Colton, CA—Last Saturday on August 30, 2025, Colton High celebrated its 56th Annual SWARM meet to start off the cross country season. SWARM had 31 schools attend with about 850 participating athletes.
The race spanned for 3.1 miles and took the runners around the entirety of Colton High before coming back to the track field to cross the finish line.
With the summer heat shooting up to almost triple digits on Saturday, the coaches from all the schools made a collective decision to have the senior boys and birls run together, allowing for them to continue participating in a safe manner.
Increasing humidity also impacted the Juniors. Head Coach Mateo Cisneros; Assistant coaches Isela Bocanegra, Roxane Phelps, and Elijah Salazar; and Athletic Director Mike Reh worked with Colton High’s medical staff to determine the safest way to complete the event. They decided to start the junior boys race early and then combine the senior girls and boys races.
Coach Cisneros said, “This was the largest SWARM I’ve organized in my six years now. I am so proud of my team for running their first race of the season with so many medals, proud of my staff for making the day a huge success, and proud of how many teams and athletes we served.”
Yulior Zamora, a senior Cross Country runner, said, “SWARM was a very great experience; being able to connect with other students from other schools made the experience incredibly fun, and I can’t wait to look forward to what comes next throughout our season!”
As with every new season comes a bounty of new faces, races, and tons of miles ahead; and with the SWARM meet already in the books, it’s time to see what the rest of the season has in store for Colton High.
Bonding
This team makes it easy to have an amazing bond with each other. There is not a time where the kids aren’t cracking a joke to make everyone feel like they belong. Everyone is very supportive of each other, always cheering each other on when one teammate is having a hard time, Zamora says that “When cross country started, we all got to meet during summer practices, since then we’ve become united like a family. Since we’re a small group, it allows us to get to know each other better and help each other out.
Favorite things
Cross country isn’t just a grueling sport, there’s also a lot of good that comes with it. A Junior on the team, Makayla Moreno Bazaldua, said “My teammates are the best and they’re always there if you need something and they make the team more fun and I love that it teaches you about having a strong mentality”, another senior on the team Cailin Marcial says that “My favorite thing about being on the cross country team is the adrenaline rush that I get during the end of a race.”