Daily Journal Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year: Nueva’s Ryan Fitzpatrick

“His desire was to be able to be mentioned in that same group, to be with those great runners, because they’re some of the best we’ve ever seen in this section,” Nueva cross country coach Robert Lopez said. 

In his senior season, Fitzpatrick leaped at the opportunity of being one of the most experienced runners in the Central Coast Section, and won 8 of 11 races, including the CCS Division V championship meet, Nov. 15, at Crystal Springs Cross Country Course. 

“I think in my senior year, going into all the courses knowing what to expect, knowing how to run them, it feels like you have a lot better of a foundation,” Fitzpatrick said.

In the process, Fitzpatrick set a personal record in every race length, including in a dominant victory at the 44th Annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, Sept. 20, in Orange County, which he won with a time of 14 minutes, 23.5 seconds. 

“It felt really validating to me, to have that win also come with a pretty big PR,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think that was a really validating race that let me build confidence going into the rest of the season.”

Fitzpatrick capped off his senior season with a third-place finish in the CIF Division V State Cross Country Championships, with a time of 15:08.3 on the 5,000-meter course at Woodward Park in Fresno. Fitzpatrick fell short of first place by 16 seconds, but improved on his 2024 state championship time by more than 19 seconds. 

“I was really nervous going into the state meet, and I think some of that showed in how I ran it,” Fitzpatrick said. “But I think, overall, it was a great performance, and I knew a lot of the people running with me, and everyone had great races that day.”

Although Fitzpatrick didn’t win the state championship meet, as he had hoped, Lopez said it was still one of Fitzpatrick’s strongest races of the year. 

“He finished third in the state, he was competitive, he was in there with all of the best in California, and held his own,” Lopez said. “We can’t always win every race, but that was his strongest and best performance.” 

Lopez said a large portion of the development in Fitzpatrick’s running ability happened between eighth grade and his freshman year of high school, when he improved his mile time by more than a minute. 

“He made huge leaps and bounds, and I don’t think he saw that he would ever run that fast, let alone what he’s running now,” Lopez said. “He saw he had a gift, and he ran with it.”

In Fitzpatrick’s freshman year, he placed 16th in the CCS Division V meet, with a time of 17:04.5. However, Lopez said Fitzpatrick continued to develop during his freshman track season. 

“He ran well, but that track season in his freshman year is where he really propelled himself,” Lopez said. “We didn’t think he was going to have the speed in order to compete as well in track, and he made a commitment to improve his speed, and did.” 

Lopez said, as a senior, Fitzpatrick took on a role of leadership with his teammates, helping the team to a series of strong performances. 

“He’s really set the tone for everybody else, and everyone else follows his lead,” Lopez said. “He’s handled team leadership really well. The team looks up to him, they follow his footsteps, and I think that’s a big reason why we’ve been successful over the last couple of years.” 

Along with a growth in leadership, Fitzpatrick also improved his confidence and awareness of his ability, Lopez said. 

“He would always give me a projection that was 10 to 15 seconds lower than what I thought he could run, and I think it was partially because he was kind of new to running,” Lopez said. “You saw the gap between what we thought he could run and what he thought he could run get smaller as the years went on, and I think this year is the first time we both agreed on what he could run.” 

Fitzpatrick said that, looking back on his cross-country career, he was proud of the development he experienced throughout high school. 

“Obviously, third place is nothing to be looked down at, and I think I’ve really achieved a lot of the goals that I had,” Fitzpatrick said. “I don’t know what I would have said if you told me where I’d be now when I was at the start of ninth grade.”