RUNNER ARRIVES : La Habra High Sophomore Emerging as Best Young Distance Racer This Year

It took most of the cross-country season, but Orange County’s 1985 version of the distance-running prodigy has finally emerged.

His name is Terrence Mahon and he runs for La Habra High School.

Mahon is not the county’s fastest, but he is its best young runner. He has won the Freeway League championship, broken the 15-minute mark for three miles and generally been a pain for La Habra’s opponents.

He’s done all of this before getting his drivers license. Mahon is a 15-year-old sophomore and, though he runs as if he were a veteran of several varsity seasons, he surely looks his age.

Before the Freeway League Championships last week in Tri-City Park at Placentia, Mahon was a picture of concentration. He went through his warm-up routine diligently, stretching and running a few strides before the start.

During the race, he ran with teammate Sam Williams until the halfway point, then broke away swiftly and decisively to win in 14:54, a personal best. La Habra defeated Buena Park for the Freeway Championship, qualifying the Highlanders for the CIF Southern Section 3-A preliminaries Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.

It seemed too easy, too relaxed.

“You’ve got to like what you’re doing,” said Mahon. “It might not look like it because of your (facial) expression, but (running) is fun.”

As a grade school student, Mahon once went to watch his brothers run in a cross-country race. Seeing the runners traverse the course captivated him.

While in the fourth grade, he turned to the Junior Olympics and local jog-a-thons to quench his thirst for cross-country competition. He tried baseball and soccer, but upon entering La Habra as a 13-year-old freshman last year he knew he wanted to run cross-country for the Highlanders.

The skinny freshman immediately impressed La Habra Coach Ralph Winkleman, who knew he had something special here. Yet, he was unprepared for Mahon’s rapid advancement.

Mahon’s best race, the one that really caught Winkleman’s attention, was last season’s Sonora Invitational.

“He ran 15:59 over a pretty hilly course and almost beat Williams (a sophomore then),” Winkleman said.

“I expected things like this next year--not this year,” Winkleman said. “He’s ahead of himself. I knew he had ability. He’s just a year ahead of where I thought he’d be.”

Mahon is also ahead of most of Orange County’s runners. At the prestigious Mt. San Antonio College Invitational, Mahon had the best individual time of any county performer. He helped La Habra win its division.

He also led the Highlanders to a third-place finish in their race at the Orange County Championships last month. He finished a distant second to David Moore, of Orange, who has established himself as the fastest county runner.

There, Mahon’s youthful innocence was highlighted. Asked if he had any thoughts of chasing after Moore late in the race, Mahon said, “I didn’t even know who he was.”

Most runners, even top sophomores, know at least some of the best runners. Forgive Mahon if he seems unconcerned with the names of his competition, but he is downright feisty about reaching other goals. Breaking 15 minutes this season was one he wanted dearly.

If Mahon was ahead of Winkleman’s schedule, he was right on target when he ran 15:02 in the first meet of the season. He didn’t approach that time again until last week’s victory at league finals.

The seeds of that win were rooted in his summer workouts. In preparation, Mahon ran up to 60 miles a week, which is still far below what most top high school runners do.

Mahon’s relaxed attitude is one of his better traits, according to Winkleman.

“He just wants to be the best around, but he’s not obsessed by that,” Winkleman said.