September 21, 2002 at Kualoa Ranch
windward Oahu, Hawaii

Boys Varsity - Ricky's Quotes

text and photos by Ricky Quintana

Orange High¹s Francisco Guerra took the lead early on and charged up the foothills (below) opening up a five meter gap early on over favorites Carl Moe of Auburn Riverside and Ryan Merriman of Bingham . Those three separated themselves from the pack as they made their way around lower field and Rodeo area.

Guerra still led up the second steep incline, but when they reemerged on a long downhill segment, Moe had opened up a slight lead over Merriman and a tiring Guerra. Behind them Eisenhower¹s even paced Barany was beginning to make ground on the leaders and had solidified his fourth position. Moe was able to increase his lead over the next mile as Merriman began to grow pale from overheating. Moe shook his hand in triumph as he finished strongly. Barany flew over the last mile and finished strongly to take second. A heat exhausted Merriman misjudged the finish line as Guerra swept
passed him right at the line.

Eisenhower¹s even paced strategy worked well as they were able to move their way through the pack for the team win. Orange was a close second as they too used a even paced strategy effectively in the difficult conditions.

Carl Moe:
" My coach and I watched the first couple of races and we noticed
that the learly leaders took off and died after those first couple of hills.
I figured, I¹d follow the guys up the first two hills and then try to make
my move afterwards.

"The guy from Orange County took off real hard and I didn¹t know how long
he¹d last. I just sat behind him and then the Bingham guy came up. Then on
one turn, he kind of slowed down and I just went by. I didn¹t want to make
my move too early because we had one hill left so I just kept going. I
looked back to see when to make my move and I didn¹t see anyone so I just
kind of slowly pushed myself in. I think the hills took it out of a lot of
people."

RQ: In the end, you still looked strong.

Moe: Beforehand, I was having cramps in my calf. I warmed up a lot and them
it got real tight at the start. I don¹t think I held back, but I didn¹t go
all out. I was pushing it. It was tough. I think the heat took out a lot. I
tried to stay relaxed. Look strong, stay strong.

RQ: How was it winning this race in Hawaii?

Moe: It was exciting. It was tough to prepare. Very tough to prepare. I had
to limit my sun and beach time. It¹s an awesome opportunity for anyone. We
just fund-raised and came out here.

RQ: Auburn, Washington is a real hot bed after last year.

Moe: Yeah. I still talk to Chris and Tyler and all those guys. We train
together. It will be nice this year coming out. I¹ll be able to try and
make my show. It will be fun.

RQ: What are the things that you¹ve done here?

Moe: We got here Thursday and went out of town to go swimming. Yesterday, we
went swimming in the early part of the day and then went to the beach and
sat around. We leave tomorrow morning so tongiht will basically be my time.
A lot of people are going surfing tomorrow. I think I¹ll go run around
Diamond Head.

Robbie Barany

Baranay: I was just cooking out there. The last mile I seriously thought I
was going to drop.

RQ: What kept you going?

Barany: My coach said that if we ran well, we might be nationally ranked
That¹s what kept me going.

RQ: How did your race go?

Barany: I knew in the beginning I wasn¹t going to be able to be in the
lead. That¹s how I run though. I just run behind. Right at the end, that¹s
when I start picking it up. That¹s usually how I go. I start passing people
right at the end.

RQ: Despite how you were feeling, you were still catching people.

Barany: Yeah. I guess everyone feels that bad.

RQ: How was it coming here from Washington?

Barany: It was a great experience. I loved it. Everything. The water, the
sun, .... everything. It¹s just a really nice place.

RQ: Is there any one special thing that captivated you about the whole trip?

Barany: Waikiki Beach. The water. The temperature.The scenery. I loved it.
Yakima is a desert. What is there? Sage brush. That¹s the only scenery
that¹s there. It¹s totally opposite here in Hawaii.

RQ: Your coach said that you actually run in these kind of temperatures.

Barany: Yes. Not the humidity. It¹s really hot in Yakima, but not humid.
The humidity got to me. Definitely.

RQ: How is it running for Eisenhower and running against these top teams?

Barnay: It¹s really fun. There¹s a lot of good competition here. It¹s just
a great place to run with all these teams from all over the place here. I
hope we¹ll be back next year.

Francisco Guerra

RQ: You led them going up the hill and led for a long way.

Guerra: Yeah, I thought I was going to have it. I didn¹t think those guys
were going to be right behind me. They did well to catch me. They¹re really
good runners. This is my first year coming back so it feels really good.

RQ: Your team did really well.

Guerra: Yes. We¹ve been working really hard to get this team up again. We
had a good team back in the day. I try to do the best I can to try and help
them out. They help me out a lot too. Thanks to them I¹m running well.

RQ: How is it coming here from Orange County?

Guerra: They¹ve been taking us everywhere. It¹s been a lot of fun. The
coaches took us to Pearl Harbor. We went all around the island. They showed
us different places. It was a really good experience. I recommend other
people to come too.

RQ: Any experience that impacted you significantly?

Guerra: Coming over for the first time and getting to run with the best
runners in the nation. Getting to know people is the best thing. Dinner last
night was great. I got to know some new people and they got a chance to know
me. I liked that dinner.

Ryan Merriman

Ryan Merriman: It was tough. I didn¹t feel very good. I took the lead
briefly with about two mile to go, but then Moe mad a move and i just
couldn¹t cover it.

RQ: It looked like you started having problems with the heat.

