David Ponce wanted to gain more offseason running experience and will now be running in the AAU Junior Olympic Games in Des Moines, Iowa.
The mid- and long-distance runner from Lindsay has spent his summer doing daily individualized training and competing as an unattached runner (meaning no club affiliation) at AAU meets, which will now culminate in Des Moines.
“It feels great. All the hard work just paid off,” Ponce said. “I’m speechless. It’s a big deal for me. It’s been a year for track and running a lot.”
When looking at other athletes on Athletic.net, Ponce picked up on a pattern - other top-performing athletes had more years of experience. So he and his family realized that he needed to look for opportunities to run more and get experience of his own.
“Since I want to run DI, I might as well run unattached and get more experience,” Ponce said.
At the AAU Track and Field Regional Qualifier in Wichita, Kansas, Ponce set a personal record while also realizing the importance of experience. As he ran, he felt trapped by two other runners, unable to pass them. He hung out in the back of the pack before going all out on the last 200 meters. He ran that race in 2:11.85 and placed sixth.
“I struggled to get around runners with more experience,” he said.
Ponce is entering the eighth grade and has been running track since fifth grade. Other events he has competed in at school include the mile, 4X400 relay and 4X800 relay. He also runs cross country and plays baseball and basketball.
For the AAU meets, he had to choose a single event.
“I thought I had a better chance in the 800 than the mile because I’m more confident in the 800,” Ponce said. “I have to be both mentally tough and fast.
Some mistake it for long distance, but it’s sprinting, and it’s hard.”
Other goals for the young runner include breaking the Lindsay High School records for both the 800-meter and 1600-meter.
The current record for the 800-meter, set by Tanner Mason in 2011, is 1:58.28.
Ponce’s brother Daniel set the record for the 1600meter in 2023 at 4:36.81.
Daniel currently runs for Mid-America Christian University.
“His brother waited until senior year to start taking it seriously,” said Ponce’s mother, Maria Arredondo.
“David came to us asking to start doing things now.
You have to be a freshman to go for the record, so he has one more year to train and get ready. David is not going to wait.”
Arredondo is not a runner herself, but she has been active in the booster club for track and cross country. She travels to all the meets as well as taking Ponce for post-training drinks at Sonic. She is proud of what her son is accomplishing.
“That’s discipline,” she said. “You have to do things when you don’t want to do them. Other kids are at their houses playing video games, but he’s at training. Nobody sees the sweat, pain and frustration. Nobody sees the painful part of the 2.11.”
After the Junior Olympic Games, Ponce’s focus will shift to the beginning of the cross country season.
“I never stop running.
There’s the school season and the unattached season,” Ponce said.
