Player Profile: Polytechnic Runner Evan Hayes

This article was originally published in the Pasadena Independent.

Until his freshman year at Polytechnic, Evan Hayes had never been into running. Then he joined the cross country team and discovered a new passion.

“When I started, I was kind of reluctant to run a lot,” Hayes said. “But the past couple summers I got into running every day, running longer distances and having really structured workout plans … Overall, I think I’ve become a lot more invested in running.”

Hayes, who is entering his senior year, never looked back. He finished the season last year as one of Poly’s top runners. Hayes finished fifth in the league and qualified for CIF prelims, then CIF finals. 

“Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the state meet, but hopefully this year I can finish highly at CIF finals and qualify for the state meet,” Hayes said. 

Besides going to state, Hayes said his big goal for this season is for the whole team to qualify for CIF. He believes the team can do this because they have a lot of talented underclassmen.

Hayes also runs for Poly’s track team, participating in the 800-meter, the mile and the two mile races.

Although the season doesn’t start for several weeks, Hayes is already training.

“After track ended, I took a two week rest period before training,” Hayes said. “My coach and I set up a workout plan for the summer with weekly mileage targets. I’ve been running in the high 30s and low 40s (miles per week) over the summer. By the end of summer, I hope to be running in the 50s or maybe even 60s to hit those goals of qualifying for state.”

After this year, Hayes plans to go to a small liberal arts school out of state.

“I kind of just want to get out of California,” Hayes said. “I love California, but I think it would be a good experience to get out for four years because I’ve lived in Southern California for my entire life. I think seeing a different part of the country would definitely be a good experience.”

Hayes doesn’t plan to run in college. He isn’t sure what he’s going to study yet, but he’s leaning towards history or economics because those are his favorite subjects at Poly.

For now though, Hayes is focused on training for this season. His summer will revolve around his running schedule.

“Most people don’t know how time consuming and how much energy you have to put into running long distance. They don’t understand the work I put into it,” Hayes said. “If you miss one workout, one run, that can have a big effect. You really have to watch the way you eat too. It does dominate your life a bit. It’s very taxing on your body. People don’t know how much time it takes to stay in shape for a runner.”

Cross Country Finishes Strong at PacWest Championships

This article was originally published in ZU News.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams finished fourth and sixth, respectively, at the PacWest Championships on Oct. 21 in Belmont, Calif.

Senior Jeremy Porter led the men’s side with a second place finish. Porter ended the race with a time of 24:55.8, only 2.1 seconds behind the first place runner.

“It was just a fun race overall,” Porter said. “Earlier on this year, I definitely saw some challenges facing down the beginning of the season. I saw a big road ahead of me, a long one. It was arduous and really hard to get to the spot where I’m at right now. When you get to a place where you know how much you fought through to get there… I just really appreciate it.”

This was one of Porter’s fastest times this season. He finished in first place at the Biola Invitational and the Coyote Challenge in September.

“It was my last PacWest race. It was a good way to finish it off and I’m happy with how it went. I’m ready for the next race coming up,” Porter said.

Cross country head coach Preston Grey said he was happy with the way Porter ran.

“He definitely wanted to get the win, but the other two guys he was running with, all three are All-American caliber guys. If he runs the same way at regionals, he’s got a great chance of going to nationals,” Grey said.

Grey expressed that the team performed well overall today, though they have some things to work on.

“It was definitely solid. We’re getting better every year,” Grey said. “For the men’s team, we thought we were going to be right in that mix somewhere. The girls were only two points out of fourth. We would have liked to have bridged that gap, but there’s a lot to build on for both sides. There are some good things we can take away from this one.”

The men’s team finished with a score of 111, good for fourth place out of 12 teams. There were a total of 89 runners in the men’s competition.

Porter reflected on his close finish at the end of the race.

“It definitely gives you a sense of humility. I didn’t know exactly how good those guys were coming into this race. That was the first time I competed against them. It humbles you because it shows you how talented they are and how quickly things can change,” Porter said. ” I honestly was going through that last 100 meters thinking I was going to take the race.”

Senior Cody Drisko also represented the Cougars, finishing 11th overall with a time of 25:49.2, only three seconds outside of finishing in the top 10. The men’s team had one other finisher in the top 25, freshman Nathaniel Tamminga, who finished 23rd with a time of 26:27.8.

Grey noted that the team is young and they performed well given the circumstances.

“We’ve got a lot of young kids. This was their first championship race. They’re learning how to run at that level,” Grey said. “The girls didn’t get up quite fast enough and had to do a lot of work late. They finished strong. For the guys, there’s a couple spots here and there where we can pick up some extra points. We’re working on improving that.”

Junior Elise Larson was the top runner for the Cougars on the women’s side. She finished 11th overall with a time of 22:01.3, only 3.5 seconds out of a top 10 finish.

“I really wanted to focus on racing strategy and being smart about it. The race was very difficult. I focused on being able to pass in the last half of the race,” Larson said. “I was in the spot that I aimed for. However, in the next meet I want to set my sights high and go for as high of a place as I can.”

