Athlete of the week: Eddie Quintero
Age 17 | School Holtville | Grade 12
For a lot of high caliber runners, a race is a thing to get lost in — a series of circuits running from A to Zen.
That’s not how it works for Eddie Quintero.
The Holtville senior’s relationship with the sport is a bit more jittery.
For him: “Running requires a lot of thinking. (You think) how fast am I going? What’s my time? What’s my spits? How am a breathing?”
Rather than a zone out, he trends toward hyperawareness.
Regardless of his approach, however, there’s no arguing with the results.
Despite coming late to track and field — he only joined up in his junior year after his P.E. teacher (and Viking Athletic Director) CJ Johnston prodded him in that direction — Quintero has made quite a splash.
He’s now the Holtville High School record holder in the 400-, 800-, and 1600-meter races, and is the 2019 IVL individual champion in the latter two distances.
Last weekend, at the CIF-SDS championship preliminary round at Mt. Carmel High, Quintero was one of just a handful of Valley athletes to qualify
for the finals taking place tomorrow.
He finished fifth in Division II at 800 meters in 1:59.29 and ninth at 1600 in 4:31.56.
Those times leave him a bit shy of qualifying for state.
His best bet to advance will be in the 800, where the cutoff is 1:54.54 — about 3.5 seconds below his personal best.
Hitting that mark won’t be easy, but Quintero thinks he’s got a shot, as long as he “runs smart,” surveying the action from the pack rather than spending all his fuel too soon.
“(For most of) this year I’ve been running more aggressively, trying to stay in front, but that didn’t work out last Saturday,” he said.
He’s hopeful that a more reserved approach will keep him dancing a while longer.
My favorites
Pro team — Real Madrid
Distance — 1600 meters
Classes — Math & P.E.
TV shows — “I like watching anime … Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Boruto.” Stress-reliever — Running
Recent video game — Mortal Kombat 11
What do you enjoy most about your sport?
“What I enjoy about it is that at every meet you have a time (to beat). At the beginning of the year I was in the 4:40s (in the 1600 meters) so every track meet I try beating that time. [Seeing the improvement] makes me feel good about myself.”
What’s one of the best memories you’ve had competing?
“When we got second place as a (cross country) team at CIF. No one expected that. All coach said before we ran was, ‘just go run hard,’ and when we got second it was like, ‘wow.’”
Who inspires you and why?
“My parents. They inspire me a lot. We used to live in Mex for a long time, and we used to cross every day to come to school, and I saw how hard they worked to give us what we want. They always say, “just never give up, keep doing what you want and we’ll support you 100 percent.”
What are your goals going forward?
“To beat my times, and get a 1:54 (at 800 meters) and qualify for state.”