Merriman. Yeah, that¹s what got to me. The heat and the humidity. I really
wasn¹t used to these conditions. Every race I¹ve run this year has been
cold, chilly and overcast and the heat just ate me up. I felt a little sick.
I lost my breakfast after the race. Maybe I should have had less to eat
this morning. And then at the finish line I pulled up a little early. I pulled up where
the cones started and then I got beat out for third place. A kid went by me
that I should have had.

RQ: For how you looked, you ran pretty well.

Merriman: I was hurting pretty bad.

RQ: Despite the heat and everything, how has the trip been for you?

Merriman: It¹s been a fun trp. We did a lot of fun stuff. Maybe a little too
much fun stuff. We got soft up here. Going in, I really wanted to go for the
win. I don¹t know what happpened. It was really hot and I was sick.

RQ: What are some of the things you¹ve done the last couple of days?

Merriman: The best was we snorkeled in Hanama Bay. That was amazing. I got
out to where it was thirty or forty feet deep and dove down around some
coral and big fish and stuff.
I¹ve never been out here before. It¹s really beautiful. It¹s amazing how
green everything is. It¹s really pretty. We¹re going to Pearl Harbor
tomorrow.We were at the festvial in Honolulu last night aor about an hour.
That was pretty cool.
We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. That was pretty cool. I got my
pciture with some Hula dancers. That was all right. That was cool.
The race went real bad and left a bad taste in my mouth. I still have a lot
to do I still have my state meet. I¹ll try to rally for Footlocker. I¹ll put
this behind me.

RQ: Footlocker will be a similar course, won¹t it?

Merriman: Yeah. It will be. I like the Mt. Sac course. I've done it several
times so I feel pretty confident. If I feel good and I don¹t feel like I
did today, hopefully I can qualify. that¹s what I want to do really bad.

RQ: No snorkling there.

Merriman: [laughing]No snorkling. There it will be all business. I¹ll stay
in the hotel room and drink lots of water and focus on the race. Striclty a
business trip No fun at Mt. Sac.

RQ: How did the girls¹ race go?

Phil English

Phil English, Eisenhower Head Coach Boys¹ and Girls¹: We¹re pretty happy.
Our third runner went down with cramps. I¹m really happy with the intensity
the kid¹s showed. Right now, where we are in the season, the boys seem to be
a little ahead of the girls, but we are very happy with the intensity that
they ran with today.

RQ: The girls seem to run in a pack and run a real deliberate race. Is that
something that you teach them?

English: Yes. We usually go out very conservative and then run hard as we
move through the race. With the conditions today, we¹re not used to the high
humidity. We¹re used to the heat all right, but not the high humidity . I
think that caught up with a lot of the teams the least part of the race.
They train together, of course, and they¹re used to being around each other.
The past few years we¹ve run these races, they¹re usually pack races for
the girls.

RQ: The boys seem to have more trouble with the heat. It was a little later
in the day.

English: It¹s a little later in the day. I¹m really happy with the intensity
the boys showed. For the past few years, the girls program has overshadowed
the boys. This group of boys is really really courageous runners and they
just didn¹t have anything left at the finish today. They just ran really
aggressively and we¹re very happy with the results.

RQ: When did the trip to Hawaii come about?

English: Usually, every year we travel. We¹ve gone to the Great American in
North Carolina. We¹ve gone to San Francisco and Alabama. Of course, Hawaii
was very attractive to these kids. We really didn¹t decide until the
beginning of the summer. It wasn¹t that hard a sell to the kids. It was a
big motivating force to train for these kids. A lot of the kids really
stepped up and this trip changed their entire running focus.

RQ: You live in the middle of a desert, so this must have been a pleasant
change.

English: Yes. It¹s very very hot. It takes some getting used to. Being kids,
it¹s amazing how quickly they adjust to life in Hawaii in just a few
days[laughing].

RQ: How about the coaches?

English: Oh, I could live here. It¹s a fantastic place. We¹re really
delighted with the trip and the meet here. It¹s been a wonderful experience.

Don Burnette

Coach Don Burnette, Orange County High head Coach: We¹d hope to win. We
knew Bingham was good and we knew Eisenhower was good. We ran pretty well.
Our sixth was fifth which is somtimes good. Guerra fell down. He got up to
get third. We were supposed to be good and I think we are. We were third
last year and Guerra was ineligible last year. That¹s a pleasant surprise
because he woudn¹t have been out first last year. He¹s trained real hard
this year because he¹s eligible.

RQ: How was the whole experience here? You ran against some big teams.

Burnette: Basically, we¹re a pretty veteran team. It¹s really funny. Lara,
who¹s been number one as a freshman and a sophomore, said at the beginning
of the year ² We aren¹t young anymore.² We have five seniors and two
juniors. That¹s really a fun statement.

RQ: How about the experience of being here in Hawaii?

Burnette: It¹s great. I¹ve been here eleven times so it¹s great. I wanted to
bring these guys here. It¹s a reward for them because they became year
around runners. Not just season by season. Some kids you can¹t get to train
year around, but these guys are highly motivated and are good students. They
do well in the classroom. They¹re in awe. That didn¹t know what Hawaii was
before we came.

RQ: So you used it as an educational experience.

Burnette: Oh yeah. We pointed out everything to them. They¹ve taken more
pictures than they ever thought they could to show parents, friends and so
forth.
We went to Pearl Harbor and everything. We built it up for a year. As soon
as I saw Trotter¹s picture last year on the internet, we said ³We¹re going
there!² We thought we¹d try to go to North Carolina, but we said, ³this is
better.² It¹s been good. They love it. I can come here any day.

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