Track & Field News Runner Of The Month
A.J. Acosta

by Steve Bailey

By December 10th, barring any unprecedented early shocks that never came in the indoor season, Andrew (A.J.) Acosta had put a lock on the honors for the December Track & Field News High School Runner of the Month. Just as expected the El Camino High School senior’s win at the Foot Locker National Championships held up.
Acosta bounced back from a mid-season Mt. SAC loss to another Track & Field News Runner of the Month, Diego Mercado. He went on to win the California State and Foot Locker West Region Cross Country Championships before taking the national title, leading the West Region to victory also. Before this season he had won four California sectional titles with two near misses at a State title. His 4:10.08 mile and 9:05.18 2-mile were #10 and #19 on the Track & Field News US HS lists for '05.

The 6-2/150lb Senior has a larger than life reputation in the high school running world. However, we caught up with a humble new national champion, riding in a car with his friends and visiting his grandmother.

T&FN: Congratulations on your end-of the-season winning streak, which was capped off by the Foot Locker Championships.

AJ: Thank you.

T&FN: Can you describe how the national meet progressed in your mind?

AJ: I was expecting Mohamud Ige [Denver South, Co] and Michael Eaton [Greenwood, Ky] to really take it out hard. They didn’t and it ended up being that 6 or 7 of the 10 West guys were in the top 10. I think right from the gun the West really took control and Diego and Danny really pushed a hard pace right from the gun. My plan was just to go with them. My coach and I had discussed the strategy beforehand and we wanted to just sit back the first mile-and-a-half or so and then make a big move after that to close any gaps that might be there. It turned out that I had the lead so I used the same mentality to build a gap instead of closing them.

Then at 2 miles I just thought to myself, “One more half-mile and then it’s done.” The last half-mile anyone can push, so I really tried to press the fifth half-mile. I did that and then going up the hill that last time I tried to make a move and tried to wear out Michael, and then on the downhill I just used my big body and started rolling on that downhill. After that, going on the uphill, I didn’t know how much of a gap I had. I thought I had it and then with about 300 or so to go he was coming on pretty strong and I turned back and saw him there. I didn’t panic, I just thought, “OK I just need to start kicking now.” The last 300 I pressed kind of hard. With about 50 meters to go I knew that I had won it so I just cruised in and won.

T&FN: How did it feel when you finally won the title?

AJ: I didn’t think about it right away. When I went through the chute I thought, “Wow, this is finally over.” It wasn’t until I was walking in my hotel room wearing the Foot Locker robe that they give you that I realized I was the national champion.

T&FN: In that race did you worry about the Mercado brothers after the way they had raced against you at Mt. SAC?

AJ: Yeah, well the race at Mt. SAC--I don’t know what happened to me there. I know Diego had a phenomenal race. Those are two of the best talents in all California and all of the nation. I can say that without a doubt. If you put Diego’s performance at Mt. SAC with anyone’s race this whole season I don’t think anyone else compares. The Tully Runners [a high school website named after New York State's Tully HS program] do speed ratings- and I think my race was the highest speed rating of the year, but I think if you put Diego’s race at Mt. SAC up there, I don’t think anyone can touch that. 14:24 at Mt. SAC that’s unbelievable.

Some people can’t fathom how fast it is on the East Coast. They have their heart and mind set on Van Cortland and how that’s the toughest course out there, but I really don’t buy that. I mean Mt. SAC is 2.91 miles, but it runs like 3 miles. It’s a tough course and to beat the record and to beat it by 5 seconds! Those two together, they’re going to be great talents and not only this coming track season, but through college and hopefully we’ll end up being teammates.

T&FN: Are you hoping you get a whole bunch of California guys to go to the same college just as last year’s top California runners--Jake Schmitt, Yosef Ghebray and Mark Matusak--all went to Cal?

