Legends

When I has in HS there was a runner in my league who ran for Clovis, Gary Gonzales. He was a year ahead of me.  We ran in a lot of the same races. He ran 4:13 in the 1600m. I remember thinking he was like a god. He was so much faster than everyone else from that area. Just the memory of him seems slightly unreal, even after all these years. 

 

One of the highlights of doing the StanCo thing is witnessing history. That is when County runners set marks or run times that rank them among the best ever. The past couple of years have been extraordinary.

The recent graduates were beginning track season of their Frosh year when all sports (and everything else) came to a stop. Most of these boys were scrawny and hadn't yet demonstrated much that hinted at future greatness.  As many runners their age gave up on the sport during the year-long halt, they pushed through. While their bodies continued growing they trained and trained. As the world emerged from the year long shut-down, these four had developed into real runners. Additionally in all four cases, most of their older role-model team-mates did not continue running. As sophs with very little racing experience, they found themselves as the top runners on their teams. Sometimes young females are thrust into this type of leadership situation; but males almost always have older, stronger, faster, team-mates to shadow. 

Below I want to tell the story of four remarkable, history-making, recent StanCo graduates who have cemented their names in the StanCo record books.

CALEB CAVANAUGH (OAKDALE)

Caleb had a slight leg up on the other guys. He ran varsity as a frosh and even grabbed the final spot on the All StanCo XC team that season. He would go on and make the All StanCo XC team all four years. That is a fete rarely accomplished by the girls and never by a male...except Caleb. He was also on the All StanCo track team for three years 2021-2023. He helped Oakdale qualify for State XC twice, and they won the team title his senior year--the first team win ever by a StanCo team. His XC stats are startling:  He ranks #11 All Time StanCo at Willow Hills (16:27) and #6 at Woodward Park(15:29). He was HM All NorCal in 2021, 3rd team All NorCal in 2022, and HM Senior State in 2022. He also placed 7th in D3 at State this past year. His best track times are even more remarkable: #18 All Time StanCo 800m (1:55.67); #3 All StanCo 1600m (4:10.40); and #6 All Time StanCo  3200 9:10.86. Did you notice that he made the All Time StanCo list in all three distance events? Yea that just doesn't happen...well one other person previously accomplished that trifecta...you might have heard of him...German Fernandez...and now Caleb Cavanaugh earns his way onto all three lists too!!!

DAX DALEY (OAKDALE)

Well if Batman had Robin, Caleb had Dax...or was it the other way around. I think it is safe to say they challenged, pushed, and brought out the best in each other. Dax won very few races over his four years. Looking at his finishing places (and not his times), his HS career might seem underwhelming. Even for me, on the field right next to the track, it was easy to lose Dax in the pack of a race. He is incredibly patient. He floats along with the race and then moves to establish himself during the final phase. I have never seen a runner so tactically patient. Dax's XC stats are even better than Caleb's: He was All StanCo XC in 21 and 22. In 2023 he placed 2nd in the D3 State Meet, leading Oakdale to the team victory. He was 1st Team All NorCal (over the past 60 years a fete accomplished by only 20 other StanCo runners) and 2nd Team All State Senior. His best times land him at #3 over the Willow Hills course (15:44) and #3 at Woodward (15:18). In track he specialized in the 3200. He earned All StanCo Track in 21, 22, and 23. This year at State he placed 15th in the 3200m...but was in 3rd with 200m left well on his way to going sub 9...when he was tripped from behind. The fact that he got up and still finished in 15th shows what a warrior Dax is at heart. His best 3200m in track (9:08.84) ranks him as #4 All Time StanCo. 

 

JOE LIGHTHALL (HUGHSON)

You might have heard of this guy...He just won the State 800m title, the first distance title by a StanCo runner in 15 years. Oh and he broke the Stanislaus County records in both the 800m (1:51.95) and the 400m (47.85)...State Champion, County Record Holder...Wow, just Wow. 

Let's go back to the beginning. Joe was hardly noticeable on his own team going into COVID. Hughson was stacked with some great young talent. But almost all of them didn't return from the year hiatus...and Joe grew a ton. He became a man and then THE MAN.    Locally Joe earned All StanCo honors in XC in 20 and 21. In track he was All StanCo in 22 and 23. Oh did I mention that he WON THE STATE 800m TITLE?!?!

 

NATE OLSEN (BEYER)

Pre-COVID Beyer had a great core of young talent..most of them didn't return once running began again. However Nate had grown and now was both stronger and more confident. With the exception and a substantial setback due to illness, he continued improving. Ultimately Nate would earn All StanCo XC honors in XC during 20, 21, and 22. He led Beyer to two berths in the State Championship meet. His top times place him at #6 All Time for Willow Hills (16:06) and #27 at Woodward Park (16:12). In track he would score All StanCo honors in 2022 and 23. His top times rank him as #9 All Time StanCo in the 1600m (4:17.24) and #10 in the 3200m (9:14.64). Nate's 3200m time would be eye-popping pre-COVID, but in these crazy times Oakdale had 3 boys this year run faster than that. Was it that these boys pushed each other to faster and faster times, or does the convergence of greatness in the four of them somehow detract from their phenomenal individual accomplishments? 

 

These four future StanCo legends are also amazing students...