With adrenaline coursing through his veins, sophomore Mateo Allen-Aguirre sprints down the last 100 meter stretch of the track, passing two other runners to win the 1600 meter race. As he collapses on the ground, knowing he gave it his all, the timer reads 4:20, a new school record.

Holding the school record in the 1600 meter is just one of Allen-Aguirre’s many commendable achievements, which includes his school record-breaking 800 meter time of 1:54. He is also nationally ranked as the fourth fastest sophomore in the nation for the 800 meter distance.

“During races, it usually varies what I tell myself, but I generally try to keep a calm mind,” Allen-Aguirre said. “I believe the intention and preparation comes before the race, and if you are ready, then pushing comes down to how bad you want it.”

Allen-Aguirre undergoes intensive training with his private coach, Carlos Handler, in order to achieve his fast times. He uses a multipace technique that trains athletes with the speed of a 400 meter runner and the strength of a 5,000 meter runner to prepare himself for race day, according to Allen-Aguirre.

“If you’ve ever seen him run, especially in the last 150 of his race, there’s a fire in his eyes that I think just represents this determination, this perseverance, this drive that he is willing to overcome any obstacle in his path,” head track and field coach Cale Kavanaugh said.

Allen-Aguirre entered the track program as a freshman and left the coaches speechless with his incredible drive during training and competitions, according to Kavanaugh.

“He elevated the level that our men’s distance runners were performing at because he was a fierce competitor,” Kavanaugh said. “In practice, he was always determined to be the first, the fastest. He was chasing around our seniors as a freshman, and he made everyone realize that they needed to step up their level of performance.”

A typical week of workouts for Allen-Aguirre consists of a six-mile easy run on Sunday, a strength workout on Monday, a recovery run on Tuesday, another speed-focused session on Wednesday and recovery on Thursday and Friday to prepare his body for a hard tempo run on Saturday, according to Allen-Aguirre.

“Everything comes from training,” Allen-Aguirre said. “If you train hard, you can race hard. You can challenge yourself and rely on only you.”

Track is a sport that always keeps athletes humble, because no matter how fast athletes may be, there is always somebody who is pushing them, trying to beat them, according to Kavanaugh.

“There are very few athletes who ever undergo an undefeated season,” Kavanaugh said. “I hope to see Mateo go through the journey of the wins, and the losses, and to grow as a man through that.”

In the future, Allen-Aguirre said his goal is to run a mile in under four minutes and progress to a 1:50 time in the 800 meter. Running Division 1 in college is the ultimate dream.

“There are no guarantees to anything, and setbacks do occur, but I’m willing to chase greatness regardless,” Allen-Aguirre said. “Everything I do is in relation to callusing my mind and setting my intention on being the best. If I don’t achieve it, I’ll at least know I tried, and I ultimately hope to know that I gave everything I could to this sport.”

This story was originally published on Portola Pilot on April 28, 2023.