Erik Beckmen’s Coyote Valley Track and Field Club in Morgan Hill is excelling with young distance runners. Four club athletes qualified through two rounds of regional meets to compete in the US Track and Field Cross Country National Championships in Shelbyville, Indiana on Dec. 14.
The elite quartet includes 13-year-old Joseph Palacios of Gilroy, 14-year-old Owen Beckmen of Morgan Hill, 13-year-old Juli Barberi of Morgan Hill and eight-year old Sebastian Uhl of Morgan Hill. Palacios and Beckman competed in the boys age 13-14 4K race at Nationals, with Barberi in the girls age 13-14 4K race. Uhl ran in the boys age 7-8 2K race.
The crew shined during the season in meets, with others from the Coyote Valley Club. In the championships, those four qualified at Hayward High School to move to the big Region 14 meet at Woodward Park in Fresno on Dec. 1. They all finished in the top 30 in their respective races in Fresno to qualify for the USATF National Championships.
Although race distances may be the same from one course to another, this is not track and field where the track surface is the same flat oval in every race. Thus in cross country, courses may differ a bit due to terrain and some elevation.
At Hayward and Fresno and later in the USATF Nationals in Indiana, Uhl was quite the star with his performances. He took sixth place in Hayward in a race of 46 runners with a 2K time of 8:14.97.
In Fresno, with the more challenging competition, Uhl finished in sixth out of 40 runners, in a time of 8:14. In the USATF Nationals with a field of 247 runners, he crossed the line in 73rd place in 8:34.
“I like to run because I like being faster than most adults I meet,” Uhl said. “My favorite thing about Nationals was going on a one-on-one trip with my dad and playing lots of video games.”
Uhl, who is home-schooled in Morgan Hill, has been running since he was age six. This is his third year with the Coyote Valley Club and he takes inspiration from an older brother who also made nationals.
“He has a lot of energy and when it comes to race, he goes out there and runs hard,” coach Beckmen said. “He has good stamina and his stamina has improved a lot this year. He also runs at home on his own and also bikes.”
Barberi, an eighth-grader at the Charter School of Morgan Hill, also had a stellar trio of races. At Hayward, she finished 17th in a field of 78 in the 4K race, with a time of 16:53. In the tougher competition in Fresno, she crossed in 16:42 for 13th place out of 40 runners. At the USATF Nationals, she sped home in 15:52 to grab 168th place in a huge field of 394 runners from all around the country.
“Nationals was an amazing experience and I still can’t believe I made it that far,” Barberi said. “This was a new experience for me. I became interested in running last May after a seventh grade track meet. My big sister is a successful runner and that inspired me to become a good runner too.
“I was always fast, but I didn’t have endurance. I’m so glad I joined Coach Beckmen’s club. At Nationals I had goals to finish in the top half in my race and to get a personal record (PR). I did both!”
Barberi also has an older sibling for inspiration. Cali Barberi, a sophomore at Sobrato, is a star racer on the Bulldogs track and field team and recorded an amazing 2:19 800-meter time last year.
“Juli works really hard,” coach Beckmen said. “She also runs outside of club practices. She’s improved every single race.”
The two older boys also ran three excellent races. Owen Beckmen finished in 18th place out of 101 racers in Hayward, with a time of 14:31. He then ran 14:59 for 18th place out of 45 in Fresno. In Indiana, he finished in 221st out of 421, with a time of 14:27.
“The experience at Nationals was fun and very competitive,” Owen Beckmen said. “It takes a lot to prepare for the season and to keep advancing after each championship in order to make it to Nationals. I had to stay consistent with my running all season.”
Palacios put together great races. He came across the line with a superb 8th place finish in 14:14 in Hayward and in 6th place in 14:17 in Fresno. At the USATF Nationals, he was right with his teammate, finishing in 14:28 for 229th place.
“I like to run because it’s an experience like no other,” Palacios said. “My favorite part of Nationals was the competitiveness and hard work that we all put in throughout the year leading to the race.”
Palacios attends Monte Vista Christian Middle School and has been in the club for five years.
“He’s an incredibly hard worker,” coach Beckmen said. “He runs 30 miles a week. He has an incredible work ethic. Now he’s one of the top runners in the region. He wakes up early and runs before school.”
Owen Beckmen, also a student at the Charter School of Morgan Hill, has been running with the Coyote Creek Club since he was 7 years old. As with others, he has an older sibling who runs, Gavin Beckmen, who now runs for Monte Vista Christian High School. Owen Beckmen is similar to Palacios in that he works out in the morning and has a strong work ethic.
“He runs 25 to 30 miles per week,” coach Beckmen said. “And he adds in biking, about 15 to 20 miles per week. He’s a really good pacer. He runs his own race every single time. He’s a cerebral runner and has a great kick at the end.”
Juli Barberi’s father, Tony Barberi, gives credit to the runners and especially the leadership and coaching of Erik Beckmen.
“Erik is the coach of the Coyote Valley Running Club and he’s the reason these kiddos reached this national championship,” Tony Barberi said. “At least for my daughter who got hooked on running last May at her seventh grade track meet, he’s the reason! Really, it was quite an accomplishment for all who made it to Indiana!”
The club consists of runners from age 6-14, as boys and girls entering high school can no longer also run club. Beckmen also coaches track and cross country at Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville.
“All the kids did amazing this year,” coach Beckmen said. “We had seven kids on the team and four of them advanced to Nationals. I’ve had runners go to nationals eight years in a row.”
