The Buffaloes’ top harrier has made a drastic improvement from his sophomore season and is now on the cusp of achieving his biggest goal — qualifying for the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships.

Angel is advancing to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships after his 10th-place finish in the SJS Sub-Section Division III race this past Saturday at Frogtown. He clocked the fastest time among Manteca-area competitors on the 3-maile varsity course at 16 minutes, 39.2 seconds.

“Oscar over the past season has went from successful distance athlete to man on a mission,” Manteca coach Paul Lyons said. “He simply will stop at nothing to meet his goals throughout the year, whether it is shattering all of our school records or to make it state.  It’s always a pleasure to coach a kid with such an amazing work ethic.”

On Oct. 25, Angel took fourth in the Valley Oak League Championship with a time of 15:53.7, a new school record for 5,000-meter courses. It was also a big PR for him at Mistlin Sports Complex.

The Section meet is this Saturday at Willow Hill Reservoir Community Park in Folsom. The top three teams and up to five individuals who finish in the top 14 make it to state out of the Division III final.