Mt. Diablo HS Cross Country Team restarts with enthusiastic school support after 6 year hiatus

When Shore Acres Elementary counselor Marcie Torres heard that Mt. Diablo HS did not have a Cross-Country team, she urged her colleague Brian Rodda, who is a counselor at MDHS, to start one. A former cross-country runner herself at Pittsburg HS, Torres wanted students from Shore Acres and other schools that feed into MDHS to be able to enjoy the sport that she loved as a teen. Rodda brought the idea up at an MDHS staff meeting last year and was met with enthusiasm, when he outlined the health and lifestyle benefits than students could carry with them after they graduate. 

The fledgling team of about 14 runners is enjoying the attention it is receiving from staff members and classmates as they are seen running around campus and in nearby areas as they train. “The program is growing daily just by word of mouth,” Rodda said. “The school has been so supportive. Athletic Director Mua and Principal McCain have been phenomenally supportive of the program.” Some other staff members such as Trevor Pike and Chris Carlay have also said they would like to join the team in running for their own fitness, and some teachers have also expressed interest, Rodda said. The team was also proud to join other school athletes for a walk around the gym during a recent back to school rally that featured “Red Devil” cheers.

Rodda, who is the head coach, is joined by Torres and Shore Acres Special Education Assistant (SEA) Karen Ruiz after school, when Torres warms the team up with stretches behind the football stadium bleachers. The team ran two laps around the track before the field fire, when they were told they could no longer use the track until the field was repaired. So, they have run around the campus and outside on city streets practicing for the 2- and 3-mile races they will run in competition, prompting encouraging honks from car horns in the parking lot as they run by. They also ran 4-miles in the Contra Loma hills on Labor Day to get ready for the hilly, dirt trails on which cross country runners compete. "There was a tiny cave at the top and they got to go inside," Torres said. "A really fun day!"

Grace Seaman, a freshman who previously ran on a CYO team, said she has been running since she was in 3rd grade. She said the sport helps her to regulate her emotions by “running off feelings, and it makes your body feel better and more healthy.” Grace has also found that “the people are always really nice who run and they always cheer each other on, even if they don’t know you.” Henry Lezama, a junior who has previously run in track meets, said he has always wanted to run cross country, so when the opportunity arose, he jumped at the chance to join the team. “This seems like it is more about being able to go long distances up and down hills,” he said. “Track is more about speed. For this, I will need a lot of endurance.”

Torres is feeling energized by her new role as a coach, which brings back happy memories from when she ran cross country in high school. “I just had such fun running that I felt it was important to bring it here,” she said. “It’s been a lot of fun. We started the second week of school. So, we kind of got a late start to condition, because everybody else has been conditioning over the summer.”

Rodda said the addition of cross country to fall sports at MDHS is helping to increase the school pride that has been rebounding over the past few years. “This is another sport for students to be able to participate in,” he said, adding that he also wants to run himself for his own health and fitness. Rodda recently injured his knee, and he praised the school’s sports medicine students who helped wrap it and said he knows they will be a great resource for the cross country athletes. 

Fetua Mua, an MDHS alum who graduated in 2005, is eager to bring back all the sports that he remembers at the school 20 years ago. As he watched the runners pass by the football team at practice after school, he said: “We’re just excited.”