When prior commitments caused McCurdy freshman Aaron Martinez to miss the District 5-2A cross country race and subsequent state meet, it seemed like his running season was over and he could focus on basketball.
But when Martinez was invited to compete in the Brooks West Regional earlier this month in Walnut, California, he hopped on board, then represented well, finishing in 19 minutes, 24.2 seconds, good for 61st among the 141 freshmen who ran in the event at the Mount San Antonio College cross country course.
“My coach, he received the invite and I just wanted to try it out,” Martinez said.
Martinez first made his mark locally as an eighth grader last year, when he was brought up from middle school to compete for varsity in the district championships, then earned a spot in the state meet, where he finished 67th, which was not bad for somebody who was in his first year in the sport.
An all-around athlete, family and friends convinced Martinez to give running a try.
“My nina Lori (Lucero) had been persuading me to run (cross country) since I was in seventh grade, so my eighth-grade year me and my (older) brother Adam decided to join the team,” he said. “My parents also encouraged and supported me as they see my potential and talent as a runner. My friends also convinced me to join the cross country team to compete with them. And I was interested in trying a new sport. I grew up playing basketball, baseball and soccer.”
But Martinez, who also inspired his younger brother, sixth-grader Andre Martinez, to run cross country, said there’s something about running that captivates him.
“I enjoy competing against my teammates and friends from other schools, pushing me to be a better runner,” he said. “And hanging out with my teammates, the opportunity to travel for meets and making new friends with my teammates on the cross country team and with runners from other schools.”
Being selected for the Brooks race was a surprise, but one that he embraced.
“At the beginning of the race it wasn’t bad,” Martinez said. “I was a little nervous, because I didn’t know what to expect. But as soon as the race started, right off the gun, I said, ‘It’s time to go.’ I felt pretty good the first mile.”
He ran a 5:30.4 split over that first mile and sat in 40th place.
“For the most part, the first mile was mostly flat,” Martinez said.
Then it started to get tougher.
“The second and third miles, the hills started to pick up, they were steep,” he said. “It was the hardest cross country meet I’ve run so far.”
He dropped to a 7:12.2 second mile before finishing up with a 6:41.6 over the final mile-plus.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Brooks West XC meet,” Martinez said. “It challenged me to prepare and to compete against the best. My coach (Carlos Martinez) gave me a training plan for the Brooks meet after I committed to participating. After school I followed his plan, then rested a bit before basketball practice.”
He’s already looking forward to next year’s race, but first he has the rest of basketball season and track on which to focus.
“I’m going to try qualifying in the 2-mile and 1-mile,” he said of the 3,200-yard and 1,600-yard runs at the state track and field meet in May. “But I enjoyed competing against some of the best runners in the West and next year, if I have the opportunity to go back, I want to finish in the top 20 and qualify for finals.”