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Baseball to the Fast Leagues - Ryan Rodriguez - Belen Jesuit by Steve Dorsey

Published by
DyeStatFL.com   Aug 25th 2014, 8:43pm
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By Steve Dorsey
 
   Belen Jesuit captured its fourth consecutive Class 3A boys cross-country title and eighth overall state championship last year, further solidifying the Miami school as one of the best programs in the Sunshine State.
 
   On paper, it would appear that Belen will have a tall task repeating again this year. Three of its top four finishers at the 3A state meet last season graduated, making this somewhat of a rebuilding year for coach Frankie Ruiz’s squad.
 
   However, one familiar face is sure to be among the lead pack in every meet that Belen competes in 2014. Ryan Rodriguez returns for his senior year after having paced Belen’s championship effort last year with a fifth-place finish at the state meet. Ruiz is counting on Rodriguez to be a leader on and off the course this season.
 
   “The main thing is, he’s not in the shadows of anyone now,” Ruiz said of Rodriguez’s role as the team captain. “Before, he had a cast, whereas now he’s the leader. He knows it’s his turn, and I think he’s ready for it.”
 
   An interesting twist is that it was not long ago that Rodriguez questioned whether he was ready to be a distance runner. Baseball was his sport of choice when a friend of his coaxed him into giving cross-country a try. Rodriguez began taking training runs but said he didn’t particularly like it at first.
 
   “I really wasn’t into running (long distances) that much,” Rodriguez said.
 
   By his freshman year of high school, however, Rodriguez began enjoying the sport more and has become one of the state’s top runners.
 
   Rodriguez clocked a personal-record time of 15:29.87 at last year’s state championships. He had a good track season, too, although he had a somewhat disappointing state meet where he placed sixth in the 1,600 meters (4:17.64) and 11th in the 3,200 (9:43.45) against a stacked Class 3A field.
 
   “He had a couple nagging injuries last spring, but he’s had a solid summer,” Ruiz said of Rodriguez, who trained for nine days in the mountains of western North Carolina this summer.
 
   Ruiz said he believes Rodriguez is driven to have an outstanding season.
 
   “I think he has a little unfinished business,” said Ruiz, who ranks Rodriguez among the top five runners he’s coached. “I have a tough time challenging him because he makes them seem easy. He’s run in the shadows of some great runners the past couple of years. He’s very humble and he’s not overconfident. He’s really gotten stronger (this summer).”
 
   Rodriguez said he’s not setting too many individual goals for himself, even though Ruiz believes Rodriguez has a good chance to finish among the top three at state this year.
 
   “We’ll see what happens,” Rodriguez said. “I have to lead the way for the younger runners this year. I’m really looking forward to it.”
 
   Winning a fifth consecutive state title won’t be easy for Belen, but don’t count out the Wolverines with Rodriguez leading the way.
 

   “It’s going to be a different season, no doubt,” Ruiz said. “We’re in the process of reloading, but with Ryan’s leadership, we could be pretty good. We’re not taking anything for granted. You can’t live in the past.”



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