Athlete of the Week: Calegari a rising star for Poway High

By Michael Bower

Any chance at making the varsity girls cross country team as a freshman at Poway High was slim since the program was returning seven runners. But there was no way coach Bruce Jackson could deny Alex Calegari.

“We were aware of her talent because I knew what she had run as an eighth-grader,” Jackson said. “I knew she was capable of making the varsity team, but with seven returners it was going to be hard. I factored her in as being maybe the No. 6 runner.”

That changed in a hurry.

Calegari took little time establishing herself as the No. 2 runner for the Titans and one of the top freshmen in the San Diego County. She put herself on the map with a first-place finish in the freshman race at the prestigious Mt. Sac Invite in late October.

“I am really surprised with how well I have done,” said Calegari, who turns 15 on Monday. “I just wanted to come in and have a good season and run well. I definitely didn’t expect to do as well as I have.”

And when it comes to talking about her success, that is about the most you will get out of the humble youngster, who carries a 4.0 GPA and enjoys joking around with her coaches to keep things loose. Calegari said her teammates are the real reason she has been able to do so well.

“They have really helped me a lot,” she said. “They are all very supportive and that made it a lot easier for me running varsity as a freshman.”

The team reaped the benefits last Saturday at the CIF San Diego Section championships at Morley Field. Calegari placed eighth in her first Division II section meet, finishing the 2.75-mile course in 16 minutes, 48 seconds. It helped the Titans take second place as a team and qualify for Saturday’s state championships.

For her efforts, Calegari is the Frozen Ropes Athlete of the Week.

“I am proud of my finish because it shows all of the hard work I put in throughout the season has paid off,” she said. “But I am really proud of the team because I think everyone really pulled through and did a great job to get that second-place finish.”

Calegari often surprises Jackson with her ability to finish strong. There have been many times this year when Jackson took a look at Calegari after the mile marker and figured there was no way she would be able to keep pace.

“She is very mentally tough and that is something she just naturally has,” Jackson said. “There have been several races where I have been yelling at her during the race and I tell my coaches that she is just going to die because it looks like she is falling apart. But the next thing I know she has not only maintained, but has gained grown a mile later.”

Calegari is hoping to finish the season strong now. She and the Titans ran Woodward Park, the state championship course in Fresno, earlier this year at the Clovis Invite. Calegari finished in 19:01 and is hoping to better that on Saturday.

Freshmen will often get caught in the fast start and fade at the end of the race at the state championships. Calegari is aware of it and says she is just going to stick to her strategy without getting caught up in the moment.

“I won’t get caught too much in that high-speed start,” she said. “I am just going to try to run how I have been running all season, but hopefully a little faster since it is the state meet.”