Chico State Athletics

2016-2017
Placed 12^th overall at the Humboldt Invitational...Finished 40^th at the Capital Cross Challenge with a 24:48 final time…The Wildcats' 7^th runner at the Triton Invitational while placing 12^th overall…Earned his second straight All-CCAA honor with a 15^th place finish at the conference championships…Concluded the fall season with a fifth place Doc Adams Invitational run…Opened the spring season with a 3:57 1500-meter effort at the Wilcat Invitational…Raced to a 30:47 10k PR and NCAA provisional mark at the SF Distance Carnival…Did not finish the 5k at Bryan Clay Invitational…Illness the week of CCAA’s limited Velarde to a 6^th place finish in the 10k.

2015-16
Opened the season with a 14th place effort at the Ash Creek Invitational.. Followed up with a sixth place finish at the Garin Park Challenge…Placed 21st in the San Francisco State Invitational, notching a 25:24 mark on the Golden Gate course…Two weeks later earned first All-CCAA honor with an 11th place run (a PR time of 25:03) on the same Golden Gate course…Scored for the ’Cats and placed 18th overall to earn first All-West Region award…Strained his calf during the second mile of the NCAA Championships race and struggled home in 150th place…On the track recorded a 31:01 10k debut at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival…Followed up with a near-PR 3:57 for 1500m at the Chico Twilight meet…Narrowly missed a 5k PR with a 14:38 run at the Bryan Clay Invitational… Placed seventh in the CCAA Championships 10k final with a 31:34 mark…Concluded the season with a 14:42 5k at the West Coast Last Chance meet…CCAA Spring All-Academic award winner…Named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team.
 
2014-2015
Redshirted his freshman year…Running unattached, placed seventh in the 5k at Willow Hills Open in 16:12…Placed 16th in the open race at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational with an 8k debut time of 25:33…Came in sixth at the Doc Adams Invitational (25:17)…Opened the track season with an 8:37 finish in the 3k at the team’s early-season time trial…Ran a 15:10 5k at the Johnny Mathis Invitational and a 3:56.5 1500m PR at the Chico Twilight Invitational…Finished the spring with a 14:37 5k PR at the West Coast Invitational in San Francisco. 

Pre-Chico Days
A standout runner in the Central Coast Section while competing for San Benito High School in Hollister…Recorded a solid 15:36 mark on the famed Crystal Springs course during his junior cross country season…On the track posted a 4:21 PR in the 1600m distance during his junior season…Injuries hampered his senior seasons in both cross country and track.
 
Personal Best Marks
1500m: 3:56
5,000m: 14:37
10,000m: 30:47
8k XC: 24:48