It was a no-brainer who the Gatorade Nevada State Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year would be.
Since Galena High's Bryan Tibaduiza was the most dominant runner in the state last fall in boys cross country, he was the obvious choice for the award. For the first time, Gatorade has honored the top high school boys and girls cross country runners across the nation and Tibaduiza won the 2007-2008 award for Nevada. The award is based on athletic and academic achievement and character.
Tibaduiza won the Northern 4A Championships last year at Rancho San Rafael Park, covering the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, 38.71 seconds. He came back the next week on the same course and was even better at the NIAA 4A State Championships, shattering the course record of 16:30 to win the event in 16:22.
Both efforts, especially the one at state, were impressive since the conditions at the time were warmer than usual and windy, not the best conditions for cross country.
"I felt really good about breaking the record at state," Tibaduiza said. "I think it was really a surprise."
Tibaduiza's fastest time on a 3.1 mile course was 15:34, which came at the Stanford Invitational. After the state high school season, Tibaduiza and the Grizzlies weren't done, yet.
Galena's boys dominated in winning the state title as well. Tibaduiza and the Grizzlies then went on to post a strong showing at the Nike Regionals in Tempe, Ariz., which featured the top programs from across the Southwest.
Tibaduiza finished fourth in the event and the Grizzlies took third as a team. The top two teams advanced to the nationals and Galena just missed being selected to the nationals as an at-large participant. "We really ran well at that meet," Tibaduiza said.
As far as winning state as a team, Tibaduiza said, "It was pretty much expected. It was really exciting to know how goo we were this year."
Tibaduiza is also the defending NIAA 4A State Champion in the 3,200 meters and has a best time of 9:25. He plans on competing in several indoor meets before the high school season and is confident he'll reach the qualifying mark of 9:20, which is what it will take to qualify for the Nike Nationals. "I'm sure I can," he said.
Only a junior, Tibaduiza is beginning to receive letters from four-year schools and he said he wants to continue to run cross country and track in college.
"It felt really good to know that all the hard work has paid off," said Tibaduiza about winning the Gatorade award.