Waite’s Elias Valdez shows he belongs with the best in Ohio

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

East Side Pride – it’s safe to say Waite senior Elias Valdez embodies that.
Valdez, who recently finished his career in cross country at the Division I state meet, has a long list of accomplishments, one that makes him one of the best distance runners in program history.
Valdez had to battle the flu for several days before his final race, but he fought to finish 124th in 16:33.94. Had he run a 15:54.96 like he did the week before in regionals, where he finished eighth, Valdez would’ve come in at 56th against the best Ohio has to offer.
“He got sick around Tuesday and he started to not feel well,” said Waite coach Dave Quiroga. “He had a little bit of a fever, (so) we took it easy and pumped every med into him to kick it.”
His personal record is 15:51.78, which he ran at districts, where he placed seventh, and it is also the new school record.
“It felt amazing because having that feeling, knowing it’s been a very long time since someone has done something like (this) was great,” said Valdez. “I was just proud of myself and all the hard work finally paid off. Just qualifying for the state meet, I feel like it was a big statement.”
Last year, Valdez was 29th at regionals in 16:39.90, 13 places and 26 seconds away from the state meet.
Quiroga was ecstatic about Valdez’s performance this season.
“As far as this year is concerned, he did phenomenally. That’s the best word to describe it. We set the goal after regionals last season that we were going to train our butts off, absolutely, and give everything to get to state,” said Quiroga. “We changed up our workout and he took it into another gear.”
Valdez has dominated the City League in each of his three seasons, winning the conference in each of the last two seasons after finishing second as a sophomore. He also finished second at the Van Buren Invitational and the Fostoria Athletic Boosters Invite and was eighth at the Maumee Bay Invite.
“These last couple years, it was really competitive and stressful,” Valdez said. “This year, I didn’t put as much stress on myself; I told myself to have faith in my coaching, and that’s why I made it to state.
Quiroga, who had a successful baseball career at Waite before going on to play at Owens Community College, talked about coaching Valdez.
“Obviously, you have to be fast and have some natural talent. When I met him (before his) sophomore year in the summer, I could see that he’s a natural runner,” said Quiroga. “He’s not the fastest guy, but as far as effort, determination, the will, the want-to, he’s one of the top three kids that I’ve ever coached.
“This sport is wild. I think he can be almost as good as he wants to be. The more he does it, and the more he’s with other really, really good runners, I think the sky is the limit. He can take it as far as he wants to take it,” Quiroga said.
At the first tournament of the season, the Norm Bray Invite, Valdez took fifth (17:04.30) and followed that up with a 14th-place finish (16:49.30) at the Mel Brodt Invite. The Tiffin Carnival, which took place in early September, saw Valdez take 40th in 16:40.3.
Quiroga has thoroughly enjoyed coaching a rare talent like Valdez, he said.
“He’s a really, really good athlete, but he’s a good kid, too. I have a lot of respect for him,” said Quiroga. “When you’re in sports and doing it at this level, it kind of rejuvenates you as a coach. He really helped me.
“It’s been pretty rewarding to coach tremendous kids, and the family support is amazing. I’d be hard-pressed to find it in any other sport I coach,” he said.
At this point, Valdez is looking at some universities that he might want to attend after he graduates from Waite.
“A couple of schools have reached out – some are close, some are a little further away,” said Quiroga. “He’s definitely thinking about college; he’s a little undecided about his major.”