Sac Joaquin Section Runners of the Week
September 24th-29th, 2007
by Joe Hartman

SJS Runners of the Week

Hazel Richardson
Did anyone in the SJS come further in a 12 month stretch last year than Hazel Richardson? As a freshman at Roseville HS, Hazel was still getting things worked out and barely broke 24 minutes at section finals. She has come an awfully long way since then. Last year Hazel made the state meet and crashed through the 19:00 minute barrier in her first crack at Woodward Park with an 18:50 clocking and 34th place finish in the D2 race.
She appears ready to have another fine season. Hazel was 4th at SFL #1 - one of the area's best leagues and has two top ten invitational finishes so far. She was 9th at the Nevada Union large school race and 7th at the Rocklin Invite. Without question she will be a factor at the D2 section finals, a meet in which she nabbed 8th place last year - the very last qualifying spot as it turned out. (On an aside: that's a good indication that D2 in the SJS is pretty wicked when the last individual qualifier runs 18:50 at state.)
On the track, Hazel made the SJS Masters meet finals, qualifying with a time of 2:22.03 in the trials. Hazel also enjoys club running and ran at the 2006 USATF cross country Junior Olympics for Pacific United where her team earned a 5th place finish. Hazel was 44th in that competitive race with a time of 19:57.

Patrick Nilan
Last year Rio Americano senior Patrick Nilan was 22nd in Div II at Willow Hills but you can expect him to be further up the ladder in 2007. Patrick has had two top ten invitational finishes so far this year: 9th at Bret Harte and a fine 6th at Yolo with a time of 18:03 on that very difficult course. He was 4th in the first CAL league, the same league as Del Campo.
Nilan broke though last year on the track with a PR of 1:56.80 for the 800 (SJS Div 2 prelims). He was the 2nd fastest seed at SJS Masters trials in 1:57.18, but was unable to match that effort in the finals. He also nailed a 4:25 1600m at the Meet of Champions. Pat, who was also the lead leg of Rio's 4x400, was a big part of his school's first-ever Div II Section Track Championship, as the Raiders edged Oak Ridge 46-43 at Bella Vista HS last May.
Rio Americano coach Gordon Hubble says 'Pat is a very hard worker and is the most dedicated runner I have had in quite awhile.' Coach Hubble says Patrick's work ethic has been excellent ever since he set foot on the Carmichael campus and dutifully completes each and every workout to the letter. Hubble notes that Patrick's mental approach is his strength. 'He is a student of running and cannot get enough of it. He is disciplined with the desire to do his best every time he runs.'

DyeStatCal: What is the main reason you run competitively?
Hazel: I enjoy the feeling I get from running a good race. The adrenaline and knowing that you have pushed yourself beyond limits you never thought you could reach. Just the competition is what makes me want to run.
Patrick: I mainly just love the individualistic aspect of running. It all depends on me. I don't have to worry about anyone else's performance, just mine.

DyeStatCal: Of all your high school races, which one was most memorable?
Hazel: That's a tough one. the most memorable would probably have to be State last season. I missed not having my whole team with me but I still had fun. I have the most memories from that race and they are all happy ones.
Patrick: My most memorable race was probably last year when I ran my 800m PR of 1:56.80. I went into the race with a PR of 2:01.5 hoping to break 2 minutes. Coming out of the race with a time like that really boosted my confidence in competition.

DyeStatCal: What's the best advice you have for someone new to your team?
Hazel: I always tell the freshman on the team to just have fun and enjoy running. It's never too competitive your first year and its always important to have fun. If they have had a bad race, I tell them not to worry about it, there is always next week and they are just getting used to the high intensity of cross country in high school so its ok to not be fast yet.
Patrick: The best advice I can give someone is to just never take shortcuts. I know it sounds so cliche but it's true. Avoiding the temptation of taking the easy route can make a difference in both the mental and physical facets of running.

DyeStatCal: Which meet(s) are you looking forward to the most this year?
Hazel: I really look forward to each meet and improving my time. But most of all I'm excited for Stanford because that is a major team bonding race and is where the top 7 really learn to know each other.
Patrick: I'm really looking forward to the Stanford Invitational because it's a pretty fast course and I feel so much stronger this year. I'm also looking forward for section finals and hopefully states. As for track I'd really like to qualify for states this upcoming season.

DyeStatCal: What's your current favorite pre-race warm-up song?
Hazel: 'Stronger' by Kanye West is a great song to listen to before a race.
Patrick: 'Business Time' by Flight of the Conchords

DyeStatCal: What's your favorite food when the coach isn't looking?
Hazel: I love to get Frostys from Wendy's. I always order a small vanilla frosty and a small fry.
Patrick: There's no better way to refuel my body after a tough workout than to inhale a couple of chili dogs from Willies.

DyeStatCal: What's the place outside of California you would most like to visit.
Hazel: I really like Utah. I have a lot of friends who live there and I plan to attend BYU.
Patrick: The place outside of California I'd most like to visit is Ireland. I actually went there in 2006 but our stay was drastically shortened due to delayed flights because of the foiled terrorist plot on August 10th, 2006. Ireland was very beautiful though and I would love to relax and run there some more.

DyeStatCal: The one thing that would surprise us the most about Hazel Richardson is….
Hazel: I'm photography obsessive. I love to take pictures with old manual cameras in black and white.

DyeStatCal: The one thing that would surprise us the most about Patrick Nilan is….
Patrick: I competed in the AAU National Basketball Championships in 2001 in New Orleans. That was a very memorable experience for me.

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