Written By: Daniel Holscher, Staff Writer
RUNNER: Micah Chandler has had an extensive career on the Poly Cross Country Team, and has amassed many awards.
“The Cross Country Experience”
In 1997 Poly High School’s Cross Country team led their last athlete to the California State Cross Country Meet. To get there, runners must advance past CIF Prelims and CIF Finals before being considered for such a big opportunity. This was until Micah Chandler (Cross Country’s Senior Team Captain) emerged victorious this year in his pursuit of running the State Cross Country Meet for Poly, being the first Poly runner to do so in over 25 years. Throughout this journey, he has come across numerous adversities and sacrifices to keep his spot among the best of the best runners, and today he tells his story of how he managed to keep up with this stress and brutal experience. The whole story begins during his Freshman year.
“Why Runners Run”
Micah Chandler joined us here at Poly as a student during the 2021-2022 school year. As nervous and weary as he was about being in a new environment, his mother pushed him to join Cross Country to let his natural inclination to run shine. “My mom encouraged me to get into running because before [high school] I was just playing soccer, so I joined the Cross Country team,” Micah explained when asked how he got into the sport. Over the years on the team, he was able to discover his skill as a runner. His teammates and environment kept him focused on his goals. Micah notes that his teammates were “definitely a factor in [his] love for the team and [their] races.” As the years ticked by, he was able to meet countless members of the team as well as build up his speed throughout the process. And now, during his senior year, he was able to make his way up in the ranks during CIF Finals to race in the state meet for our school as an individual. To reach this point tons of physical and mental strength was required to be continually improving and crushing his goals, which as you may imagine is not the easiest part of being a competitive runner. “Physically it was a challenge to make sure that I was able to keep up with all of the other runners in my races” Micah stated. He also noted that throughout the season he had “really strange types of practices: one week it could be rainy, the next it could be hot, most weeks were unpredictable.” These types of unpredictable training conditions allowed Micah to physically ready himself for any difficulties on the course. He mentally prepped himself to be able to “believe in his training and love for running” which carried him on his route to running success. Being a part of something this big was a shocker to him; the vision of getting to lift the State trophy was a big motivation for him. “It was a great experience just to be there; considering it was kids from throughout the state of California and only so little were there. It felt great to be a part of this,” Micah reminisced. Micah Chandler was appreciative of the two most important figures in his life during his season: “[his] coach, Coach Orr, and [his] mom” are always there to support him and will always be his “biggest role models.” Running under pressure was something Micah feared as the days ticked down to his race, but in the end, he was able to pull himself together and “just breathe.”
“Where To Now?”
Micah Chandler made his way up onto the starting line for the State Meet and ran the race “with the feeling of confidence” in his mind. Being on that line was a “nerve-wracking, yet an amazing moment.” Micah Chandler finished as one of the best XC runners in California as a whole, earning a medal for his placement in the race. As Micah Chandler wraps up his legacy here at Poly, he keeps a few pieces of wisdom in his heart that will carry him through the next half of this school year. As he plans to run Track and “compete in the state meet there as well” he reflects on the idea of running as a whole. “Running is important because it makes me feel strong and healthy. Seeing the muscle growth but also the speed and endurance increase made me feel confident” he emphasized. He hopes to attend the University of Oregon to continue his running endeavors and is excited about his last few races in high school this upcoming track season. Micah Chandler is just one example of the amazing bears we have here at Poly, and it’s amazing to see how far he has come due to his work ethic and mental strength. Thank you Micah for making a name for our high school and continuing your pursuit of running, we support you all the way. We have enjoyed your time here at Poly High School. And remember. It’s a great day to be a bear!