If you're practicing cross country runs the week of Thanksgiving it means you did something right at the valley meet in Fresno. "You only get an athlete like this once in a great while," said Rick Mayberry in his 21st year coaching Highland's cross country team.

At last Thursday's race at Woodward Park, Highland junior Moises Medrano looked like a man on a mission. "That last mile of the race I said 'I practiced this, I know what it feels like," he told 23ABC Thursday. "I'm so close, I'm not going to let it go. I just bit down and went through."

His final push set a mark for a personal best time (15:33) and earned him the title of "best in the valley" in Division II. "Still feels weird and unreal," he said almost a week later. 

For many top athletes a win like that is the highlight of a high school career but for Moises, it's not even a priority. After transferring to Highland his freshman year for the school's engineering program his focus is on being a student before being an athlete.

His coaches think those smarts (4.0 GPA) are already translating to his runs. "He thinks about his races and doesn't panic," said Mayberry. "He's a dream to coach. He's just the real deal."

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