AJ: Not so much California guys, but I know the Mercados and I are looking at Oregon. Oregon’s pretty high on both of our lists. They have a great class already. They have Kenny Klotz, Isaac Stoutenburgh, Ryan Waite, and Justin Harbor--a lot of blue chip high school guys. So, I’m really looking forward to--wherever I go. Wisconsin is another one of my choices. They signed a couple of really good guys. Colorado is my other choice and I know they’ll always be up there; but yeah, it would be great to run with the Mercados, they’re just great talents.

T&FN: You really took the Foot Locker team challenge of the West Region vs. the rest pretty seriously. You started focusing on this at the Regional, where you narrowed the field down to the top 10 and then didn’t really race after that.

AJ: Yeah, exactly.

T&FN: Where did that come from?

AJ: I went to dinner with Danny and Diego the night before and our coaches were there with us. We pretty much just talked strategy--Diego, Danny and I. Since Diego and I had made it last year, we knew from experience that it was easier to hold back than to give it your all. I think the one exception was probably Ken Cormier [in '04]. He was 1st at the region and he really laid it down that last 800 or so, but guys like Mark Matusak and myself, we were 4th and 5th in our region--and we could have just as easily been 2 or 3 [last year]--but we saved a little back and we ended up getting 3rd and 9th at the [FL nationals]. So just knowing how it felt to be going in a little bit fresher definitely played a big part. The way I see it, there’s no point in going all out. If you can pack run, then why not do that.

I pretty much took control after Poop-Out [a famed hill on the Mt. SAC course], right before 2 miles and said, “Hey look, guys, don’t waste your energy. Let’s just stick together. there’s 8 of us here. If we just stay together we’re going to make it. We’re going to punch our tickets to San Diego.”

I think they looked up to me because of the fact that I had been there before and they kind of trusted me. When they heard me say that, they said, “OK lets hold back, conserve our energy a little bit.”

I don’t know if it was the pack running that helped at all, but at nationals we went 1 2-4-7-8-11-16. We scored 22 points and so I think--especially the West boys--they did a real good job of packing together. Mike Coe, Ben Sitler and the Mercados and Kenny Klotz all did a great job of pack running and they were all able to move up late and that’s how we were able to win.

T&FN: Were you tempted at all to try to get the course record since your regional was held on the Mt. SAC course.

AJ: No, not at all. I just was focused on winning at nationals.

T&FN: Were you hoping to be able to qualify for the Nike Team Nationals?

AJ: [The El Camino HS team] had a good run early on, but we were very inconsistent and were never able to put the pieces together at the right time. I think if maybe all the cylinders were firing then, yeah, we could have; but that’s one of those should-have would-have-could have things.

T&FN: What is your high school team like?

AJ: We have a really close team. Our season was marred by a lot of disappointments. The past three years we’ve gone into our section meet ranked No. 1 and all three times we--for one reason or another- didn’t win. This year our No. 2 runner from the week before got sick, so he finished in the 60s when he should have been top 10; and our usual No. 3 runner developed tendinitis in his knee, and halfway though the race he had to drop out. It’s disappointing, but for me I was able to focus at State. Just run for myself. I’m not really big on that, but I was able to do that at States and regionals and nationals. We had a really close team, but things just didn’t work out, unfortunately.

T&FN: Does the team try to race after you in workouts?

AJ: I usually run by myself. I ran with Tom [Kloos, El Camino HS coach] a lot. Right around league, which would be five weeks before nationals, he ran his marathon [11th American at ING NYC in a time of 2:29]; so I stopped training with him and the last five weeks of the season I was pretty much running on my own.

I run with my teammates on the easy days and we have another kid—Jayree Henry—at our school now. He’s a 1:55 half miler and he’ll definitely be in the 4-teens for the mile. I was running with him the last couple weeks this season, and then the week of regionals and the week of nationals I was pretty much running on my own. Most of my teammates were off from running. On a couple of the runs one of my teammates would follow me.

T&FN: You didn’t train for the marathon while he was training for it?

AJ: We did the same training and he would do just more repetitions. If we were doing a fartlek and say we were going two minutes on and two minutes off, I would do three or four sets of that and then he would do five or six sets.

T&FN: Same pace?

AJ: He would do the same pace, just more reps.

T&FN: How often do you guys meet?

