In 2021, Aragon girls and boys varsity teams qualified for the Central Coast Section Championships at Crystal Springs on Nov. 13. The boys team finished in 13th place while the girls team finished in fourth place, one place away from qualifying for the CIF State Cross Country Championships.
To show appreciation for head coach Frank Hunt, the graduating seniors gave him a touching gift.
“I was in tears,” Hunt said. “[These seniors] bought a hat that says ‘Coach Hunt’ and inside it says ‘from The Big Dogs,’ [which] … refers to the varsity people. The back of the hat [had] longitude and latitude [coordinates]. [They] … said, ‘If you ever get lost, Coach, this gets you back to the track.’”
Courtesy of Frank Hunt
With 33 boys and 14 girls on the roster, the team has returned to its pre-pandemic size.
“Getting to CCS is our main goal,” said junior Tobias Harris. “[Training] a new generation so that we have more runners in the future [is another goal].”
Hunt looks forward to strengthening the team.
“I’m optimistic that some of the new people are going to fill in very nicely,” Hunt said. “[In] … cross country, [it] doesn’t matter whether you’re a freshman or senior. Everybody’s got a shot to get on varsity.”
Sophomore Miles Rokala was able to run with the varsity team for CCS last season despite being a freshman. This season, he needs to work to maintain his spot.
“I might not be on varsity at all the meets,” Rokala said. “I’ll probably be shifting in between both teams.”
“I’m optimistic that some of the new people are going to fill in very nicely”
Rigorous training is necessary for consistent improvement.
“About two times a week, we do speed work on the track,” said senior Anna Pappas. “The rest of the time, we’re running off campus. That’s usually anywhere between five to six miles. [Our] school is right next to Hillsborough [so] … there’s focused hill workouts.”
The runners also use Aragon’s steep driveway next to the tennis courts to build strength.
“If you look on the side, you’ll see every 50 meters there’s a line,” Hunt said. “They’ll run up to 100 meters, walk back down 150 meters, run up 100 meters, walk back down, run 50 meters and start all over again.”
On Aug. 16, the team participated in its first time trial.
“I was very pleased,” Hunt said. “We have everybody from people that run 8:30 miles to people that run four-something miles.”
Time trials are important because they act as progress checks for the runners.
“I wasn’t where I wanted to be,” said senior Lexie Clark. “I definitely could have put more hours in during the summer. We’ll see as the season progresses.”
Outside of competing, a team-oriented environment is important for runners.
“We always run in pairs [and] stretch together,” said senior Haywood Cooper. “You can have a watch, but it’s really different than running next to someone because you force each other to slow down or speed up.”
The team’s first PAL meet is on Sept. 14 at 4 p.m at Half Moon Bay.
