Penaranda twins on good run for Charter
Carlos Penaranda had been running cross country for Pembroke Pines Charter for about a week and a half when his coach spotted something written on his hand.
It was two words: “Beat Andy.”
Short for team mate Andrew Iglesias, who as a sophomore last year finished eighth at the Class 3A state meet ( 15: 46.99) after becoming county and district champ.
Charter coach Joe Hazera noticed the same competitive streak in Penaranda’s twin brother, Danny.
“The first day, they wanted to know who Andy was,” Hazera said. “They said, ‘ I don’t like that he wins every workout.’ “
Just 10 months or so since they decided to try cross country, Carlos and Danny Penaranda have become not only the lead duo for a Charter team loaded with young talent that captured its first district title last week, but also two of the area’s top runners.
The sophomores enter Saturday morning’s Region 4- 3A meet at South Fork High School Golf Course coming off their best performances of the season. Carlos Penaranda won the District 15- 3A title at Mills Pond Park in Fort Lauderdale last Thursday in 16: 36 and Danny Penaranda crossed the line second in 17: 13.
“Coming in 1- 2 in districts is a breakthrough,” said Danny Penaranda, noting he started the season consistently running about 181⁄ minutes. “It’s a start. We’ve been training hard and we really deserve it.”
At the BCAA meet, Carlos finished second in 16: 40.92, just getting edged out by St. Thomas Aquinas’ Matthew Butler in the final few meters, while Danny finished 12th in 17: 36.73.
Iglesias, who missed four weeks due to a leg injury and sat out the district meet while working to return to form, is set to return Saturday, Hazera said.
“He hasn’t run as fast as he was last year and he knows he’s not up to the caliber of the competition he’s used to running against, so he doesn’t have the confidence at that level,” Hazera noted.
Confidence isn’t an issue for the Penaranda brothers, who started running cross country to stay in shape for basketball because, “It’s not really fun just going straight home and being so unproductive,” and who are now “addicted” to running, Danny said.
Asked if he expected to win the district title, Carlos said, “Yeah, for sure,” noting that he knew from the time he trained with Iglesias this past summer that “I was going to be one of the top in this county, this district.” He added, “I’m hoping to see where I can get to at the region [ meet], hopefully top five.”
In addition to Iglesias, Carlos also trained with some college runners.
“That gave me a lot of confidence,” he said. “They told me they could feel my aggressiveness during the run.”
For now, at least, he’s faster than his brother, though Danny also has continued to improve while trying to keep up with Carlos. During the district race, he hung close for the first two miles.
“I know he was holding a little back so I could stay on him for a while,” Danny said, appreciative of the gesture. “But when he wanted to go, he just left me. Next time, I’m looking at beating him.”
Carlos grinned when asked about pulling away in the final mile.
“I kind of like being the lone wolf at the top,” he said.