Top performers from the MHS cross country team, led by junior Aziza Acosta and junior Arnav Agrawal, finished as the top 15 at the 2025 CIF High School State Cross Country Championship, according to MHS Athletics.
The athletes raced on Nov. 29, on a course and against competition that felt unlike anything they had faced all year, cross country co-coach Dillon Hu said. State qualification does not happen every season, so sending boys and girls to make this trip was especially meaningful to the program, Hu said. The main difference at states was the intensity of the race and the high level of competition compared with CCS (Central Coasts Section) and other meets, he added.
“Our athletes raced well, but the intensity of the race was something they were not super familiar with, and that experience is going to help them a lot for next year,” Hu said.
Freshman Joash Thomas felt ecstatic to be the first freshman in MHS history to qualify for states, and that was his motivation to work hard, he said.
“I remember that meet (Clovis Invitational) was really fun and I enjoyed the course, but in states, I ran at a faster pace and I really realized how much it sucked compared to other 5k courses,” Thomas said.
Timewise, Thomas had a 44 second improvement, he said. His time cut from 17:47, from his first run of the season, to 17:03 at states, he said.
The rolling, hilly layout and mixed surfaces of the course left him far more tired at the end of the state race than he expected, Thomas said. He did not realize how much the course would wear him down until the final 100 meters, when he was really tired compared to the Clovis Invitational, he said.
“I just try to run my hardest, and I wouldn’t care about my previous performances that much,” Thomas said. “I just focus on the me at hand, and I think that really helped me change this record.”
Preparation for the state meet started more than a month earlier, when the team traveled to Clovis to run the course at an invitational, Hu said.
“Physically, we were training very hard, and then the last week or so, we reduced the intensity and the volume of the training a little bit,” Hu said. “Overall, the level of preparation going into the race was just that we’re gonna treat it like any other race, but we’re gonna race harder than any other race.”
Summer training was one of the biggest reasons the team was able to reach such a high level by the time they got to states, Thomas said. The consistent off-season workouts helped everyone become faster and push their limits more than in the past years, he added.
“We came every day to train in the summer,” Thomas said.“We got a head start, and that really helped make everyone a lot faster,” he said.
Acosta’s training was also built on consistency throughout the season, she said. She attended six days of team practice that usually lasted about two and a half hours after school, she added.
“I run about 45 miles a week, and have been running that since the start of the season,” Acosta said. “I personally practice seven days a week, but we hold practice six days a week.”
As a whole, the season showed tremendous growth in both numbers and commitment, Hu said. The team’s overall roster is about 15 to 20 kids, larger than last year, and has a lot more girls than before, he said.
“We also have a really strong team culture, a lot of positivity,” Hu said. “We do a lot of team bonding, we do a lot of team activities. So overall, I think most people on the team — they’re just having a lot of fun.”
After training the entire off-season since June, the boys are the fastest team Milpitas has ever had, and the girls include some of the fastest runners in school history, Hu said.
“If you work hard, you will improve and you will run faster than you ever thought you could before,” Hu said.
