Esteban Tapia is 17 years old. He is about 5- foot-10, and has a knack for running.

He started running in the 7th grade. When asked why he started running he stated, “I wanted to try something new and out of my comfort zone.”

He raced against many schools during the Pacific View League, placing 10th out of everyone who attended. It’s his best personal record.

On Sept. 26, Tapia ran in the Gold Coast meet at College Park. Six-hundred runners went to race, including 110 for varsity. Tapia got 13th place in varsity; his final time was 16 minutes, 18 seconds on the three-mile course.

Head coach Mr. Miguel Galindo says that Tapia has come a long way since freshman year on the junior varsity track team to the top man of the varsity team. During his freshmen year he suffered from an injury that almost made him quit running. He tore his Achilles tendon and had to sit out and do therapy for 5 months.

After high school Tapia wants to run for Chico State. He wishes to major in criminal justice or communications. His favorite subject in school is math. He has a great fear of insects and hates seeing blood. His favorite foods are hamburgers and French fries.

On race days he likes to eat healthy. He trains with Andres Flores. When asked how does one start running, he advises, “Get out there, try your best and you’ll make bonds along the way.”

Even though Tapia is leaving CI this year, in the near future his younger brother — who just started running, because Tapia convinced him to — will arrive to CI and might follow and surpass his older brother’s footsteps.