RIVERSIDE — Even the best track athletes have an off-race now and then.

If that was the case for King senior Maximo Zavaleta in the 1600 meters in the 2026 season, he won anyway.

Zavaleta won nine straight 1600 meter races this season, and won the 1600 and 3200 meter titles at the CIF State Track and Field Championships, earning IE Varsity boys track athlete of the year honors. It is the second IE Varsity award for the UCLA-bound Zavaleta, who was the IE Varsity boys cross country runner of the year last fall.

“My goal was to try and win all my races,” Zavaleta said. “I kept stacking and stacking wins. I was like, ‘Oh, that would be a cool thing to not lose.’ ”

Zavaleta started his 1600 winning streak in his first meet of the season, at the Mustang Round Up on Feb. 28. He followed that with wins in three consecutive weeks in March: the Redondo Track Festival, the Hi-Racer Meet of Champions, and The TEN.

He then took time off from running the 1600 competitively while he focused on the 3200, but then returned by finishing first in the 1600 at Big VIII League Prelims and Finals, CIF Southern Section Division 1 Prelims and Finals, and CIF-SS Masters Meet.

He had the second fastest time at the CIF State Prelims, but that race more than any other is all about qualifying for State Finals the next day.

He topped it off with his personal-best winning the state title in 4:02.78.

“An undefeated streak in the 1600 meters in California is a monumental, historic accomplishment,” King distance coach Alfonso Ibarra wrote in an email. “I’m biased, but it’s well recognized that the Southern Section and the CIF State meet represent arguably the deepest, most cutthroat distance-running talent pools in the United States. To go an entire senior season without a single tactical mistake, a bad weather day, or a physical letdown … is practically unheard of at this level.”

Zavaleta said running more open 800s and in the 4×800 relay helped him with his closing kick.

“I think what surprised me the most was my kick,” he said. “It came down to the last 200 at The TEN. I barely beat Cooper (Stream of Vacaville) and it came down to that kick.”

Zavaleta won that race by a slim margin: 4:06.02 to 4:06.03 over Stream.

This was the third straight year Zavaleta made the state finals in the 3200, after finishing 10th as a sophomore and fifth last year. But this was his first trip to the 1600 state finals.

His 1600 time set a Riverside County record. He followed that with a winning time of 8:52.47 in the 3200. That was not a personal-best, but he owns the Riverside County record in that event too – an 8:43.21 he ran at the Arcadia Invitational.

And those state championship races had something in common: Zavaleta’s kick. In each of those races, his last lap was the fastest of any runner.

Although he did not run for King’s 4×800 team in the postseason, Zavaleta said he was buoyed by the fact that his teammates were joining him at state.

“It meant a lot. These guys – I’ve been friends with them since middle school,” Zavaleta said.

Zavaleta’s two wins, plus a second-place finish by the 4×800 team gave King 28 points, good for second in the team standings.

“I didn’t think that (second place) was in the cards,” Zavaleta said.

Zavaleta now owns individual school records in the 800, 1600 and 3200 meters as well as the 4×800 and distance medley relay.

“Maximo should be remembered as the ultimate standard of quiet confidence, elite versatility, and historic excellence at Martin Luther King High School.” Ibarra wrote. “Beyond his times and school records, his legacy is that of a selfless four-year captain who lifted and helped build our distance program to what it is.”