Every time Aydon Stefanopoulos runs, he questions whether the workout he’s doing is going to get him faster.
Judging by Stefanopoulos’ results this season, the answer is a resounding yes. The Los Gatos High sophomore has been remarkably consistent in 2022, with a first, second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh-place finish.
In the process, he’s set a personal-record (PR) at every distance, including at Baylands and at Crystal Springs in Belmont, the annual site of the Central Coast Section Championships.
“It’s really nice seeing the fruits of your effort and getting results from the work you put into it,” he said.
Stefanopoulos is part of a strong Los Gatos boys team that includes senior Jack Fan, who was the team’s top placer in the Pacific Grove Invitational at Palo Corona Regional Park in Carmel on Oct. 8. Fan, who is having a terrific season, finished fifth overall in 17:11.10 and Stefanopoulos was seventh in 17:25.10.
It was a vintage performance from the Wildcats, who won the event with a low score of 66 points. Keaton Wong took 12th in 17:37.60, Jensen Bidmead was 18th in 17:54.30 and Noah Hale was the team’s fifth scoring runner as he placed 28th in 18:12.10.
“We have a great team dynamic with a nice group of seniors and juniors which is nice,” Stefanopoulos said. “They help me so much, from stretching to knowing what loops to run around the area so it’s been fun.”
The Los Gatos girls team has also excelled and won the Pacific Grove Invitational, with senior Sophie Tau leading the way. Tau ran away from the field at Palo Corona, clocking 19:13 over the 3.1-mile course to win by 53 seconds.
Addison Lundstrom was third in 20:22.90, Shea Elmore ninth in 20:39.20, Kate Herron 21st in 21:34.70, Erika Snell 29th in 21:55.30 and Tatum Pyle 30th in 22:04.80. Abigail Zolla has also been a key contributor on the team since last season.
Tau has two first-place finishes to go along with a fourth, fifth and sixth-place result. She had a breakout junior season in 2021, taking second in the Division I race of the CCS Championships, and has continued her ascension this year as the team’s top runner.
Tau has a PR of 18:15 at Crystal Springs and went 18:23.2 in the second Santa Clara Valley League De Anza Division meet on Oct. 4. She tends to rise to the occasion in big races and a PR at Crystal this season seems likely.
Neither the Los Gatos boys nor the girls team is favored to win the SCVAL Finals, which along with the West Catholic Athletic League are the two toughest in the section for cross country. However, Stefanopoulos and Tau could challenge for top-5 individual spots, perhaps even top-3.
Stefanopoulos went 15:39.8 to finish second overall at the second league meet, a huge 18-second PR at Crystal. Stefanopoulos has run Crystal enough times to where he’s dialed in his strategy at the famed Belmont course.
“I don’t like to lead at all in the first mile,” he said. “I like to follow somebody until the second mile, then I’ll push up. Then in the last 400 meters it’s a sprint and you’re going all out.”
Stefanopoulos said his finishing kick has improved to the point where he tends to pass several runners in the final 400 meters at Crystal Springs and in the final 100 at other courses. He chalks up his strong kick to consistently doing 5-mile runs at 6:20-mile pace.
“A lot of my meets I’ve passed three to four people in the last 100 meters which has gotten me from fifth or sixth to second or third,” he said. “I used to always get out-kicked so it’s nice I’m seeing results from working on my speed.”
Speaking of speed, Stefanopoulos’ goal before the season started was to go sub-15:40 at Crystal, so now he’s adjusted his goal time to sub-15:30.
“I feel like eventually sub-15:30 is just testing the waters,” he said.
Stefanopoulos learned a lot from the spring track and field season, when he went 4:20.15 in the mile about a third of the way through the season. However, he never got closer to going sub-4:20 the rest of the way.
“The amount of training I was doing at that moment caused me to peak too early,” he said. “I never beat 4:20 which I’m still pretty mad about. I think this year I’ll definitely beat it based on the facts of my training numbers at this moment and just knowing you have to go up slowly in mileage and build it up (rather than doing too much too soon).”
Sports editor Emanuel Lee can be reached at el**@we*****.com
