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2006-07 San Diego Section
Male Cross Country/Track Athlete of the Year

Is Eric Avila the best ever?

Posted July 6, 2007

When Bonita Vista High School track and field distance coach Jeff Phair was recently crunching numbers, he came to one conclusion: star harrier Eric Avila may be the Metro Conference's best-ever distance runner.

The 2007 BVHS graduate is headed this fall to Northern Arizona University . He leaves behind a high school cross country/track and field legacy that few can match.

The very point of Phair's research.

Certainly, few would dispute — given the numbers — that the slightly-built Avila ranks among the greatest long-distance runners ever to come out of the South Bay . But is he the greatest?

Phair proposes that Avila definitely ranks among the two best distance runners in the last 40 years and might have a slight edge over 2004 Mar Vista grad Troy Swier, whom Phair likens to the other great one.

But both Avila and Swier have big shoes to fill when discussion turns to Chula Vista High alum Tim Danielson, the first California high school athlete to break the four-minute mile barrier.

Danielson, who remains one of only four high schoolers to ever run the mile in under four minutes, appears to be the standard by which all others are measured.

Avila could be the next.

The debate is now open.

When Avila captured the gold medal in the 3,200-meter run at last month's state high school track and field championship meet, he became only the second Metro distance runner ever to win a gold medal at the state finals.

This year's meet, held June 1-2 at Sacramento City College , was the 89th in the series of the prestigious event.

It's a venue where obviously few South County athletes have tasted the unbridled exhilaration of victory.

Danielson took first-place finishes in the 1,600-meter distance (actually the mile) in both 1965 and 1966.

It took 40 years for another South Bay runner to score a first-place finish in a long distance event at the state championship meet

Danielson and Avila belong to an elite club with a membership of exactly two.

For spectators in those respective eras, they were certainly witness to greatness.

As for Swier? The former Mariner standout, who won San Diego Section Division II titles in both the 1,600 and 3,200 distances in 2002, is continuing his running career at Cal Poly. He finished eighth in 3:49.29 in the men's 1,500-meter run at the recent Big West Conference finals.

During Swier's senior year in high school, he was ranked second in the state and third in the western region. However, with no slight whatsoever intended to Swier, the MV runner never managed to win a state title in either cross country or track and field.

Danielson notched his fabled time of 3:59.4 during an open meet — Al Franken's fabled San Diego Invitational — at Balboa Stadium in 1966. He ranks third on the all-time sub-4:00 list behind Alan Webb (3:53.43 in 2001) and Jim Ryun (3:55.3 in 1965).

Danielson won the mile race at the California state finals in 1965 with a time of 4:08.0 and claimed the title in the event again the next year with a time of 4:07.0. He won the Golden West Invitational two-mile race in 1966 in a time of 8:55.4.

After high school, Danielson attended Brigham Young University where he competed for the track team but never managed to break four minutes for the mile again, timing 4:00.46 in the mile and 8:44.0 in the two-mile in 1967.

Danielson attended BYU just one year before getting married and having a son at a very young age. He later attended SDSU but priorities of raising a family took precedence over his running career. He now works as an aerospace engineer— and obviously has done well for himself.

Danielson said his goal was not necessarily to break the four-minute mile (he and other prep athletes were in awe of Jim Ryun's sub-4:00 time) but simply to do his best and not to lose the race. His record-setting time was turned in while competing against older athletes. His best in high school meets had been 4:06.

Danielson, now 57, called running his “life in high school” in a 2003 interview posted on www.dyestat.com, considered the Internet bible for high school runners. He referred to himself as being very competitive in those years, even in dual meets.

“It is all I thought about and did during my waking hours, what I would do for the workout and then I would do it. I would run and sleep. It was 100 percent of my focus my final two years of high school,” Danielson said in the interview.

However, in Danielson's days in high school, he noted there was little money associated with running. Today, there are many more opportunities for college scholarships available — as well as world-class track circuits and celebrity status.

Avila said he has the opportunity to train alongside Lopez Lomong, who placed fourth in the men's 10K at the 2006 NCAA Division I cross country championship meet, for the next two seasons at NAU. The BV grad obviously is excited about running.

Avila has already tested himself against men. After narrowly missing landing a berth in the Footlocker national prep cross country championship meet this past fall, he participated in the U.S. national club cross country championships racing against adult men, placing 39th in the field of 328 runners on the hilly 6.2-mile course. He timed 31:40, averaging an incredible 5:05 per mile, while competing against primarily collegiate runners. Avila bested several collegiate All-Americans and finished ahead of a runner who was on the United States Olympic qualifying team.

