Escobar Went the Extra Mile to Discover Success

By DAN ARRITT

June 15, 1999 12 AM PT

Share via
- Email
- Facebook
- X
- LinkedIn
- Threads
- Reddit
- WhatsApp

TIMES STAFF WRITER

It wasn’t until after Villa Park’s Augie Escobar became the first Orange County high school runner since 1985 to break the nine-minute barrier in the 3,200 meters that Coach Dave White pulled his junior runner aside.

“He told me he ran 8:58.8 as a junior [at El Modena],” Escobar said. “I had just broke his own record.”

Escobar did more than better White’s mark when he ran 8:56.23 to win the eight-lap race at the Southern Section Masters Meet three weeks ago. It was also the fastest outdoor time by a high school runner this season and the best time in the county since 1981.

Escobar’s record time was sandwiched between a Division II title and a third-place finish at state in the 3,200. Throw in Orange County titles in the 800 and 1,600 this season, and it’s easy to see why Escobar is The Times Orange County Athlete of the Year in boys’ track and field.

Escobar’s beginnings were humble. His best time in the event last season was 9:39.11 and he finished last in the 1,600 and 3,200 at the Division II finals.

“I felt pretty good when I got to CIF, but then I got taught a lesson,” Escobar said.

Escobar’s stock began to rise during the cross-country season last fall, when he was runner-up at the Orange County Championships, finished third in Division II and was named to The Times all-county team. But after the season ended, he settled back into a training schedule of just 20 miles a week.

“I was kind of tired of running,” Escobar said. “I just wanted to kick it for a while.”

Then, about the beginning of track season, Escobar had a long discussion with White about what it would take to rise to the top.

“The main philosophy was that we went back to the training styles of the 1960s and 1970s,” White said. “I was the first prep to break nine minutes in Orange County, so I knew a little about what it takes.”

Escobar bumped his training up to 50 miles a week. He ran three miles in the morning four or five days a week, and then train in the afternoon seven days a week. On Sundays, he would work out with Katella’s state championship cross-country team.

“Our team would do a morning workout, but I would do it again the next day,” Escobar said. “All of the workouts I hit as hard as I could.”

Escobar’s extensive training began to show at the Orange County Championships in April. White decided to pass on the 3,200 and give Escobar a speed workout in the 800 and 1,600. Escobar sped all the way to victory in both.

“We had a plan all along that he was going to hit the two-mile hard in the postseason,” said White, who broke nine minutes in 1969. “I believe a runner only has about four or five good races a year and I didn’t want [the Orange County Championships] to be one of them.”

Escobar’s first big race came at the Division II finals, when he outkicked Ventura’s Josh Spiker to win the 3,200 at Cerritos College in a school record 9:03.64. Six days later, Escobar made history by beating Spiker to the finish line on the same track at the Masters Meet.

“When we ran 8:56 I didn’t think I was going that fast,” Escobar said. “I could have easily run 8:50.”

Spiker will be back next season and Escobar is already plotting how they can run even lower.

“If we do a 4:24 mile and if I can go the last 800 in about 2:08,” Escobar said, “then I think we will be in the 8:40s next year.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BOY’S TRACK AND FIELD

FIRST TEAM

100

Claude Melvin

Brea Olinda

Jr.

Time: 10.40w. Orange County and Division II champion, fourth at Masters.

200

Claude Melvin

Brea Olinda

Jr.

Time: 21.23w. Orange County and Division II champion, sixth at Masters.

400

Garrett Thompson

Santa Margarita

Sr.

Time: 49.05. Second at county championships, fifth in Division II.

800

Antonio Lozano

Katella

Jr.

Time: 1:55.05. Division II champion, third in state, fifth at Masters.

1,600

Bruce Hancock

Costa Mesa

Sr.

Time: 4:18.12. Division III champion, second at Masters, ninth in state.

3,200

Augie Escobar

Villa Park

Jr.

Time: 8:56.23. Fastest time in nation, third in state, first at Masters and Division II.

110 high hurdles

Ahmad Wright

Kennedy

Sr.

Time: 14.24w. Orange County and Division II champion, eighth in state, fifth at Masters.

300 low hurdles

Trevor Jones

Newport Harbor

Jr.

Time: 37.64. Seventh in state, third at Masters and Division II.

400 relay

Brea Olinda

Time: 42.18. Claude Melvin (Jr.), Scott Lieng (Sr.), Ken Washington (Jr.) and Steve Heffernan (Sr.). Won Division II title, finished second at Orange County Championships and sixth at Masters.

1,600 relay

Servite

Time: 3:19.82. Laurence Mason (Sr.), Lamar Mason (So.), Bryan Lentz (Sr.) and David Traynor (Sr.). Won Division II title and qualified for state championships with third place at Masters.

High jump

Joe Thomas

Buena Park

Sr.

Height: 6-6. Shared county’s leading mark.

Long jump

Joe Thomas

Buena Park

Sr.

Length: 22-8 1/2. Orange County champion, second in Division II, seventh at Masters.

Triple jump

Joe Thomas

Buena Park

Sr.

Length: 46-8 3/4. Orange County and Division II champion, fourth at Masters.

Pole vault

Jeff Ryan

Huntington Beach

Sr.

Height: 15-8. Division I champion, third at Masters, eighth in state.

Shotput

Sam Lightbody

Huntington Beach

Sr.

Distance: 60-8 1/2. Orange County and Division I champion, sixth in state, second at Masters.

Discus

Travis Pendleton

Esperanza

Jr.

Distance: 183-7. Division I champion, third in state, second at Masters.

SECOND TEAM

100

Sam Moore

El Toro

Sr.

Time: 11.00. Sea View League champion, tied for second at county championships

200

Kai Lewis

San Clemente

Sr.

Time: 22.15. Third at county championships, South Coast League champion

400

Scot Thompson

Trabuco Hills

Sr.

Time: 49.35. Finished first at Orange County Championships

800

Steve Jensen

Newport Harbor

Sr.

Time: 1:55.77. Second at county championships, third in Division II, eighth at Masters

1,600

Ryan Bousquet

Esperanza

Jr.

Time: 4:16.90. Sixth in state, third in Division I, fifth at county championships

3,200

Curt Herberts

Newport Harbor

Sr.

Time: 9:13.88. Seventh at state, second at county championships

110 high hurdles

Kenny Vinh

Katella

Jr.

Time: 14.66. Fourth in Division II, second-best time in county

300 low hurdles

Ahmad Wright

Kennedy

Sr.

Time: 37.62. County champion, second in Division II, fifth at Masters

400 relay Santa Margarita

Time: 42.72. Ted Reilly (Jr.), Phil Sardis (Jr.), Garrett Thompson (Sr.) and Scott Langford (So.). Won Orange County and Sea View League titles, had county’s third-best time.

1,600 relay

Santa Margarita

Time: 3:21.16. Phil Sardis (Jr.), Sean Zeitler (So.), Adam Schmit (Jr.) and Ted Reilly (Jr.). Finished third in Division II, second at county championships, seventh at Masters

High jump

Bryan Panian

Los Alamitos

Sr.

Height: 6-6. Had one of county’s leading marks, second at county championships

Long jump

Antonio Thomas

Century

Jr.

Length: 21-10 1/2. Third at county championships, seventh in Division II

Triple jump

Clarence Moore