Pioneer Valley senior Dan Ando made a name for himself on the football field during his high school career, but his track exploits deserve at least an honorable mention.
Despite running on an iffy knee, Ando set new school records in both the 100- and 200-meter events during the Santa Barbara County Championships on April 24, winning each with times of 11.02 and 22.46 seconds, respectively.
“Personally, I thought I was going faster than that,” Ando said with a grin. “But what can you do?”
Ando suffered a similar injury a year ago, causing him to miss last year’s county meet. He wasn’t about to let it happen again.
“I felt like I had to compete, and it was a self-achievement for me,” he said. “I overcame my pain and just ran.”
A star running back for the Panthers, Ando didn’t try out for the track team until he was a sophomore. His track coach Teresa Cavaletto is glad he did. Ando has become the team’s top sprinter and point scorer.
“He’s taken on a leadership role with the kids,” Cavaletto said. “He’s one of the leaders for the stretches, and when he’s done with the stretches, he brings the whole team in and gives them a little pep talk before they head off to do their individual workouts.”
Cavaletto is busy prepping Ando for the Pac-7 league finals on May 6 and the May 15 CIF playoffs, where he’d have to finish in the top nine to make it to the division finals. Ando’s biggest challenge getting there, Cavaletto said, is that he hasn’t been tested enough.
Approaching graduation, Ando is mulling over offers from Allan Hancock and Santa Barbara City College. He’d like to play football and track at the college level, but for now he’s focused on improving his times.
“With hard work you can pretty much do anything,” he said. “I’ve just got to put in my time, maybe a little extra hours getting off the blocks, and hopefully I’ll run a good race in CIF or league finals or
This article appears in Apr 29 – May 6, 2010.