If there is such a thing as fantasy cross country or fantasy track and field, these three storied athletes — Danielson, Avila and Swier — are likely leading draftees on any fantasy team.

But who's the best? And, given the spread of years, is it even fair to compare them?

Phair's extensive research has led him to conclude, at least statistically, that Avila may rank as one of the top distance runners, if not the top distance runner (cross country and track and field combined), ever in conference history.

That's a bold statement but one that might hit very close to the mark — very, very close, as it turns out.

Is Avila the greatest distance runner in South Bay history?

Phair, who gives a strong “maybe” to that answer, offers his own insight.

“In the 1960s when I was at Hilltop High School , there were two great distance runners in the South Bay : Terry Rogers (half-mile) and Tim Danielson (mile),” Phair said. “Tim Danielson won the mile at the state meet, and in his high school career ran under four minutes. But he did not have the same success in cross country.”

Danielson's exploits have been challenged over the past 40 years by a number of other outstanding South County runners. They have included Matt Clayton (Mar Vista), Jeff Hernandez (Bonita Vista) and Blake and Troy Swier (both of Mar Vista ).

Mar Vista's Hector Hernandez, who won section titles in the 1,600 run in both 1990 and 1991, placed seventh at the state finals in 1991.

“Until Eric Avila re-wrote the record books during his stellar career, the best overall distance runner in recent history, in my opinion, has to have been Troy Swier,” Phair said. “ Troy dominated his competition. He was a tremendous competitor. He was a multiple CIF champion in cross-country and track and a state meet qualifier several times as Eric has been.”

Until Avila notched his winning 3,200 time of 9:07.69 at this year's Mesa League finals, MV's Hernandez had owned the next fastest time of 9:10.55 in the event among conference runners.

It took 16 years for another Metro athlete to top Hernandez' mark. The former Mariner standout, now a coach at Castle Park High School , had thought that Swier might do it but that did not pass.

Instead it was Avila .

Between such running royalty — Avila and Swier — how do the two runners compare?

The numbers posted by the pair of Metro standouts compare very favorably to one another, in fact. At the state cross country finals, the highest place-finish by both, run on the same course, was third place. Avila 's fastest time at the state finals was 15:11 while Swier ran 15:12.

In statistics compiled since 1980, Avila is tied with former El Camino standout and 2005 national cross country champion A.J. Acosta for the seventh-fastest time ever run at the state championship meet. Swier holds the eighth-fastest time.

Over the last 10 Footlocker western region cross country championship races, Avila is tied for the sixth-fastest time among San Diego Section runners while Swier has the eighth-fastest time. At the western regionals, Avila ran to ninth- and 12th-place finishes. On the same course, Swier's top two finishes were 22nd and 24th.

“Eric broke all of Troy 's records on all of the cross country courses in the South Bay , so in cross-country, I'd have to give the nod to Eric,” Phair said.

Maybe a slight nod. It's very close, indeed.

In track, both Avila and Swier qualified for the San Diego Section finals four years running. Both won section championships.

Avila 's personal bests of 4:14 in the mile and 9:01.77 in the 3,200 are both faster than Swier's personal records in those events, Phair noted.

But times are often subjective to the level of competition and weather conditions, especially in track.

It's an understatement that both Avila and Swier dominated their competition.

Said Phair: “In the last three years, Eric won every league race he entered in the half-mile, mile, and two-mile. I don't recall Troy ever losing a league race either. In track, the big difference between Eric and Troy is that Eric won a state championship while Troy did not. That has got to give the edge once again to Eric. But neither Eric nor Troy were close to Tim Danielson on the track.”

So then does it come down to a choice between Avila and Danielson for best-ever honors — two runners whose careers are separated by two generations?

It's almost like comparing Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron or Henry Aaron and Barry Bonds. Natural talent may be timeless but training techniques (and technological aids) have changed markedly in 40 years.

Certainly, Phair believes that Avila is one of the best overall distance runners in South Bay history. It is safe to say that Avila may be the greatest distance runner ever to attend Bonita Vista High School and very likely the greatest distance runner in the past 20 years, in the least.

During his outstanding running career as a Baron, Avila compiled some “super statistics” in cross country and track, according to Phair, who is obviously proud of Avila 's accomplishments.

