Heritage Athletes of Week: Ibarra, Briseno, Thompson, Gomez

Heritage High School's Menifee 24/7 Athletes of the Week (from left): Jesus Ibarra, Kristen Briseno, Brianna Thompson, Niko Gomez.

From enduring distance runners to a versatile tennis player to a tough member of the football team's offensive and defensive line, Heritage High is well represented by Menifee 24/7's Athletes of the Week.

Jesus Ibarra, a freshman, ran a personal best of 17:38 at the recent Bulldog Invitational in Hemet for the Patriots' boys cross country team. That was well below his previous personal best of 18:51.

Ibarra has a goal of improving his three-mile time to the low 16's in an attempt to qualify for the CIF postseason later this fall.

"I run to stay in shape, but also to go to CIF," he said. "I just have to do extra training and pick up the pace to go faster each meet."

In the same meet, Kristen Briseno established a personal best as well with a time of 19:48 for the girls cross country team. The junior, who also plays soccer, is disciplined in her physical and mental approach to the sport.

"I just set a goal of going a few seconds faster each time," she said. "A lot of it is mental. Sometimes in the middle of the race you're just tired of running, but you have to keep going."

Brianna Thompson was a standout singles player for the Patriots girls tennis team last year. This year, the senior was asked to team with Christen McGrath to help strengthen Heritage's doubles play. The two have responded with some impressive victories.

"She brings out the best in me as a tennis player," Thompson said about McGrath. "It's the trust factor. Now you have two people to get the point instead of just yourself, and I can play to my full potential without being as nervous."

Thompson would like to attend college at Old Dominion University in Virginia. She hopes to participate in NROTC in preparing for a career as a Naval nurse or ER physician.

Niko Gomez has been an anchor on the football team's offensive and defensive lines as a tackle and nose guard. He has been one of the main reasons the Patriots are 4-1 heading into Sunbelt League play Oct. 11.

Last week, Gomez had to leave during a dominating performance in a win over Rialto when he took the brunt of a helmet on his left leg, which had previously been fractured. His leg was splinted to reduce swelling after he was helped off the field. Fortunately, he suffered no broken bones.

The injury is diagnosed as a sprained ankle. An MRI is scheduled for Friday, but Gomez is hopeful of returning in two to three weeks. The Patriots have a bye this week and should be the favorite in their league opener against Perris Oct. 11. After that, Gomez hopes to be back.

"It's not like I'm looking to get more time to recover from my injury," he said about the team having the week off. "You kind of want to man up and play the next week, but I have to be smart about it. I'm confident about our team's chances against Perris and I hope I can come back after that."