"They were depending on me," he said. "When they saw me struggling they probably thought it was over."
Finishing out of the top 10, Rose also missed out on being named all-league, despite winning the two previous league meets.
"It's been bugging me for a long time," he said. "I could barley run."
Over the summer, Rose upped his workload in regard to weight lifting and running and it has paid off as he just finished second in the Academy League Meet.
The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week also broke his week-old school record with a time of 15:51 at the Woodbridge Invitational Sept. 17, making him the first Lightning cross country runner to crack 16 minutes. The clock was stuck on 16 minutes when he completed the race, so Rose did not know he had achieved the feat until his teammates informed him.
Breaking the 16-minute barrier had been a goal for Rose, who finished ninth at last year's CIF Southern Section Division V finals, entering the season.
"It was an awesome race," Rose said of Woodbridge.
Rose's success this season is due to a variety of reasons other than his talent. Rose has stepped up his own training and Sage Hill Coach Nate Miller has intensified the workout for the team.
"He put in a lot of hard work," Miller said. "He's always been someone who is a talented natural runner. He has recognized his strengths. He's taken it to another level."
He woke up at 8 a.m. six days a week to run during the summer with teammates.
"After a whole summer of it I was like 'Aw man, I can't believe I'm doing this,' " Rose said. "It was really tough to do every single day. It kept me ready for school. It was probably the most training I've done in a summer."
