More than two weeks after Camp Fire burns city, inspired Paradise athletes race in Division 4 boys state final, with continued support from friends at Chico High

By Landon Negri for DyeStat

There were signs of support, applause and cheering all around Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif.

And judging by the reactions, throngs of onlookers were pulling for Patrick Roehling and Gabriel Price.

It didn’t matter how or where the Paradise High boys cross country runners finished in their Division 4 final. By just being there and representing a town devastated – and still devastated – by the Camp Fire was triumph enough.

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Roehling and Price did finish their race at the CIF-State Cross Country Championships. Roehling covered the 5-kilometer course in 17 minutes, 17.7 seconds to finish 109th; Price was not far behind in 17:26.2 to take 121st.

“It means a lot,” Price said. “Even though we didn’t go as a team, just to be able to run as individuals, it means a lot to be here and be able to race.”

Both boys lost their homes Nov. 8, when the fire started near the community of Pulga and burned quickly to the west. Eventually, Paradise was overrun by fire.

That was also the day of the Northern Section finals at West Valley High in Cottonwood, and the Paradise team – with many of the runners escaping town for their lives – were unable to make it and compete.

It was quite the journey to get to Woodward Park on Saturday, both through competition and sheer logistics. Will Roehling, Patrick’s father, carries a video with him taken from the car as he evacuated Paradise, complete with flames on both sides of the “Skyway” and the sign welcoming motorists to a town on fire.

Patrick, who did make it to West Valley, competed and qualified for the state meet as an individual. Unable to return home, he and his family spent some time in Lucile, Idaho – a community along the Salmon River and U.S. Highway 95 – about halfway between Boise and Spokane, Wash.

“I ran up there, it was cold, I didn’t get the best of training, it wasn’t my element, (but) yeah, it was nice and therapeutic for me,” Patrick Roehling said. “I had a sauna and I could dip in the cold river, so that was good.”

It was during this time that the boys team from nearby Chico lent their support to Price. When the CIF-Northern Section office ruled that he could run a time trial at West Valley High, the Chico boys joined him to help set a pace that would beat the standard set at 17:41.

One of those boys was Chico senior Charlie Giannini, who ran well Saturday in Division 3, making the podium by placing sixth in 15:34.5.

“It’s been hard watching all of that; all those people that don’t have homes, and Gabe was just one of our friends,” Giannini said. “We’ve been running against him for a while. We didn’t want his senior year to end like that.”

While the Chico runners didn’t lose homes, they had nowhere to train with the thick smoke that blew right over their city.

“We were really worried that even though it was Paradise that was burning, there was no way you could run outside in Chico,” Giannini said. “So much smoke, we were really worried about getting a place to train.”

So they went some 200-plus miles to the west, near Arcata on the coast, to a rental house owned by Giannini’s grandparents.

They stayed there for four days, training in the clear ocean air, and Price went along.

“He fit right in with us,” Giannini said. “It was fun to have him.”

“It’s meant a lot to just to be able to corral with another team – especially now that our team is kind of dispersed with the fire and everything,” Price added. “Just to have another team rooting for you and another team there to train with, and to talk to, and just to be around other competitive spirits, is really just a blessing.”

As for his new buddies on the Chico team, the Panthers ran well as a team Saturday. Led by Giannini, seniors Kaleb Trificante (65th, 16:39.2) and Jaxon LeDuc (68th, 16:41.0), the Panthers placed seventh in Division 3 with 233 points.

Four races later, they were all there cheering on Roehling and Price at the finish.

No one is sure when Paradise High will re-open, or when students will again play sports, not to mention simply attending classes. Most of the school is said to have survived the fire.

So what’s next?

“We’re going to train for track season,” Roehling said.