Records are meant to be broken.
For Saugus junior cross-country runner Adrian Cantu, that’s exactly what he was planning to do at the California Interscholastic Federation state championship at Fresno in late November.
With a total time of 14:54.1 in the Division 2 race, Cantu placed fifth in the category and broke the Saugus High School 5,000-meter time record.
“The night before, I was looking at the standings of records, and I was like, ‘I can achieve this,’ going into the CIF finals,” Cantu said in an interview with The Signal. “I was just so happy I finally achieved my goal that I wanted to get. It was a great moment, especially with my coaches and family being all around me and teammates supporting me.”
If breaking the school record wasn’t enough for Cantu, the junior also set the fastest time ever by a Santa Clarita Valley high school runner in the state championship, breaking the mark set by Dave Hartman of Canyon High School, who recorded a 15:04.0 in 1990.
“Just thinking about that, I reflect back to my freshman year. It’s unbelievable, like it’s really mind-blowing,” he said. “But, you know, I can’t do this without my coaches obviously getting me the training and getting me to this point along with my family and supporters.”
With all the times combined across all five divisions in this season’s state championship, Cantu placed eighth overall out of the 1,031 boys who ran and was 10.9 seconds off the leader.
Cantu credits the success in the state championship to the standard that is Saugus cross-country, a program that has produced that fastest runners to have etched their name into the quickest times in the state championship such as Brian Zabilski and AJ (Anthony) Yarnall.
“Obviously, we always want to get to state, but there’s always, obviously, a little joy in getting to the finals, getting to each stage and passing through each stage knowing our fitness is there,” Cantu said.
In the Foothill League prelims held in September, Cantu took first place and secured a top five placement at the finals in fourth place and took that momentum into the CIF prelims.
In the CIF prelims, held in Mt. San Antonio College during the torrential downfall Southern California suffered in early November, Cantu said race was memorable as he knew a spot at state was a guarantee because of the commitment and willingness from the team.
“The prelims were crazy, it was raining hard, but we knew as a team we could stick together,” he said. “I think the first mile, the top five guys were in the top 10 as the team. So right there. It was just great. And I knew from prelims from finals we were fit enough to do good and qualify for state and finals. We all just tried our hardest, and we did well.”
Cantu placed second in the Division 2 fourth heat race with a total time of 15:11.5, seven seconds off the leader, and led all Centurions in the race.
With a trip to the state championship clinched, all that Cantu was hoping for was an improvement over his 2024 times.
In last year’s state championship, Cantu competed as a sophomore in the Division 2 race and ran a total time of 15:45.50.
Between both times from this season and let year’s, Cantu improved by 51 seconds at the course in Woodward Park and etched his name as one of the fastest runners in the SCV’s history as a junior.
“It’s amazing,” Cantu said. “It’s a really great moment to have. And obviously there’s many more records to break, like for track season, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Cantu added that all his achievements are only achievable because of the support he’s received year-around, especially from his three brothers, Andrew, Aaron and Alexander, who give him the best advice about the adversity he could face when out on the course.
“My coaches are definitely up there telling me what to do in the workouts, but truly from the bottom of my heart, my brothers,” he said. “My family, my parents, buffer it up and tell me to have fun. But my brothers really gave me a real talk. You know, you got to do this and that and got. They lock me in and give me directions to go.”
Cantu’s brothers all have cross-country experience, and Aaron is a student-athlete with the UCLA Bruins currently competing in his junior season out of Newbury Park High School.
“The support that he has is unbelievable,” said Rudy Herrea, Cantu’s college planner and family friend. “His three brothers are all runners, and they show up at these events whether they are at up at Fresno or all the way down to Pomona … they’re there supporting them.”
“I’m very proud of his achievements, and his brothers are very proud of what he has done,” said Jazz Cantu, Adrian’s father. “He gets all the knowledge and support from his brothers. Obviously, there’s a little rivalry and he says, ‘I’m going to break all of your records,’ and which he already smashed them all. But that’s brotherly love that you have with the sharing of knowledge that they experience.”
With Cantu’s junior cross-country season all wrapped up, Cantu will be enjoying the downtime until the track and field season picksup in the spring.
But despite the layover, Cantu still has big goals, record-breaking ones that can catch the eyes of Division 1 colleges as he looks to finish his junior year strong.
“This was a great season to go off,” Cantu said. “Past seasons I’ve been OK, but I’ve always told myself I can do better, and this year really showed that I can do better, and it’s just been great. I’m looking forward to next season and the years ahead.”