AJ: We both just have classes for periods 1 to 5. We meet when our classes get out.

T&FN: Did you meet in the morning to work out?

AJ: I never really did very many morning runs. I probably did one a week or so.

T&FN: When did you first start running?

AJ: My freshman year was when I really started going competitively.

T&FN: You ran before that time?

AJ: I ran track in middle school, but other than that I didn’t run before then.

T&FN: I understand you coach the middle school program now. Are you the head coach?

AJ: Yeah. It’s basically just three times a week or so. The kids meet up on the track. I give them their workouts and then I tell them what to do and just kind of work it from there.

T&FN: Where do you get their workouts from?

AJ: A lot of it’s based on my training. I’ve tried some stuff with them that I’ve read from Lydiard and a bit of Jack Daniels?

T&FN: You did a lot less intervals and more tempos and fartlek this year. Compare a week from this year to last year.

AJ: I know some programs do a lot of intervals. Maybe every day they’re doing some sort of interval. I didn’t touch intervals until probably about six or seven weeks left in the season and then I would only do that once a week. My coach and I--from six weeks out to the beginning of the season--we would do a fartlek and a tempo once a week. On Tuesday I would go fartlek and then Thursday I would do a tempo. If it was the week of the race, depending on the race, I might do the race and then a tempo or some sort of threshold run.

T&FN: You got to race against Tom. How often does that happen?

AJ: Maybe once a season. I am not even close to him. Maybe in a mile it would be close, but anything over that he could take me.

T&FN: In your 4:10 mile he nipped you at the tape. Did you think you had him?

AJ: He was supposed to drop out actually. He was just supposed to rabbit. He just felt good, I guess. I think my mistake was that I didn’t really take advantage of that third lap and kind of fell back a little bit.

T&FN: Your coach chopped 30 seconds off his steeplechase PR since college graduation in ’99. In 2003 he ran 8:30 and was No. 5 on the U.S. list. Does he explain to you what he’s learned from his own training, and what have you come away with?

AJ: A lot of it is his being the guinea pig [for my training] and in a lot of the same aspects I’ve been that also. My freshman year I was only doing maybe 20 miles a week and then my sophomore year we did a lot of intervals. Junior year we still did a lot, but we toned it down a little. This year we pretty much did tempos and fartlek and whatever he’s trying. If it works, he’ll give it to me and see if it can be applied at the high school level. He has a coach, but he still does some of his own things.

T&FN: Who is his coach?

AJ: Alan Scharsu. [Who ran for Nike’s elite Athletics West program of the 80’s and was an 8:44.03 HS 2-miler in 1978].
For the most part I was on a different schedule than my teammates because they weren’t at the same level. We learned that I needed more mileage—basically higher volume and higher intensity.

T&FN: What’s the mileage like now?

AJ: My freshman year of cross-country I really didn’t do much. I did 20 miles a week and then I stopped running in the middle months because I had an IT band problem. I did some cross training, then ran for about 2-3 weeks before coming back for the sectional meet. I ended up running 17:30 at state. In track season I was training 25 miles a week consistently and I ended up running 4:18.

T&FN: Have the IT bands been your only injuries?

AJ: I had Achilles tendinitis last year during track season, which really sucked.

T&FN: And your mileage now?

AJ: During the summer I got up to 70.

T&FN: Just running or tempo runs?

AJ: Tempo runs, and my long run was up to maybe 13 miles. I got to 15 miles once. I had a lot of medium runs also. I would do a couple of 10-milers and some of the runs I would break down from 10 miles. So I would go 6 and 4 or 7 and 3.

T&FN: And you visited the Running USA training center at Mammoth Lake?

AJ: I went there for about a week. I was up there with another team.

T&FN: What was that like?

AJ: It was nice. I really liked it. My coach is really cool. We had our team camp in Lake Tahoe and then we went from Lake Tahoe to Colorado and then from Colorado to Mammoth Lakes. It was a lot of driving, but we would switch off driving chores.

T&FN: This was for the whole summer?

AJ: No, it was in a three-week stint. So I got through three weeks of altitude training and all of my runs were at altitude.

