Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Riverbank's Fernandez sets new record at state title race

By WILL DeBOARD
wdeboard@modbee.com

last updated: November 25, 2007 09:56:18 AM

FRESNO -- German Fernandez crossed the finish line and looked up to see his time.

There it was, in large digital numbers: 14:24.

Then the Riverbank High senior collapsed, completely spent, while waves of applause rained down on him. The few thousand people who remained at Woodward Park until the final race at Saturday's CIF State Cross Country Championships just to watch Fernandez run got what they stayed for.

They got to see Fernandez's coronation as the new Woodward Park course record holder, the new state championship record holder, and one of the fastest runners in California state cross country history.

His time smashed the old course record, 14:38, set in 1986 by former Olympian Marc Davis of San Diego. Fernandez's time was the second-fastest time by a high-schooler in the nation this year.

"Many Olympians have run here, and German's got the fastest time of all of them," said his coach, Bruce Edwards. "This time is unbelievably huge. It's phenomenal.

"He's put himself ahead of everybody."

It was nearly a foregone conclusion that Fernandez, a state champion as a sophomore and state runner-up last year, was going to win the Division IV race. For much of the season, he's been the fastest runner in the state.

But he was hoping for a little more.

"I was going for the record," he said. "I wanted to break 14:38."

He felt it was going to be close, but it wasn't until he made the final turn and the finish line was in sight just under 100 meters away that it began to feel real.

"I saw 14:14 on the clock, and I started sprinting," Fernandez said. "I gave it all I had."

As he sprinted in, the crowd of fans that lined the fence at the finish line burst into cheers. They stood several people deep to his left. Most of them stayed for one reason: to see Fernandez run.

"I heard them and it boosted me so much," Fernandez said. "I could hear everybody around me."

Their presence was felt after the race, too. He was followed by several fans and media members with video cameras. Runners from across the state asked to have their picture taken with him. He signed several autographs.

"Everybody knows who he is," said junior teammate Chris Nunez. "We'll be warming up before a race and I'll hear people saying, 'That's German.' "

Fernandez has two more high school races.

Next Saturday, Fernandez will run in the Foot Locker West Regional Championships at Mt. San Antonio College in Southern California. It's a qualifying race for the Dec. 8 Foot Locker National Championships at Balboa Park in San Diego.

At both races, Fernandez will most likely run into Luke Puskedra of Judge Memorial High in Utah. Puskedra ran a 14:20 earlier this year.

"I'm just concentrating on the next race," Fernandez said. "I'm trying to stay focused."

Right now, all California cross country eyes are focused as well. On German Fernandez.

OTHER PLACERS -- Bret Harte sophomore Matt Airola was the only other Stanislaus District runner to place among the top 10, earning a medal. Running in the same Division IV race as Fernandez, Airola finished in 16:09, good for sixth place.

Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV girls champion Katie O'Connor, a Bret Harte sophomore, took 18th in her race in 19:25. "It was a really physical race," O'Connor said. "Personally, I wanted to be in the top 20, and I got that.

"But what was really cool was that our entire team raced here. We've only got one senior and we'll be pretty good next year, too."

In the Division I boys race, the Modesto duo of Marty Pyeatt (38th, 15:59) and Matt Maldonado (56th, 16:09) raced in their last cross country race as Panthers.

"My goal was to break 16 minutes," Pyeatt said. "To end my career this way, with my lowest time, it was a great way to finish out."

Maldonado was hoping for a faster time, but acknowledged the state cross country meet can be a challenge.

"With so many people out there, you have to find the holes to make a move," he said. "It was a pretty physical race, too."

The Division I girls race saw Merced's Sable Browning (56th, 19:00), Beyer's Crystal Esparza (77th, 19:23) and Davis' Amanda Innes (125th, 20:06) finish their seasons.

Bee staff writer Will DeBoard can be reached at wdeboard@modbee.com or 578-2300.

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