FEATURE Yosemite Boys Cross Country-Small School, Big Dreams

Kim Lawhon knew pretty much from the time she first met three freshmen last year that they were special.

Nothing since then has made the Yosemite High cross country coach change her mind.

"When they came in as freshmen, they had a huge goal," said Lawhon, who has headed up the program of the school 14 miles from the entrance to Yosemite National Park for eight years. "A lot of kids have goals for football or soccer but they said they wanted a scholarship to the University of Oregon and running might be the best way to get that.

"They were all friends with a great work ethic. But only Ford Stegge had competed. They never once complained about the workouts, they just took them as a challenge.

"I think one of our seniors last year, Sebastian Rosales-Valdez, was a major influence with his enthusiasm. Sometimes coaches can only do so much."

So, the three freshmen -- Stegge (4122), and the Olney twins, Ben (4118) and Jack (4119) -- made the varsity and helped lead Yosemite to the Central Section Division 4 team title and a 14th place finish in the CIF-State Championships.

The race was no sooner finished than the returning runners got together and set their goals on improving that place. After all, the top four runners were the three freshmen and sophomore Noah Graffigna (pictured below).

In addition to this quartet of determined young runners, the Badgers got an unexpected boost when Anthony "A.J." Ruiz decided to join the team this fall.

How many times has a cross country program landed a standout athlete off the football team? That's what happened with Ruiz and suddenly the Badgers were five deep.  

But a repeat assault in Division 4 wasn't to be.

Before the season started, Yosemite High, whose enrollment dipped below 600, was reassigned to compete in Division 5, the smallest of the five CIF enrollment-based divisions.

"At first they were bummed," said Lawhon. "But A.J. is a gritty kid. He took the change as a challenge and they all reset their goals. It ended up motivating them and after they saw some rankings, they were super excited."

That's because the Badgers jumped to the No. 1 spot in the MileSplitCA Division 5 subjective ranking list after impressive performances in key invitationals, including the top spot among Division 5 teams at the Mt. SAC Invitational.

When the rankings appeared, Yosemite was ahead of traditional small-school powers Crystal Springs Uplands School (CC), the Menlo School (CC), San Francisco University (NC), and Lick Wilmerding (NC).

In the North-West Sequoia League championships last week, run in a driving downpour at Woodward Park, the Badgers got the lowest possible score, 15 points, as Ben Olney won in 16:06.0, Jack was right behind at 16:11.3 and Stegge finished soon thereafter in 16:25.7.

OK, a little asterisk because Parlier's Evan Torres actually broke up the Badgers but his fourth place didn't count in the team scoring since Parlier didn't have five runners. That elevated Yosemite's Graffigna (17:15.1) and Ruiz (17:42.7) to produce the sweep.

The Olneys going 1-2 was no surprise.

"It's the best thing (running with his brother)," said Ben when asked if there was a sibling rivalry. "Running against him is like running with myself. We have the same stride and we even think alike. He knows I let him lead and then when it's time, I race him. He's always there, which is good."

The top five runners have all been within about 90 seconds most of the season. Plugging those times into last year's State Division V championship would have put the top three among the first 20 overall.

It didn't just happen.

The team worked hard over the summer, going up to Bass Lake at 4,000 feet to train plus assistant coach Brad Stegge, Ford's father, drove the team to train at even higher altitude at Mammoth Lakes (ranging from 7,500 to 8,900).

They got an inkling that the team was pretty strong when they opened the season at the Fleet Feet Summer Sizzle in August at Woodward Park where they finished fourth.  Not the fourth D-5 team, but fourth behind D-1 powers Clovis, Madera South and Buchanan.

Continuing to run against D-1 schools at Morro Bay and Woodbridge, plus tackling the Woodward Park course again at the Clovis Invitational and the Rough Rider Invitational on consecutive weeks, the Badgers didn't back down, challenging some of the best teams in the state.

"We've never been No. 1 in anything, so it didn't bother us losing to the big teams," Ben Olney said. "They'd have 30 runners on the varsity, and we have 30 total. This is all new to us and it's exciting."

Lawhon is just enjoying the ride.

"Dedication is a huge factor and they have an intense drive," said the coach. "We ran against the larger schools this year because we want to get better.

"They train long and hard because they love getting better as a group."

How big would a CIF-State team championship be for the Badgers?

"I was in the gym yesterday and there were no team banners," Ben Olney said. "I think we have a good chance because we really know that course, it's like our home."

Lawhon went even further.

"This school has never won a State title -- in any sport," she said. "Let's face it, we're just that tiny little team from the mountains."

Maybe not for long.