The Rosemead XC Invitational is a fantastic night meet where runners drop great 3-mile marks to start the season, and it's usually used as an excellent warm-up for the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. In 2025, it served all of those purposes and propelled several runners to significant improvements.
A highlight improver from last weekend is Regina De Niz Ruiz, who ran 18:50 to finish seventh in the sophomore girls' race. Last year, she ran 20:30 in the freshman race, which represents a total improvement of 1 minute and 13 seconds. The Whittier sophomore is off to an impressive start to the season and will surely be looking to ride this momentum.
The most significant improver of the meet was Melissa Rodriguez from Fontana, who also benefited from the sophomore boost like a lot of runners. Rodriguez went from running 40:15 as a 9th grader to finishing in 31:36 as a 10th grader. That's a steady progression that any coach would applaud.
Check out the top improvers from the 2025 Mountie Xp...