GARDEN GROVE – Santiago senior Francisco Armenta might not seem very different from your average high school student.
He gets good grades – he carried a 3.2 GPA as a junior. He wants to go to college – maybe Cal State Fullerton – and he has his sights set on computer engineering.
He plays soccer and runs track and cross country. He was 10th in last year’s Garden Grove League cross country finals with a time of 16:46, one of only two non-seniors in the top 10. His goal this year is to break 15 minutes.
But ask his friends and family, and they’ll tell you – Armenta is not so typical.
He works part time at a local fast-food restaurant to help out his parents. Every day, he picks up his 6-year-old brother from nearby Hazard Elementary. And he balances all that on top of being a student, an athlete and the oldest of five brothers.
It’s not a mystery why he’s earned the respect of Santiago’s cross country team.
“Despite his extra work he has to put in, he manages to be here,” said Victoria Juarez, Santiago head coach. “This is first for him, and then it’s work.”
Armenta is used to being a leader both at home and in practice.
“He’s the one setting the example for his other brothers,” said cousin Chris Acosta, 20. “He helps his brothers out, too, when it comes to school … His brothers look up to him.”
Armenta would like to make it to cross country practice at the end of every school day. But it’s difficult when he has to juggle picking up his youngest brother, doing homework and going to work three nights a week.
Usually, he has to skip at least once a practice a week to fit everything into his schedule. There are some nights when Armenta doesn’t go to bed until after midnight.
“Honestly, it’s pretty hard,” he said. “Usually, when I go to work and I have practice, I (go to) sleep at 1 in the morning.”
Armenta began running cross country his sophomore year. Just a year later, he was among the 10 fastest runners in the Garden Grove League and led Santiago to a league title.
Armenta is aware that his goal this season – to running a sub-15-minute race – may be difficult given his schedule.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do it because I’m always going to work, I’m always picking up my brothers, I have to pick them up from school and I don’t really have time to come to practice (every day),” he said.
But the fierce worker has the support – and admiration – of his family, coaches and friends behind him.
“He’s pretty drained at the end of the day, but he still keeps his head up,” Acosta said. “He gives everything he has – when he does track, when he’s racing. I used to go run with him, too. He’s a good athlete.”
In Armenta’s hectic life, cross country is the release that makes it worth it. It’s where his stresses melt away between the rubber soles of his shoes and the frying pan of the pavement.
It has helped him grow in the past two years, Juarez said.
“For a lot of the kids on campus, I think it motivates them and it teaches them skills that they apply to their daily lives,” Juarez said. “They learn that they need to be dedicated to something. So it’s helped him a great deal. I’m sure it’s helped him keep his grades where they need to be, doing a good job with school and just being a good leader. He’s a great kid.”
But ask Armenta – who hopes to run at Orange Coast College next year – to give you the reason he loves cross country and he struggles to find the words. He feels more at home putting miles beneath his feet than talking about it.
“Honestly, I don’t really know (why),” said Armenta, breaking into a smile. “I just come to practice. I love to run.”
Contact the writer: 714-704-3796 or mhanlon@ocregister.com
