Mesa College has one of the stronger community college fall athletic programs in California.

Both the reigning state champion women’s volleyball team (22-1) and the football team (7-2) rank sixth in the state.

No program at Mesa College is currently running better than the Olympians’ cross country teams.

Both the men and the women dominated the competition last Saturday at the Southern California Regionals at Chaffey College, installing the Olympians as strong favorites to win team titles at the State Championships Nov. 23 in Fresno.

“Sweeping the Regional titles was a big step in the right direction,” coach Sean Ricketts said. “But we’re focused on the state meet. That’s what we’ve been working on in our training.

The state meet is our national championship. The one thing we’re working toward is having our best performance in the state finals.”

Last year, the Olympians men’s and women’s teams finished second to perennial rival Mount San Antonio College in the state championships. But both Mesa College teams routed Mt. SAC at this years regionals.

Led by individual champion Ian Rosen (sophomore, Grossmont High School), all seven Mesa runners finished in the top 19 in the men’s race.Reigning state champion Alexis Noble (sophomore, Clairemont High School) placed second in the women’s race, and all six Olympians runners finished among the top 23.

“We stress connection as a team in what’s seen as an individual sport,” said Ricketts. “We try to finish as close to one another as possible while still going for the top.”

There is more to the Mesa College cross country story.

Twenty-eight of the 31 athletes on the total roster — 16 of the 17 men and 12 of the 14 women — are products of San Diego County high schools.

“I recruit local athletes,” said Ricketts, who ran for Mesa College’s cross country team in 2000 to 2001 and has coached the Olympians since 2017.

Sixteen of the men’s and women’s team members also received state all-academic honors.

“The main thing to focus on with us is development — as athletes, students and people,” said Ricketts. “It’s to prepare our student-athletes for the next step, successfully transitioning to a four-year university.”

Mesa Colleges womens cross country team is the favorite to win a state championship.

Both Rosen and women’s team captain Kate Touchet both say Mesa is the perfect stepping stone to bigger and better things.

“I wasn’t ready to go to a four-year school out of high school,” said Touchet. “I didn’t start running until my junior year at Patrick Henry. I knew out of high school I wanted to attend a two-year college and Mesa has been the perfect segue for me as an athlete and a student. Going to Mesa was 100% the right decision.”

Rosen was a more accomplished high school runner. He finished second in the CIF finals as a junior and fourth as a senior for a Grossmont team that won back-to-back team titles.

“Coming out of high school, I didn’t get that many offers and didn’t really pursue possibilities,” said Rosen. “When I took a tour of Mesa with Coach Ricketts, things fell into place. He stressed that two years here were a step and not an end all … it’s come here to train, develop and work toward the future.

“This is a good way to figure out what you want to do and work out the kinks.”

Touchet didn’t have her best race at the Regionals. She finished 23rd, last among the Olympian runners. But her time still ranked among the top 10 percent of the total entrants.

“I never lost sight of my teammates ahead of me,” she said. “It wasn’t the easiest race for me, but I wanted to finish close to my teammates. That’s 1,000% of how we roll as a team. It’s a strong team because everyone wants everyone else to be as fast as possible.”

Noble covered the 2.1-mile course in 19 minutes and 2.7 seconds. She was followed by Joelle Tonne (third, 19:03.); Natalie Allen (ninth, 19:34.1); Suhey Arce (20th, 20:25.2); Isabelle Moret (22nd, 20:35.1), and Touchet (23rd, 20:36.5).

Rosen completed the men’s four-mile course in 20:42.03. He was followed by Alex Leroy (eighth, 21:02.2); Allen Malo (ninth, 21:05.1); Ronald Wey (10th, 21:05.4); Luciano Roberts (15th, 21:10.1); Garrett Cloyd (17th, 21:15.9; freshman), and Josh Edwards (19th, 21:18.0).

Ricketts has been part of four of the five state championships won by the Olympians men – two as a runner and two as the coach (2019 and 2021).

The fifth title was won in 1964 before Ricketts was born. The women are seeking a second state championship.

“For both the men’s and women’s teams to finish second in the state each of the last two years has been its own motivator,” Ricketts said. “The regionals themselves were not the goal, but it was nice to perform the way we did.

Editor’s note: Every week, U-T contributor Bill Center highlights one San Diego college team that’s making strides on and off the field. To nominate a team, email wcenter27@gmail.com.