Modesto High runner finds silver lining to cloud of smoky air over region

Having just a week between the Sac-Joaquin Section Cross Country Championships and the CIF State Meet this Saturday, because of unhealthy air from the Camp Fire in Butte County, didn’t bother Modesto High senior Alan Guerrero.

“I prefer the week less because I remember last year I thought two weeks was too long to run by myself,” said the 17-year-old, who values training and racing as part of a team.

The subsections were Nov. 3 in Angels Camp, with sections then scheduled for Nov. 10 in Folsom. As that date neared, though, smoky conditions forced a delay. Sections ended up being held Nov. 17, and the Division 1 runner finished sixth (16:28.1), qualifying for state. He’s set to run at 8:30 a.m. at Woodward Park in Fresno.

The bad air made for challenging training the past couple of weeks. When the team couldn’t practice outside, it ran back and forth about 20 times in a long hallway at Mo High, Guerrero said.

“He was excited, like it was his dream to get to run in the hallways,” Coach Alessandra Battig recalled. The toughest day was the Friday before sections, when the air quality was so bad the team wasn’t allowed to run even inside. “But again, being Alan, he didn’t let it affect him mentally,”

Guerrero, who came to Mo High as a “gold trunker” from the intense P.E. program at Prescott Junior High, has been a varsity runner all four years, said Battig, assistant coach for three years before moving up to head coach. He’s learned to overcome setbacks, such as when he suffered a stress fracture in his foot his sophomore season, she said. He took his recovery seriously, worked out on a bike and came back his junior year as strong as ever, Battig said.

“Every season has had something. ... Last year at sections, there was torrential rain,” Guerrero said. “It’s prepared me to not let anything faze me. The way I looked at it this year, the smoke affected everyone, so we’re all on the same level.”

That we’re-all-in-this-together attitude is one of the traits that makes Guerrero a role model on the Mo High team, Battig said. He’s also an incredibly hard worker and academically among the top of his class, she said. He takes seriously all aspects of being an athlete, including good nutrition and adequate sleep.

“As a team, we warm up together, do a lot of the workouts together,” Battig said. “He sets the example, does the work, does it right, doesn’t goof around.” Yet while he takes cross country seriously, he’s not a stick in the mud, his coach observed. “He knows how to have a good time and have fun and enjoy the process.”

Guerrero said his role on the team has been developing for four years. As a varsity runner his freshman year, he spent a lot of time with juniors and seniors and viewed them as leaders. He knew that eventually “it would be my responsibility to try to be someone younger runners look up to.”

He can do his part because his coaches always have done a great job creating a positive competitive environment, he said.

Applying to universities, Guerrero said he’s making academics his top consideration but also hopes that wherever he goes, he’s fast enough to make the team. “I’m looking at Cal Poly, I think that’s my No. 1,” said Guerrero, who plans to major in electrical engineering. “And UC San Diego. I’m also applying to Stanford as my dream school, my reach school.”

She’s confident Guerrero will succeed, Battig said, and she’ll miss him at Mo High. “It’s kind of unfortunate this is our last year, because he’s been such a role model.”

For his part, the senior said he’s really appreciated his coaches, including Brian Heese and his son, Nic. “They’ve been mentors. They’re there for us in a lot of ways other than running.”

Area runners competing at CIF State Meet

Division I Boys Race, 8:30 a.m.: Fernando Alan Guerrero (Modesto High)

Division II Boys Race, 9 a.m.: None

Division I Girls Race, 9:30 a.m.: Mavleen Mann (Pitman), Briseida Garcia-Meza (Gregori), Madison Kackley (Gregori)

Division II Girls Race, 10 a.m.: Clara Harman (Atwater)

Division III Boys Race, 10:30 a.m.: Merced team, Daniel Herrera (Pacheco), Marco Perez (East Union)

Division IV Girls Race, 11 a.m.: Hughson team, Katarina Borchan (Calaveras)

Division V Boys Race, 11:30 a.m.: Waterford team, Hakyeom Park (Ripon Christian)

Division III Girls Race, noon: Quinn Hagerman (Merced), Haleigh Humble (Oakdale), Kayden Legan (Oakdale), Julia Vezaldenos (East Union)

Division IV Boys Race, 12:30 p.m.: Calaveras team, Clayton Franco (Sonora), Adin Dibble (Sonora), Bennie Dimas (Ripon)

Division V Girls Race, 1 p.m.: Ashley Sams (Central Catholic)