DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:Orozco next in line for Eagles

Of course running runs in the Orozco family.

Sometimes for Fernando Orozco, the youngest of 11, it can be a good thing or bad thing.

One thing he’s sure of, his two brothers, Manuel and Gerardo, who ran for Estancia High, gave him the heads up, never bring up a girlfriend with Coach Charlie Appell around.

Orozco still tried after a recent cross country workout at Fairview Park. Even at 60, Appell from a distance heard his top runner blurt out the one word he can’t stand.

“You got a girlfriend?” Appell yelled.

“No I don’t!” Orozco responded before taking off, as Appell came after him.

No way was Appell going to catch Orozco. Maybe with the bike nearby, the one he uses to chase and push his runners during practice. Right now Orozco and the rest of the Eagles don’t need any distractions.

Estancia won the Orange County Championships Division III race last week, with Orozco finishing sixth at 14 minutes, 42 seconds, a fast time due to the short 2.7-or-so-mile course. Rain from the night before ruined the Irvine Regional Park three-mile course, but Appell has also seen girlfriends take runners off course.

One of those girlfriends took a toll on one of Orozco’s brother.

“Gerardo was good his freshman and sophomore [year], then he got a girlfriend and kind of blew out,” Appell said. “He could’ve been much better.”

Orozco can’t remember Gerardo’s girlfriend. But he does recall the number of medals and trophies Gerardo, as well as Manuel, brought home. There was always plenty of hardware to share in the house, with Gerardo and Manuel each competing for CIF State-bound teams while at Estancia.

Orozco showed up to watch Manuel, a 1999 graduate, run. Before Manuel graduated, he capped his senior year with a 15th-place showing at the Division IV state finals. Now Manuel is an assistant at Estancia.

As for Gerardo, a 2003 alumnus, his Mt. San Antonio College time of 16:08 on the rugged course as a sophomore still awes Orozco. When his teammate, Wes Barloon, heard it, his eyes grew as big as Bart Simpson’s.

“What happened to him?” said Barloon when hearing the impressive mark.

What happened is Orozco said Gerardo still runs. Not as fast, but just to keep the youngster motivated, away from roadblocks, when Manuel isn’t making sure at practice and meets.

The way Orozco sees it, if someone who’s out of the game still runs, why not punch it while still competing in high school. There are more awards to be had, the ones he said he “always wanted” after seeing his brothers be so successful. Orozco knows his parents will make the room to display them in the large household.

Just keep placing in the top 10, which he has a handful of times this year at big meets. Sixth last week at the county finals, fourth at the Laguna Hills Invitational Division III junior race, second at the Yucaipa Invitational Division III race, and seventh at the Clovis Invitational Division IV race in Fresno.

Fresno is where Orozco wants to return to this year. That’s where the state meet is held. Woodward Park, he’s been there before, freshman year, the last time the Eagles advanced to state. No reminders needed, even though his brothers take him back to their state experiences, especially Manuel, who was a part of programs finishing second in 1997 and seventh in 1998.

Like the rest of the top five runners, Barloon, Jorge Martin, Cesar Casillas and Damian Leon, including his brother, Manuel treats everyone the same. He has to with the Eagles’ Orange Coast League showdown with defending champ Laguna Beach Thursday.

“I don’t know once they get in the car and go home,” said Barloon, joking whether Manuel is harder on his brother away from the team. “He pushes us more than the other coaches do.”

Challenging everyone is hard enough, try to put expectations on a family member and it isn’t the easiest thing to do. Appell knows from his 18-year experience at Estancia, where he coached his children, Carrie, Johann, Michael and Stephan, from 1991 to 1997.

“It was more of a hindrance than it was helpful. It was awkward,” said Appell, whose kids still made all-league teams. “[Manuel] coaches him [individually] sometimes. You want more out of [your family].

“[Orozco] can be tenacious, but he gets really a little bit lazy, [but] he’s from a family of runners. They know the time to be tough.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].