They Take Own Paths to Spotlight at Valhalla

Mark Dani and Dale Wilson are the odd couple of the Valhalla High School track and field team.

Though each has a different approach toward running, they are similar in two aspects: both are among San Diego County’s best milers and, yet, they are not well known.

The first step toward recognition may have been taken Saturday at the Canada Dry/Mustang Relays at San Dieguito High School.

Running against an elite field in the invitational mile, Dani finished third, with a time of 4:24.6, behind Hilltop’s Ellis del Sol and Point Loma’s David Rees. Dani defeated some of the county’s best, including Mount Carmel’s John Boudreaux and Southwest’s Shawn Sandoval, the San Diego CIF 2-A cross-country champion.

Wilson, facing an easier field in the open mile, won easily in 4:35.2.

“We were only allowed to put one runner in the invitational mile,” Valhalla distance coach Pat King said. “They both should have been in there.”

Dani, a junior, did not begin running until he was a sophomore. He wasted little time climbing to the top, however, and ran a personal best mile of 4:25 in last season’s Grossmont League final.

In his first cross-country season last fall, he finished second to Wilson in the Grossmont League final. He has continued to improve, posting bests of 9:40.6 in the two mile and 2:01 in the half mile this season.

“Mark has a lot of potential,” King said. “He’s working on his base mileage. He has a lot of natural speed.”

An attempt to build a mileage base apparently led to a dispute between Dani and Valhalla basketball Coach John Gillian. Dani would run to basketball practice much to Gillian’s chagrin.

“The coach didn’t want me to run while I was playing basketball,” Dani said. “I was just training, but he didn’t understand that. He said that I’d be too tired.”

Dani ultimately quit the team because he wanted to continue running.

Unlike Dani, Wilson does not train year-round.

“I’m a three month-a-year runner,” Wilson said. “I don’t think I’m quite as dedicated as the others.”

Still, Wilson, a senior, has done well. As a sophomore, he had bests of 4:32 in the mile and 9:59 in the two mile. He is making a comeback of sorts because he missed his junior season with an ankle injury suffered while playing soccer.

He showed promise by winning the Grossmont League cross-country championship last fall.

“I wanted to be in there (the invitational mile),” Wilson said. “Obviously, I would’ve had a better time. But I’m not worried about any of that right now. I’m not really in shape.”

Said King: “I stress to them to run on weekends. But I can’t control them.”

A free spirit such as Wilson is difficult to control.

“We know what we should be doing,” Wilson said. “Sometimes my priorities are out of order.”

That may be true, but Wilson’s priorities are straight when it comes to his teammates.

“If my leg speed improves, I want to run the mile,” Wilson said. “But if Mark continues to run this well, that’s OK. I’ll run the two mile.”

Despite the differences in training, the runners have no trouble sharing the spotlight.

“I couldn’t beat it,” Wilson said when asked about having Dani as a teammate. “We train together. He always seems to go farther and faster than me, but without Mark, I know I wouldn’t be doing half as good as I am.”