Heart and hustle: Sunnyside runners fuel each other's cross country success

For the past few years, Roxann Valenzuela and Asaph Gurrola-Burgueno have done just about everything together.

The Sunnyside High School seniors take similar classes, spend their free time together and participate in the same extracurricular activities.

They even compete in the same sport: cross country.

But you’ll never hear them complain about spending so much time together. The classmates, friends and high school sweethearts use every moment to motivate each other to be the best they can be, in all aspects of life.

“Whenever we go on runs outside of our normal practices, he always tries to push me (to be better),” Valenzuela said. “If I’m feeling like I can’t do it, he always pushes me, which is great, because I definitely need it. Or some days, I’ll push him, if he’s feeling down or something, I try to help him.”

With their final high school cross country season just beginning, the two are ready to face whatever the season brings — together.

The duo’s dedication to the sport and to each other was evident during the Distance Devils’ second run of the season last week against Desert View, Nogales, Andrada Polytechnic and Walden Grove high schools.

Gurrola-Burgueno started strong when the race kicked off at 4:30 p.m., maintaining a second-place spot for a majority of the 5,000-meter race at Thomas Jay Regional Park.

But then, toward the end of the race, Gurrola-Burgueno seemingly disappeared.

“Where’s Asaph?” the rest of the cross country team began to murmur at their team base.

Moments later, Gurrola-Burgueno slowly emerged from the course next to head coach Marco Rodriguez.

He hobbled back to the Sunnyside home base, sat down on the team’s tarp and placed wet towels on both of his knees. He was clearly in a lot of pain.

Even through the pain, you couldn’t help but notice the look of deep disappointment on his face.

Picking up on his distress, Valenzuela checked in with Gurrola-Burgueno and ran her fingers through his hair to bring him a sense of comfort before heading to her own race.

Before the boys’ run, Gurrola-Burgueno told the Arizona Daily Star that one of his biggest hurdles in running was suffering from severe “runner’s knee” in both legs, which causes pain around the kneecap.

Paired with tendonitis and recovering from a nasty stomach bug, the race, which happened to fall on Gurrola-Burgueno’s 18th birthday, didn’t quite go as expected.

“I’m mad and sad I didn’t finish,” he said after the race. “Because I found out the people’s times in front of me and tried to compare them to what I could have done. And I would’ve been around where I was last year when I finished the season, so at least I know that I’m right there. I just need to push a little bit harder to get back into it. … Like my coach says, ‘Your setbacks are your setups.’ I’m taking this as a setup so I can (set a new) PR (personal record) and do better next time.” (His current PR is 19:57.3).

Despite being in pain, he mustered up the strength to watch Valenzuela compete in the girls’ race, where she finished fourth with a time of 22:17. Teammate Nathaly Bracamonte came in first with a time of 20:33.21.

While the season is just getting started, Rodriguez isn’t super concerned about the results so far because the Distance Devils are in it for the long haul.

“Our goal is always state,” he said. “The last nine years, we’ve gotten to state, but last year we missed it by one spot, so our streak was broken, but they’re committed, each and every one of those athletes knows that our season starts in November. … So, we’re committed to November and we’ll see what happens come sectionals.”

Up next for Sunnyside is the 33rd annual Los Mezquites Cross Country Invitational at Silverlake Park on Saturday, Sept. 13. The meet, hosted by the Distance Devils, is also the team’s senior night, where nine seniors, including Valenzuela and Gurrola-Burgueno, will be honored.

Lifelong friendships, one mile at a time

While running plays a significant role in these athletes’ lives, it accounts for only a small portion of their extracurricular activities.

Valenzuela is a member of the marching band’s color guard, while both take EMS classes and are a part of Sunnyside’s prestigious folklorico group, Los Diablitos Azules Folklorico.

“I like to stay busy. I like being in the community,” Valenzuela said. “I like helping out as much as possible, but then I also like making new friends and just trying new things. At first, I didn’t think I would like cross country, and now, I really love it, and I think it’s good to try new things and get out there.”

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Gurrola-Burgueno was the first of the duo to get into cross country running a little over four years ago after he was inspired by his sister, who competed in the sport.

A year or so after starting his running journey, Valenzuela joined in, officially making the team in her sophomore year.

“I really love the team and how close our friendships get throughout this because … there’s always someone with separate groups in cross country, but all of us are kind of always together,” Valenzuela said. “And I love that we always push each other and there’s always friendly competition. And even with other schools, there’s good sportsmanship. And I really like that about it.”

Gurrola-Burgueno agreed with Valenzuela, noting how close the team gets during the season and how it becomes an inclusive community.

“Everyone’s friends with everybody during competitive races,” he said. “You always have that other school that you guys are cool with and talk to and everyone on the team is always so close. We’re always friends. We always hang out after or before school. And it’s just really fun to do.”

Now, the two spend at least 12-15 hours a week running and training for cross country.

That’s in addition to multiple extracurricular activities and maintaining nearly perfect GPAs.

As the seniors wrap up their final year at Sunnyside, they’re looking forward to attending college next fall. Gurrola-Burgueno hopes to study landscape architecture, while Valenzuela is looking to further her color guard career at a Division I school, like NAU.

Wherever they end up next year, Rodriguez knows they’re going to succeed in their next chapter.

“They’re so humble,” he said. “Humble, but with a chip on their shoulder. Sometimes at south side schools, the odds are against us. But they’re just so humble with humble beginnings and good parents and good families that’ve raised them. … It’s a blessing to have them (on the team) and to be able to coach them. … And just like all of our alumni, we’ll definitely miss them. But we know they’re going on to do better things.”

Fast Five with Roxann and Asaph

What’s your favorite running shoe brand?

R: Brooks

A: Brooks

What songs are currently on your running playlist?

R: Songs from “KPop Demon Hunters,” like “Golden”

A: I don’t really listen to anything because sometimes it messes with my pace. I’d rather be in the moment and hear how I’m breathing and listen to my steps.

If you could run anywhere in the world, where would you like to run?

R: Washington

A: Arizona, because it’s where the hard courses are

What’s your favorite pre-run snack?

R: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich

A: A cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese

What’s your favorite class right now?

R: I’m not a really big math person, but I’ve been learning a lot of the new work that we’ve been given, and I’ve actually been having a lot of fun in that class.

A: Folklorico, it’s not the easiest because of the physical parts, but it’s the class I most look forward to.