superstar” or someone who is posting a college level time, they do not let that phase them. Instead, they see their position as motivation to develop runners in the back of the pack. The seniors hold their team to the same high standard, running as close to the same pace as possible.
“We stress running together,” Sarino said. “We want to beat teams with all seven guys, not just one guy.”
Over their Servite career, Rosales and Sarino have always had a positive influence to push them in the direction of their goals in Coach Richard Gibbs.
“Coach Gibbs to me is like a father figure,” Sarino said. “He wants us to be successful people in life in general. He wants to make sure we eat right, do our homework on time, sleep on time; he’s like a parent.”
Gibbs empowers his runners to be at their best when it comes to preparation for practices and races. He reminds them to never stop competing, even if they are the underdogs and their chances are slim. Most of all, Gibbs looks out for his runners’ whole well-being.
“Coach Gibbs is definitely the core of the team,” Rosales said. “He cares more about our character than how fast we run.”
Hoping to go out with a bang, Rosales and Sarino have their sights set on not only one more Trinity League Title but a shot at State. That goal has been a topic of great discussion for the team as they would love to bring their coach a title before retirement.
“If we are the last team with Coach Gibbs, I hope that it’s special and it’s a story that you can bring up to motivate others,” Rosales said.
Yet whatever happens this fall, the seniors are focused on building a great team first. Similar to Coach Gibb’s approach, Rosales and Sarino aim to leave a legacy of character before titles.
No matter their accomplishments, the dynamic duo hopes to be remembered for writing a story of impacting teammates and inspiring others to be great. With this kind of mindset, championship results are bound to follow.
“I want to inspire the younger guys to be good leaders, that’s the most important thing to me,” Sarino said.” Doing everything the right way, focusing on the little things, but also looking at the bigger picture as well: what they’re running for. They’re running for something that’s bigger than just them.”