Larson was joined by freshman Jenna Wilson, who ended up in 15th place with a time of 22:19.9. Wilson and Larson have been the top runners for the women’s team at every race this season. Wilson’s top finish of the season was fourth place at the Coyote Challenge, where Larson finished in seventh.

“She’s our top returner coming back. She and Jenna have kind of been sharing that number one spot,” Grey said on Larson’s performance. “Our goal was making the top 10 [overall runners]. We were right there, really close. The four or five top girls [in the conference] are probably All-Americans. So we’re right on the cusp of breaking into that elite group.”

Porter is already focused on regionals, which will take place in Oregon on Nov. 4.

“I’m looking forward to getting to compete against so many good guys. The west region is so deep. I’ve been racing them for four years. I’m looking forward for competing for the championship. This is my first year with an actual chance to do that, so I’m happy,” Porter said. “I just hope next time goes even better than today went.”

Larson echoed her excitement for regionals as well, saying the team would be ready for them.

“We’re going to have a little more spring in our step when we train,” Larson said. “I’m excited for it to be a fast race. It’s a really good course. If we keep doing what we’re doing, it’s going to put us in a good spot.”

Cross Country Preps For NCAA Championships

This article originally appeared in ZU News.

The Azusa Pacific cross country team battled through mud and rain in Hawaii on Oct. 22 to finish third overall in the men’s competition and fifth overall in the women’s. Juniors Jeremy Porter and Eileen Stressling led the Cougars, with Porter finishing fourth for the men and Stressling taking fifth for the women.

“The conditions were hilariously bad. It would have been funny if we didn’t have to run,” Stressling said. “We taped our shoes to our feet so they didn’t come off in the mud. Your foot would just go down in the mud and not come up for a while.”

Stressling is the defending conference champion and is prepared for the NCAA championships after having to run in Hawaii.

“It was just hard. There’s no way to run it except to keep going. You just can’t let go at any point,” Stressling said.

Porter’s fourth place finish was the same as last year. Yet, he viewed the conference championships differently than Stressling.

“It was a really fun meet. I think I prepared well for it and I think I did well, just focusing on staying in the same place as last year,” Porter said. “I really had to work for it, but it was a good race overall and I’m happy with my performance.”

The team prepared for the conditions in Hawaii by running in the mountains. Porter said he thought the practice paid off and is excited for the NCAA Division II West Region Championships.

“I’m looking forward to going out there and competing against some guys that I haven’t competed against so far this year,” Porter said. “My expectations are just to finish in the top 20, hopefully the top 15.”

Porter finished 21st at the D-II West Championships last year, and he must finish in the top five overall to move on to the D-II National Championships. Stressling also has a shot to make it to the nationals, although she can finish up to sixth overall.

“It’s definitely going to be better. We’ve seen [Hawaii] so we can do anything,” Stressling said. “We’ll all have each other’s back. That’s something we’re working on, wanting everyone to be successful.”

Stressling is the most experienced member of the women’s cross country team as a junior. There are three sophomores and three freshmen who make up the rest of the team.

“We’re really young,” head coach Preston Grey said.

Grey has been coaching the APU team for 12 years. He said he is proud of how the team ran in Hawaii despite the conditions.

“The course conditions were probably the worst we’ve ever ran in, so that made it a challenge, but we’ll learn a lot from that meet,” Grey said. “It was basically a tough mudder.”

Grey thinks that Stressling could represent APU as an All-American for the second year in a row.

“I think she definitely has a shot to do that again. The west region is the deepest and toughest region in the country for sure. Everybody’s got a good runner. Getting out of there as an individual is a hard thing to do,” Grey said.

Grey is shooting for the team to finish in the top 10. He thinks both teams have a chance, though the women have a better shot if everything lines up.

“This is the time of year that we all get excited about and train for. We’re just looking to run really well at the regional meet and take that on a positive note and build from there,” Grey said.

At the conference championships, Porter finished with a time of 27:32.09, only 42 seconds behind the first-place runner. Also representing the Cougars, junior Cody Drisko added All-PacWest second team honors by finishing 14th overall at 28:28.91. Senior Aaron Potts placed 26th overall, a minute behind Drisko at 29:28.08.

Sophomore Jake Kleist was the Cougars’ fourth finisher, placing 31st overall at 29:44.69. Freshman Kurt Hake rounded out the team’s top-five by placing 55th overall at 31:37.12. APU scored 121 points, four more than the next place finisher Fresno Pacific.

Stressling finished at 23:39.67, and sophomore Elise Larson finished 16th overall, clocking in at 24:47.68 and earning All-PacWest third team honors. The women’s fifth place finish was only one point behind Hawaii Pacific and four points behind Academy of Art.

The NCAA D-II West Region Championships will be held on Nov. 5 in Billings, Montana. The NCAA D-II National Championships will bring the season to a close on Nov. 19 in Saint Leo, Florida.