SACRAMENTO — Mike Perez of Lower Lake is human after all … superhuman, that is … even when he?s not on his game.
Perez, who a week ago set the Redwood Empire?s all-time record in the 1,600 meters (4 minutes, 9.91 seconds) at the Top Eight Meet in Union City, finished third in another all-star cast of runners on Saturday when he ran 4:14.73 at the Sacramento Meet of Champions.
The time or placement in the field wasn?t what Perez was hoping for, according to coach Bob Galloway, who said he had a pretty good reason why his star runner struggled at Hughes Stadium.
?I set him up for failure,? Galloway said. ?It was my mistake. I blew it.?
Galloway arranged a college visit for Perez to Northern Arizona University prior to Saturday?s meet. The only trouble was that Perez didn?t get back until Friday afternoon.
?He was obviously fatigued and really affected by the altitude there (more than 5,000 feet),? Galloway said. ?While training at altitude gives you a total advantage, it takes about three weeks before it does you any good. He was there just for a visit and it took something out of him when he got back (here).?
When other coaches learned of Perez?s trip, they were both surprised that Galloway scheduled it so close to a big meet and stunned that Perez did so well given those circumstances.
?They couldn?t believe he ran as fast as he did,? Galloway said.
Marlon Patterson of Franklin High School in Stockton won the race in 4:09.7 (a meet record) and Ben Sitler of St. Francis High School came in second at 4:10.55.
?Our idea was to go out and run the first half at 2:01, which he did. He wanted to attack four minutes,? Galloway said. ?But halfway through the second lap he hit the wall and that?s the first time he?s hit the wall all season. And it?s my fault.
?He got an amazing amount of praise for just going out there and going for the win like he did,? Galloway said. ?He didn?t hang back, he just went for it.?
Perez fell as far back as fourth in the field but made one last charge to catch and pass Michael Salvatierra of Jesuit High School, who ended up fourth in 4:15.18.
?He did that on pure guts, with nothing in the tank,? Galloway said.
Perez will make his Lake County debut on Wednesday when the Trojans compete in a Coastal Mountain Conference meet in Kelseyville at 3:30 p.m. He?ll also compete in the Lake County Meet later this month at Lakeport, where he plans to run in the 400, 800, 1,600 and 3,200.
?He wants to win all four events and he can do it,? Galloway said.