T&FN: What was the highest altitude?

AJ: 7500 feet, in Lake Tahoe.

T&FN: So, you didn’t just work yourself into shape during cross country--you were in shape by Mt. SAC?

AJ: I was in shape, but I don’t know what it is. I just have a tendency to not perform that well in the middle of the season. The past three years I’ve done horribly at Mt. SAC by my standards. My junior year I ran 14:57 and I probably had the sixth-fastest time of the day at Mt. SAC with everybody combined; so by no means was I killing anyone yet. I was still doing decently and then I would come on by the end of the year--last year and this year.

T&FN: You said you refocused your season after your loss at Mt. SAC this year. Was it just a mental adjustment or did you refocus your training as well?

AJ: It was more of a mental adjustment. I told myself I needed to cut the crap. It really brought me back down to earth. Before Mt. Sac I pretty much thought I was the king: no one’s going to touch me; I’m going to beat everyone. After that it kind of humbled me a bit. I thought, “My road to the national championships is going to be a lot harder than I thought.” So after Mt. SAC I was able to mentally adjust and I was glad I was able to do that then.

Some people might say, “Oh, you had a bad race at Mt. SAC. Don’t you wish you could have gotten the record?” Part of me says yes, but for the most part I’m actually glad that I lost at Mt. SAC. If I hadn’t, then I might have gone into nationals a little too overconfident and I might not have come out with the win.

T&FN: Do you think it just made you more tenacious during the race itself?

AJ: Exactly, and it made me aware of my weakness, which is that second mile, and as you saw in the nationals race I went for it. I really dropped the hammer on that second mile and it just went form there. I figure just as Prefontaine said, if someone is going to beat me they’re going to have to bleed to do it. I really wanted that. If someone was going to beat me, I wanted them to work for it really hard; and I wasn’t going to let that race get away from me. I put too much training in. I put too much work into all that.

T&FN: Another reason I thought perhaps you were getting into shape in the season was the side stitch issue. When did that come about?

AJ: It started at State. With about a mile to go I got a really bad side stitch. After that I got a little bit of it at regionals, but was able to kind of shake it. We were running so conservatively that it never became an issue and then at nationals I tried some stuff and it ended up working. I don’t know if it worked or not ,or it was more of a mental thing or not, but I rubbed Icy-Hot on that area and did all my stretching and breathing stuff.

T&FN: You looked up a yoga instructor?

AJ: I went to a yoga place to show me some exercises to show me how to stretch out my diaphragm.

T&FN: Do you still do those exercises?

AJ: Yeah, at night I’ll just do them in bed for a couple minutes and then go to sleep. It helps me relax and works on that.

T&FN: Before or after a race you do these also?

AJ: Yeah, just whenever I have the time. That’s why I save it for the night.

T&FN: You just won your first State championships after winning a lot of sectionals races. What was that like to finally get that monkey off your back?

AJ: It was definitely very emotional. I had come so close on two occasions that to finally win was like you said, just getting the monkey off my back. It was like, OK, I’ve won it finally. I didn’t want to be known as the best guy to never win anything. I want to be remembered for winning something and now I can be remembered for winning State and the nationals.

T&FN: At State in the 1600 last year you were disqualified. What happened?

AJ: The California State meet is a really tactical race. In a state like California, when you have nine guys in the finals that all have PR’s of 4:13 and under and the race goes out in 2:12, you’re all going to be there. We went through 1200 in 3:13 and when you do that, there’s going to be people there. At the 400 meter mark I made my move. I did cut off the guy. I am not denying that. It wasn’t intentional or anything, but I did cut him off. There was Mark Matusak and I neck and neck after that, and with about 150 to go he came up on my side. We were kind of jostling around. He was trying to get in front of me and I wouldn’t let him because he was trying to pass on the turn. With 125 to go he got in front of me and he cut me off. I didn’t respond right away. When I realized that maybe I could still catch him, I started closing the gap. [Matusak finished 1st and Acosta 2nd ].

