Chico State Athletics

2018–19
Placed 23rd in his Chico State debut at the Capital Cross Challenge in Sacramento…Ran to a 24:19 8k at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational, finishing 22nd overall…Placed 16th at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational…Returned home to San Bernardino for the CCAA Championships and enjoyed a fifth place finish in his first conference championship race…Delivered a 14th place run to help the Wildcats win the program’s third straight NCAA West Regional title…Unfortunately, the snow-covered course in Billings, Montana led to a foot injury, and he was unable to compete at the NCAA Championships two weeks later…Having missed a fair amount of winter training due to the foot issue, got a late start during the 2019 track season…The Mike Fanelli Track Classic brought a 14:50 seasonal debut for the 5k…Raced to a 10k PR time of 31:18 at the Mt. SAC Invitational…Concluded the season two weeks later with a sixth place finish in the 10k (31:21) at the CCAA Championships.
 
2017–18
Opened XC season with a 28th place finish at the Capital Cross Challenge with an 8k time of 24:57…Raced to a 24:02 8k PR while placing 14th overall in the invite race at the Bronco Invitational…Recorded a 5k PR in the team’s postseason track time trial with a 14:45 clocking…Concluded the season with a 10th place finish at the Doc Adams Invitational…After an early spring 3:59 PR effort in the 1,500m, sat out the remainder of the track season due to injury.  
 
Pre-Chico Days
While at San Bernardino Valley College, Ortega established himself as one of the premier runners in the state community college system...As a freshman, Ortega placed eighth at the State Community College Cross Country Championships, clocking a 20:44 on the Woodward Park course…On the track, Ortega would finish third at the SoCal Championships in the 5k before placing 4^th at the State Championships to conclude his rookie season…During his sophomore cross country campaign, Ortega enjoyed big breakthroughs…He ran a 24:21 8k time at the Stanford Invitational…Won the Southern California individual title…Concluded the season with a second place finish at the State Championships while recording a 20:09 PR on the Woodward Park course…Although missing much of his sophomore year of track due to injury, Ortega worked his way into fitness by the end of the season, placing third in the SoCal Championships 10k and sixth in the 5k...Narrowly missed a state 10k individual title, losing the championship by one second.
 
Personal Best Marks:
8k XC: 24:02
1,500: 3:59
5,000m: 14:45
10,000m: 31:18