teamspotlight
Arcadia v2.0
Defending Boys National Team Champions Arcadia, CA seeks to be the first team since '92,'93 Mead WA to repeat as National Champions. Only four teams have accomplished the feat; '92,'93 Mead WA; '81,'82 Carmel IN; '76,'77 Deerfield IL, ''73,'74,'75 South Eugene OR.
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The Road to the National Team Championship runs through Arcadia
In 2010, Arcadia CA stamped their names in the record books as possibly the greatest team all-time. Of the records, accolades and national title; the exclamation point for the Apaches greatness may be Arcadia 2.0. Led by Senior Sergio Gonzalez the Apaches seek to be the first team in almost two decades to repeat as national team champions and solidify their place in history. The road to the national title runs through Arcadia.
What defines greatness? A course record? National Records? One National Championship? In every sport there are champions, only a select few rise above simply winning a championship to winning multiple championships. Those are the programs tossed in public conversation and debate as greatest all-time. Since 1970 only four programs have claimed such an accolade in the world of prep cross country. The '73,'74,'75 South Eugene OR, '76,'77 Deerfield IL; '81,'82 Carmel IN; and '92,'93 Mead WA programs. Each of these programs are listed in the all-time lists, a dynasty and benchmark programs for high school cross country.
It took 10-years to see a team like Arcadia 2010, one would expect the residue of that historic program to be felt and perhaps placed in context by the success of Arcadia v.2.0.
Sergio Gonzalez leads US#1 Arcadia CA
He is passionate, determined, and influenced by the greats before him. He wants to win, be remembered and work hard. He is the leader of one of the most remarkable programs in US history. He is Sergio Gonzalez, leader of the defending National Champion Arcadia Apaches, and they want to win again.
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We are a team committed to excellence. We take pride in our roots and in our work ethic. We have a great history of rising talent and commitment. We are tenacious and focused
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We want to be remembered as a team that is committed to success, a team that will face adversity and setbacks, but we faced them and never backed down. Our legs are doing the writing and allowing a legacy to be left behind.
" ~Sergio Gonzalez
What are the roots of Arcadia?
The Arcadia legacy includes Apache greats 2005 California State Finalist Paul Beckwith, extends through his influence with three-time California State top-20 finalist Renaud Poizat. The influence of Beckwith and Poizat helped shaped guys like Ammar Moussa. Last season National Two-Mile Champion Ammar Moussa stated long before the titles, the championships, the records, the honors, "
I want to be an individual national champion. I want to be remembered as the person who led his team to the first national title in Arcadia High School Team history. There is so much going against us, to be able to win a national title would give our cross country team the respect that it surely should've earned years ago.
" He was the leader of one of the finest teams in high school cross country history. Moussa's determination to be great and to bring those around him to his level of excellence left a mark on Arcadia and American cross country history. History will reflect 2010 Arcadia not only won state, won nationals, but left a mark that will be remembered forever.
He said,
"I expect alot out of myself, more than my coaches, or my teammates, or even my parents expect from me, and if I don't fulfill those expectations I am really upset with myself. I run to prove to myself that I can do things that no one else expected from me"
~Ammar Moussa
A piece of Ammar still resides at Arcadia.
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Ammar left a commitment to excellence, a work ethic that we aspire to emulate, its the type of charisma he carried that rubbed off on us, he helped take our school to another level. He had a leadership I aspire to have and we owe Ammar for his dedication and commitment to us to carry on his legacy.
" ~Sergio Gonzalez
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Last years National Championship has given us confidence in that we know it is do-able. It doesn't give us an edge. Putting in hard work and believing in that hard work is what gives us our edge. All the accolades last year were a result of giving it our best, and that's what we focus on: giving it our best.
" ~Sergio Gonzalez
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We set our goals and know that in order to reach them, we have to follow a process. Allowing ourselves to become commited to the process is part of what we are all about. Patience and trust in the training kicks in allowing us to fulfill our goals. We trust coach 100%, and never question him. We all have different reasons why we run. Some do it for fitness, others for fun. Some do it because they want to be part of something bigger than themselves. While others do it to please God and honor him. Everyone has their reason; but in the end, we all run because it's in our DNA and blood stream.
" ~Sergio Gonzalez
The road to the national high school team cross country title runs through Arcadia, California.