Using the word “super” is not flavoring the argument. Avila 's accomplishments clearly speak for themselves:

• Avila holds 13 school records, including 10 individually and three on relay teams.

•As a 14-year-old freshman, Avila broke the school freshman record in the 3,200 and qualified for section finals in the 3,200.

•During Avila 's sophomore year in cross country, he won the Mesa League cross country championship. He was fifth at the section finals and 19th at the state championships.

•During Avila 's sophomore year in track, he broke the school sophomore record in both the 1,600 and the 3,200 and qualified for the section finals in the 3,200 distance.

• Avila once again was the Mesa League cross country champion his junior year. He finished sixth at section finals and seventh at the state meet.

•During Avila 's junior year in track, he broke school junior records in the 1,600 and the 3,200 runs, and was a part of the Barons' 4x400 relay team that set a Bonita Vista record and was first out of 38 teams from the western United States at the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays.

•This past cross country season, Avila went undefeated in dual meet competition and helped the Barons boys team defend its league championship for the fourth consecutive year, edging Otay Ranch.

•At the ensuing cross country section finals at Morley Field, Avila won the boys Division I (large schools) individual championship.

•A total of 210 runners qualified to compete in the boys Division I race at last fall's state championships. Avila finished third.

•The following week, Avila competed in the seeded race at the Footlocker western regionals at Mt. SAC that featured the top 200 high school boys cross country runners from the western United States . Avila finished among the top 10 finishers in that race (ninth) and earned Western States All-American honors in cross country.

•In a unanimous vote by section's cross country coaches in all five divisions, Avila was voted the San Diego Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

•This past track season, Avila was once again undefeated in dual meets and invitational races in San Diego County . He ended the season as the No. 2-ranked 1,600 runner in the section and the top-ranked 3,200 runner in the section.

• Avila won the 2007 San Diego Section 3,200 championship and was named the section's Male Track Athlete of the Year.

•In Sacramento , Avila won the 3,200 state championship medal by defeating Michael Cybulski, the defending state Champion in the event, and Chad Hall, the reigning cross country national champion.

• Avila 's time of 9:01.77 in the 3,200 is the third-fastest time ever posted by a South County runner and the fastest in the past 25 years.

Phair's wife Julie, who also serves as a distance coach for Bonita Vista during the track season and is the Barons' cross country coach, noted that what makes Avila such an amazing runner is his versatility.

“Eric ran a 52-second quarter-mile this year without any specific training,” she said. “He is capable of running well below 50 seconds. In practice on a dirt track, Eric could run several repeat half-miles with little rest at less than two minutes. In his only competitive 800 this year, he ran 1:55. During the season, Eric's 1,600 time was second in the county to only Mac Fleet of University City, who went on to take second in the 1,600 at the state championships behind Hudson Andrews of Royal High School.”

That brings us back to the original question: Is Avila one of the best distance runners in South Bay history?

The facts certainly seem to support that conclusion, Jeff Phair noted.

“In cross-country, Eric has the fastest time ever at the state meet of any South Bay runner. At the Footlocker western region cross country championships, Eric has the fastest time ever of any South Bay runner. His performance this year in the U.S. men's club national cross country championships was incredible for a high school athlete. In track, Eric has the third-fastest time in the 3,200 and is the only South Bay runner to win a state championship in the 3,200.

“If you just looked at track results, the best South Bay track runner of all time would have to be Tim Danielson. But if you also add results in cross country and compare overall performance, in my opinion, the advantage goes to Eric. Picking the best South Bay distance runner since Tim Danielson 40 years ago is a little easier. I think that choice comes down to Troy Swier and Eric Avila.”

If the two could have raced against one another in their high school prime, who might have won?

It would be impossible to predict a winner, both Phairs agreed out of fairness. (For the record, Swier won the 2003 boys varsity South Bay League cross country title in 15:33 while Avila finished third in the boys JV race in 18:18 as a freshman. As a junior, Avila clocked 15:24 to win the varsity race at league finals.)

“Both Troy and Eric are such tough runners and tremendous competitors that it would be a fantastic race to watch, regardless of who won,” Jeff Phair said. “In addition to being great athletes, both are nice young men, always showing good sportsmanship and not compromising their values just to win. In their high school running careers, both Troy Swier and Eric Avila represented all that is good about high school athletics: hard work, integrity and being loyal teammates.”

A winning formula that stands the test of time.