DyeStatCal Cross-Country State Athletes of the Week

September 26-30, 2005

Doug Speck

Girls Athlete of the Week

Lauren Saylor (Buchanan, Clovis) - Central Section

The Girls Sweepstakes event at Stanford was absolutely loaded with top talent! From all across the state the best individuals, many who had absolutely dominated individual contests in their region, would come together on the challenging Stanford Golf Course. In the end, the winner would be a young lady who appears heading into her junior season in spectacular style, maintaining a fine pace at Stanford, and finishing in strong style for a super 17:38 clocking. Saylor was among the nation’s best last year, placing 14th in the Foot Locker National Cross Country Finals as just a sophomore, the #2 finisher at that grade level who made that Championship affair. In the Spring she was third in State in Track with a 10:38.32 2 mile best. The running this Fall has been made sweeter by the amazing emergence of her frosh sister Cathryn, and fellow ninth graders Sue Choi and Whitney Russell, who have done some great running and have the Buchanan squad lifted to the #1 spot statewide in the sport currently.

Lauren will be another athlete who will have her mind on a “grand-slam” goal at the end of the Fall–participation leading her team in the Nike Team Nationals and a return to the individual glory of the Foot Locker series.

Link to Lauren's Stanford Invite Interview

 

Boys Athlete of the Week

AJ Acosta (El Camino, Oceanside) - San Diego Section

The other half of the sweepstakes schedule at Stanford featured a Boys’ contest that was also loaded with super teams and indivduals! Stars such as Diego Mercado (West Covina), were hot off Course Records at places like Woodbridge, competed at by tens of thousands in recent years. Diego is noted as a tough pace-setter, and along with his brother Danny, was out early in the Stanford contest with San Diego section star AJ Acosta, coming off a big win at San Diego’s Mt. Carmel affair, tagging close behind. As the contest headed out over the tough back loop at Stanford, it was AJ, who related in the interview linked below, that picked out a downhill section to let his 1:53 800 speed go, racing ahead to a slight lead that he held into a “fastest of day” 15:13 clocking. For his Stanford performance AJ is given our weekly Athlete of the Week award. As the top returnee in the nation from the 2004 Foot Locker National Finals at ninth, one can only imagine his racing along in the Mt. Carmel Meet on the same Balboa Park used for the nationals run hoping to be out in front in early December! AJ brings wicked speed to the harrier courses, having raced 1:53.27 and right at 4:10 for a mile last spring in track. AJ is not going to have a free ride until the end of the year, with the Mercado’s (Diego 20th last year at Foot Locker) and other top athletes back to keep him honest through the State Meet competition prior to his heading out for individual glory himself. AJ interestingly may have the top coach/distance runner combo ever in the State in Tom Kloos, who in most recent seasons had the #5 US Olympic level time for 3000m Steeplechasers from 2003 with an 8:30.74. Not many preps have run a 4:10 mile and looked up at the finish to see their coach finish ahead of them!

Another reason to keep glued to the course and viewing the action this Fall is what we are sure will be the continued super running of AJ Acosta.

Link to AJ's interview from Stanford invite

 

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Previous Athletes of Week

9/5-9
9/12-16
9/19-23