Oak Park's Sahm Bazargan is The Star's boys runner of year
Dec 27, 2012 (Menafn - Ventura County Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Sahm Bazargan has no problem admitting the butterflies he felt as he stepped to the starting line at the CIF State Cross Country Championships last month in Fresno.
"The atmosphere was very definitely, I don't know, very nerve-racking," the Oak Park High junior said. "Just seeing all the other teams at the start line, just seeing that mass of people that you have to compete against."
All things considered, Bazargan had a stellar performance in his first exposure to state competition. He took seventh place in the Division 3 race with a time of 15 minutes, 38 seconds. That, and his other 2012 accomplishments, have earned him recognition as The Star's Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Bazargan's season really began to roll at the Ventura County Championships at Lake Casitas, which he won in 15:25. A week later, he was first in the Tri-Valley League finals in 15:42. Oak Park was the first-place team in both of those events.
That put Bazargan and the Eagles into the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 final. Bazargan and teammate Patrick Thedinga both crossed the finish line in a time of 14:27 on Mount San Antonio College's rain course. Bazargan's fifth-place finish enabled Oak Park to advance to its first-ever state meet appearance.
Bazargan found the statewide competition much more challenging. Against such elite runners, Bazargan had a difficult time employing his strategy.
"At state, I wish I had run a little bit more conservatively in the first mile and maybe ran a little more of a tangent," he said. "I kind of got boxed out of the pack a lot, running more than I really had to.
"I didn't really respond when the front pack started to take off again and it kind of snowballed from there. It was pretty rough. They took off so fast, before I realized it, they were gone. I didn't really have the energy to get back up there. Once they're gone, they're gone."
Considering all of that, Bazargan's seventh-place showing of 15:38 on the venerable Woodward Park course was impressive, particularly for a junior. However, Bazargan did not immediately buy into that assessment.
"I was pretty happy. It took me a while," Bazargan said. "I was pretty emotional after the race, actually. I was not used to really giving it. That was like 110 percent and it's really tough when you give 110 percent.
"My goal was obviously to win it. I wanted to win it. I wanted to win it a lot and I didn't see why I shouldn't have won. Then after, I just realized they're just simply the better guys. It took me a while to realize that, and when I did, I felt a lot better about my race."
A month removed from his first trip to state, Bazargan can look back at his season and feel a sense of satisfaction.
"I think my postseason went pretty well," he said. "It could have gone better. I was pretty happy with getting fifth at (CIF-SS) finals. Really happy that I got seventh at state, too. I just gave both those races my greatest effort and that's how they came out."
Perhaps out of all his accomplishments this season, his county championship might be the thing of which is most proud.
"I achieved all my goals," Bazargan said. "I wanted to win county and I did that. That was probably my favorite achievement, winning county.
"It was just like a good feeling, competing with all the schools in the area. It was pretty fun. A lot of people I knew, a lot of my friends were in the race."
Bazargan and Thedinga took the top two spots at Casitas, setting the stage for what was to come. Oak Park really began coming together as a team at the county meet.
"I was happy that me and my teammate were one and two," he said. "It sets the morale for the team (for the postseason) because the team won, so it sets the morale for the team for the postseason."
Bazargan and Thedinga used each other's strengths to their advantage and often crossed the finish line together. The two will compete together in track this spring, but Thedinga graduates after that, and Bazargan will no longer have his teammate to spur him on in cross country.
However, Bazargan is already making plans to show some senior leadership for the Eagles.
"Next year, (we'll be) just trying to get the guys to run closer, run in a more tightly knit group, just try to make sure there's no discrepancies, no gaps in our group," he said. "Just really focusing on the team dynamic."
Bazargan says he needs to become stronger physically and mentally next season. He has started making goals for himself.
"I'd like to see myself getting top three in state," Bazargan said. "That would be the main goal. Top three; hopefully winning state."
He's also figuring out what he needs to do to accomplish those goals.
"I guess increase my dedication," he said. "I feel like the more you put into it the more you get out of it. It's just a matter of just giving it my all, I guess. Stretching all the little things."
In the meantime, he's enjoying this holiday week basking in his success and honors.
"I couldn't be happier," Bazargan said. "Honestly, that's the coolest thing, that my effort was recognized, for all the hard work that got me there. I'm really, really happy about that."
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