UCLA-bound senior eyes state berth in half mile
MORGAN HILL — It may have been the first time Alan Rios has doubted himself. He was not running.
It was April 23, and the 5-foot-11 middle-distance prodigy was on campus at UCLA, surrounded by several other bright future Bruins vying to earn a share of the alumni scholarship fund through an essay contest.
After being seated, a proctor entered the room and placed a large acrylic box on a desk in front of them. Its contents were several multicolored origami birds.
“Write whatever comes to mind. You have 20 minutes,” the students were told.
Rios had spent most of his senior year at Sobrato High School in student council meetings, advanced-placement tests, leadership groups and a few races on the side, to be in this position. He had been interviewed by UCLA alumni during the previous months; first in a zone contest, then regionals and finally state.
Rios met with a panel of about 60 alumni the day before the essay contest and did not flinch.
“I thought it was fun. I’m a talker,” he said. “I treated it like a competition.”
Now, Rios was staring at a clock that was staring back at him — and those birds.
The words slowly came to him.
“We’re all categorized into different boxes and colors,” Rios recalled. “The only way we can continue to progress is to break out of those boxes.”
Rios has repeatedly done so in the classroom and the half mile and is a champion in both.
His dedication and 4.24 cumulative GPA allowed him to follow in the footsteps of his sister, Vanessa (a Spanish teacher at SHS), in choosing to attend UCLA over Brown, Air Force and Cal, and his determination helped him earn a substantial portion of the alumni scholarship.
Rios will call on both traits today as he tries to break out of another box in the Central Coast Section Finals.
He is seeded seventh for the 800 meters at Garcia-Elder Sports Complex, backed by his sixth-place overall finish Saturday at semifinals and his personal-record time of one minute, 55.64 seconds. But Rios needs to go above and beyond to make the cut for state.
His competition includes veritable half-mile celebrities: reigning CCS champion Nathan Strum of Pioneer, Menlo junior Jason McGhee, who owns the fifth-fastest time in Northern California this spring; and Kyle McNulty of Scotts Valley, another one of NorCal’s finest. The at-large qualifying mark is 1:55.02, and the top three finishers advance automatically.
The June 4-5 state meet has been Rios’ holy grail, a feat that would bolster his resume as a potential walk-on next year. Anything less than a PR today could mean the end of his career.
“That’s the reality at this point, so it is nerve racking,” said Rios, who placed fourth and missed the cut for state at the 2009 CCS Finals. “But nervous isn’t the right word. It’s more like excitement. It’s a weird feeling I’ve never had before.”
Rios is taking a calculated approach to finals. Knowing his PR is about six tenths of a second behind the at-large mark, he looks at the meet as a “win-win.”
“Each of my goals is within another. If I PR, everything should fall into place,” Rios said. “And I am ready to lay it all out on the line. I’ve been waiting for this all season.”
Since Day 1, Rios’ training has led up to this meet.
“He’s always pushed himself to do whatever it takes to do his best,” his father and coach, Fred, said. “He knows nothing is guaranteed no matter how hard you work. You just have to go your hardest. I’ll be proud knowing he’s done that even if he doesn’t make state.”
Rios respects his competition but is not intimidated. He prefers keeping up with a fast field as opposed to setting the pace.
Which is why Rios got anxious at semifinals last week after hearing that UCLA-bound star Philip MacQuitty of Palo Alto dropped out of the 800 to focus on the 1,600 meters. MacQuitty, a good friend of Rios, ran the fastest half mile in the section this spring.
Rios still won his heat in 1:57.76.
“I was hoping he’d be there to push the pace, so I was nervous,” Rios said. “I respect runners like him. They can mentally push the pace the whole time. I’m just not one of those guys.”
MacQuitty likes Rios’ chances anyway.
“He’s got a good chance of winning if he makes his move at the right time and isn’t afraid of getting passed,” said MacQuitty, who won the 3,200 meters at CCS in 2007. “Alan’s got some power. He has a great kick, but he can’t use it too early.”
Rios agreed his fate will be determined in the closing 200 meters. That’s where Rios’ training in the open 400 should pay off. He set aside equal time for both events this spring — all for today.
The sprint of his life; one last box to break through as a Bulldog.
“I’ve pushed myself to distant extremes; I almost passed out after some practices. It’s just a whole different level,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll see the accumulation.”
NOTE: Today’s CCS Finals meet begins with field events at 4 p.m. Track events follow at 6.
