It was the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) finals in his junior year in high school and Reo Miranda was running with all his might. But in a matter of less than a second, his dreams of entering the state cross-country competition ended.

But that was then.

Now, with burning desire to fare well as intense as the 100 degrees heat on a summer noon, Reo Miranda-Lavertu made up his mind to run the complicated road that lies ahead, bravely, swiftly and aggressively.

Miranda-Lavertu, 17, undecided major, is one of the Warriors’ fast runners of the season.

“When I run, my mind will always tell me to put out my best and leave nothing behind,” Miranda-Lavertu said.

Miranda-Lavertu said he was first exposed to running through community runs that his mom had signed him up for when he was 9 years old.

Although he was not fond of running as a sport in the beginning, fate chose a different path for him.

“At first, I did not like running. I was an ice hockey player before. But because I had too many concussions (from ice hockey), my mom and my team decided to not allow me to play anymore,” Miranda-Lavertu said.

It was then, he said, that he started to divert his interest from ice hockey to competitive running.

“I was in eighth grade’s PE class that I broke my school’s record (in running),” Miranda-Lavertu said.

He said that since then, he had started to like the sport and at the age of 14, he was already into competitive running.

When he joined the Warriors the summer of 2012, he began to work closely with Sean Sheil, assistant coach of the cross-country team.

“He is our No. 1 or 2 man. One thing about him that is good for cross-country is that he is aggressive. He wants to be a front runner; he wants to race and win,” Sheil said.

Sheil added that despite the fact that Miranda-Lavertu was still adjusting to competing in the collegiate level and the college study load itself, he (Sheil) still does not worry too much about his (Miranda-Lavertu) performance.

“He has natural talent,” he said. Sheil added that If Miranda-Lavertu gave himself a good start with enough time and good work ethic, he can be one of the better runners.

To better himself in the field, Miranda-Lavertu said that aside from the rigorous training of running 10 miles a day to stay in shape, he also had various sources of strength and motivation.

One of them was his teammate, Jimi Duffin, 21, general education and David Rosales, who were friendly, welcoming and competitive at the same time.

“They push us to do better. They inspire me to be like them,” Miranda-Lavertu said.

Another inspiration for Miranda-Lavertu was his desire to get an athletic scholarship from either UCLA or UCSD and to represent the country in the 2016 Olympics.

“I am doing my best so I can hopefully be noticed by a coach (from team USA),” he said.

Typical of an athlete and a student at the same time, Miranda-Lavertu was never free of challenges that he has to face regularly.

“Balancing academics and athletics and work take a lot of time and effort but what I try to do is to always stay organized. I want to stay on top of everything I need to do,” he said.

Aside from these, Miranda-Lavertu also makes sure that he to takes care of his physical health all the time.

“Being permanently injured is my biggest fear. Especially an ankle or a knee problem,” Miranda-Lavertu said.

Nevertheless, teammate Jimi Duffin admired Miranda-Lavertu’s contrasting characteristics in the racetrack. Duffin said he was humble and fearless at the same time.

“Reo (Miranda-Lavertu) does not train to prove himself but to better himself. But he is never afraid to run and does not give up on challenges,” Duffin said.

Miranda suffered a knee injury in one of the meets but that has not stopped him from running.

Miranda continues to challenge himself and improve his technique.