Afterwards I found out that they had thrown up the yellow flag to indicate a foul. I thought it was for that. They called my coach up and he thought they were going to disqualify Mark. As it turned out, the flag was on me for cutting off Joe Gatel with 400 to go.

In my opinion what made it such a bad situation was that the ruling was that I had lowered my shoulder and rammed the guy off the track. That’s a direct quote from the official and that never occurred. You can watch every angle of it and you can see that it doesn’t happen.

Was the right call made? No. It’s one of those things where you've got to take it in stride. In a race like that, people get cut off every 50 meters. I didn’t agree with it and my coach didn’t agree with it. Most people didn’t agree with it, but life goes on. You just have to say, ”What’s done is done,” and I just have to focus on my next race.

T&FN: You have a reputation for being outspoken. Was this the start of you speaking out on the message boards?

AJ: I know I posted on them before and people knew that my user name was AJ. I think right about then was when I really started posting a lot.

T&FN: How does the trash talk affect you?

AJ: I pretty much just laugh at it. I look at it and say, “OK, whatever.” Within a week after the Foot Locker [finals] there were nine threads or so about how cocky I am, how arrogant I am. Basically, they don’t like me because I won. There’s a lot of people who back me up, and I respect those people who are backing me up, but the people who were basically talking smack don’t know anything. I can guarantee you that 99% of those people haven’t met me; so they have nothing to base that off of.

T&FN: That’s right.

AJ: I think basically they’re just jealous. I hate to say that. I’m not trying to hype myself up or anything, but that’s pretty much what it comes down to. They just see someone in the spotlight and they just want to tear them apart no matter what.

T&FN: They see a place to make a joke and they do.

AJ: Yeah, and the funny thing--the ironic thing--is that I really don’t care about it. They spend so much time and effort on it and I just laugh at it because it doesn’t bother me at all. So, it’s not really a big deal at that.

T&FN: Thanks to the internet you’re able to keep in touch with some of the other top high school runners from around the country. Who are some of them and how did you meet?

AJ: I talk to Brian Rhodes-Devey (BRD), Mike Cybolski, Mel Lawrence and Nicole Blood. They are all just great people. They’re really funny, I really enjoy them. They can all relate to me with the whole running thing. They’re good people to be around. We’ve met at races and exchanged emails and it’s just kind of gone from there.

T&FN: What’s your favorite event? Is it in cross country or track?

AJ: I really like the mile. That’s really my calling.

T&FN: Are you going to run any 800s this year?

AJ: I ran one at Mt. SAC. I ran the DMR mile in 4:12 and then came back an hour-and a-half later and ran 1:53.2, lowering my PR by .6.

T&FN: What are your goals for these events outdoors?

AJ: Well, I definitely think I can be under 1:51, maybe get under 1:50--in that range for the 800. For the mile--people talk about running sub-4:00 and I think that goal is really out there, but by no means is it impossible. I think the biggest thing is mental. If you can run 4:01, then you can run under 4:00. It’s just a matter of pushing it that second or third lap just a little harder. My goal is to just run as best as I can, and if I run under 4:00 great, If I only run 4:02 or 4:03, then I’m not going to be disappointed because that’s still a great time for someone who is only 17 right now.

T&FN: Have you looked at how Alan Webb ran his High School Record race and thought about emulating how he approached the event?

AJ: Yeah, I think with Alan Webb, he was more of a miler. He ran 8:45 for 2-miles. So it’s not like he was crappy at the 2-mile, but I definitely think that 3K and below is his type of thing. My focus is more of the 1500 and 2 mile this year. We’ll see how it works out. I don’t really see myself running 3:53. If I can get under 4:00 that would be awesome, but I’m not going to get too worked up about it. Like I said, if it happens, it happens. The main focus is to just do the best I can. I am going to try my hand at the 5000 this year also.

T&FN: Have you been invited to the Gerry Lindgren Invitational where they’re hoping to break Brad Hudson’s HS Indoor 5000 Record?

