Dominican University of California Athletics

Twitter: @valdeeeezy

Valdez came to Dominican in 2011-12, where he quickly established himself as one of the best runners since Dominican readded the program in 2010. He was named to Capital One Academic All-District Men's Track & Field/Cross Country NCAA Division II Team for District 8 (West Region) in 2013. Both of his years at Dominican, Valdez was named CAA Division II All-Academic Cross Country honoree by USTFCCCA, PacWest Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and Dominican Men's Cross Country Most Outstanding Player. As a senior, he was named to PacWest All-Conference Second Team with his eighth-place finish at the PacWest Championships. That season, he set a PR in his first run of the season, finishing in sixth place at the Hornet Jamboree with a time of 20:23.1, all despite being tripped at the start line and sustaining scrapes and bruises that caused the race to restart.

Before landing at Dominican, Valdez competed two years in cross country and track at San Jose City College, where he qualified to the California Community College Championships for cross country in 2008 and 2009. He was captain and lettered in track and cross country for 3 years at Independence High School in San Jose, where he was MVP in cross country his junior and senior years. He was named sophomore and senior athlete of the year and the Blossom Valley Athletic League Individual Champion in 2007.

He is currently a sponsored runner for Skechers Athletic.