Mandujano wins region, headed to state meet
Daniel Mandujano is the fastest Watervliet High School cross-country runner on record and used his speed to win the Region 22-3 cross-country meet on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. Mandujano ran 16:28 to finish the race with a comfortable 14 second margin over Union City’s Ben Gautsche, who was followed by four Saugatuck runners in succession.
Senior Mandujano has qualified for the state championship meet every year he’s been running cross for Watervliet. In 2022, his first year in the sport, he finished 127th at 18:04, then last season he finished 24th while setting a new school record at 16:25.9. This year he heads into his third D3 championship race ranked 28th in the division, with his new school record set a few weeks ago at 16:16.5. With a solid field of fast runners in front of him he has one final opportunity to extend his record in his last race, a record that could stand for a while. That last race is on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Michigan International Speedway.