AJ: I was, but I had to turn that down. I’m going to go to the Boston Indoor Games instead. I didn’t really want to run a 5000 indoors. I’ve had the IT band problem… Come track season for some reason I always get an IT band problem. I think it’s mostly because my legs for some reason get out of whack. What is it 16 laps on the track up there? I didn’t think it would be very good for me to do that, but it’s really good for a tune up race for the [USATF Junior Cross Country Championships]. That’s all I bet it really is.

T&FN: What event are you racing in Boston?

AJ: The mile.

T&FN: Not at the Millrose Games?

AJ: The Millrose Games doesn’t let you run athletes unattached [from a high school program.]

T&FN: The Lindgren Invitational 5000 is February 11th and the Junior Cross-country race is the next weekend, right?

AJ: Yeah, I kind of wanted to have an off week before Junior Cross, because I’m also taking three recruiting trips around then: Colorado, Wisconsin and Oregon.

T&FN: You narrowed it down to three pretty fast, how much longer than that did the list get?

AJ: It was at six and then I had visited Colorado over the summer. I visited Stanford unofficially and then I visited Duke and Cal officially and I definitely liked Colorado better than those three, so I was able to eliminate them.

T&FN: Was your coach much of a guide to picking out schools?

AJ: Yeah, he’s had a lot of input. It’s not one of those things where he’s telling me where to go. He’s been a soundboard, giving me his opinion and telling me to take it with a grain of salt. He just wants the best for me and he wants me to achieve the best I can. When he thinks that a coach isn’t going to bring me to that next level, he was really up front about it and let me know what he thought. And on some of the other coaches, he said, "This is a great coach. You would fit in really well here, I think.” That’s how he’s played a role in that.

T&FN: Your coach went to Columbia. Did that enter the equation at all?

AJ: No, not really. I wasn’t looking to go to an Ivy League at all.

T&FN: Do you know what your college major will be?

AJ: No. I figure I’ve got five years to decide. I’ve been thinking about maybe sports marketing, maybe exercise physiology or history or something like that.

T&FN: What have been your greatest academic influences at school?

AJ: I’ve always been a big history guy. My freshman year I had this teacher Mr. Orlando and he was probably the best teacher I ever had. I had him both my freshman and sophomore year for World history and AP Comparative Politics. He really sparked an interest in history for me because he was such an awesome teacher and it was fun learning with him. Also biology. I took biology my freshman year and then last year I took the AP Biology, so I learned all about the cells and that’s how I wanted to get into exercise physiology, because that stuff really interests me.

T&FN: What other AP courses have you taken?

AJ: I’ve passed four and am taking three more this year.

T&FN: It sounded like you weren’t planning to graduate college early, though?

AJ: I think my plan is to go into college with enough credits where my freshman year I can just take the minimum amount of classes just to get acclimated to the whole college atmosphere. That’s the plan with that. I’m pretty sure I’ll at least be going in with twenty or so credits. That should be enough to spread out my units for the rest of the years.

T&FN: And by visiting your top colleges close together you’ll have a better comparison?

AJ: I really want to decide before Junior Cross, so that’s why I put those all before it. I just want to get the decision over with. I’m pretty set. I know where I want to go, I’m going to take the three visits and see if any thing changes.

T&FN: Is that something you want to say, where you’re leaning?

AJ: No, not yet. I’ll save it for whenever I get done with my last visit.

T&FN: Do you have a race plan for the USATF Junior Cross Country Champs?

AJ: Not really. Just go out and hang on. I’ve never run 8K before; so it will be a new experience.

T&FN: What was the experience like of running the national championships in San Diego, close to home? Was there a lot of pressure to win?

AJ: I don’t really feel like I succumb to pressure. It just doesn’t affect me like that. Having everyone there was great. I was told there were about 100 people--family and friends. I felt like it really spurred me on. I could hear them cheer when they were in packs along the course, but with everyone else there it was difficult to hear them otherwise.

T&FN: And you have relatives in New York [where the USATF Cross Champs will be held]?

AJ: Yeah, I’m working on a crowd for Junior Cross Country and for Boston. It won’t be as big as San Diego, but we’ll see how it goes.

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