Ten kilometers.
That’s all that stands between Chris Enriquez and Long Beach State history.
Of course, it could be argued that Enriquez has already made LBSU history. The junior will become the first 49er in 25 years to compete in the NCAA cross country championships when he runs with the best in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday.
Enriquez finished 10th out of 187 runners at the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento last weekend to qualify for the championships. His time of 29:55 ranks at the seventh-best in school history for a 10k race.
Before Enriquez was running his way into LBSU record books, he was at Queen’s College in Charlotte, NC. Before then, he was at nearby Downey High School.
“In high school I never made it to a state meet,” Enriquez said. “I was a good runner, but I was never clutch at the end, and I never had that last spurt in order to make it to these big meets. I’ve matured as both a person and as a runner, and I feel that now I wanted it more, and my desire to make it to this final competition was there.”
Enriquez, who said he didn’t see himself as a successful distance runner until middle school, didn’t have an easy path to the NCAA championships.
He faced the adversity of an injury during his freshman year at Queens College and had to deal with more when the coach who helped him transfer to LBSU left. Fortunately for Enriquez, things still worked out under current LBSU cross country coach Patrick Wales-Dinan.
“He is a highly-motivated, driven guy, and he’s not afraid to believe in himself,” Wales-Dinan said. “He believes that he can compete with the best around, and he doesn’t put limits on himself.”
In a year when the 49ers have introduced seven freshmen, Enriquez has been especially valuable to the rebuilding process, Wales-Dinan said.
“He is the ultimate motivator, and he leads by example,” he said. “We have a lot of freshmen on our team, and he has definitely taken them under his wing and is teaching them what it takes to be an elite athlete.”
Wales-Dinan said he believes that having Enriquez compete in the NCAA championships will help the program for the future.
“It is an important first step toward building something bigger,” Wales-Dinan said. “Chris [Enriquez]’s performance just helps to show the guys around him that train with him everyday that it is possible to qualify a team [for the NCAA Championships] every year.”
Enriquez said that he ran an average of 85 to 90 miles per week with the rest of the LBSU men’s cross country team during the season. That preparation has helped him excel in the late-season meets and get him ready for the NCAA championships this weekend.
The NCAA men’s and women’s cross country championships will be held at the LaVerne Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute on Saturday. Enriquez and the rest of the male runners will hit the track at 9 a.m.