Gaston Hustles His Way Into the Picture

Forget Pearl Jam. Dan Gaston is perfectly happy grooving with . . . the Bee Gees?

Gaston, a standout on the Huntington Beach boys’ cross-country team, doesn’t run with the crowd in competition. His musical selections aren’t the norm for a senior either.

“I don’t know, I just like groups like the Bee Gees, the Village People, K.C. and the Sunshine Band,” Gaston said.

Besides that quirky taste in music, there’s also the nickname: Gerbs.

“When Dan was a freshman, some of his teammates thought he looked like a gerbil,” Huntington Beach Coach Eric Anderson said. “So they called him, Gerbilinsky. It’s been shortened since then.”

Gaston, born in England, isn’t short on talent, just recognition. He is the lesser-known half of what Anderson calls his “Dynamic Duo.”

The better-known half is Tony Trueba, fellow senior and two-time Times all-county selection. Last season, Trueba won the Orange County Championships race (Gaston finished 19th) and also earned an individual berth at the state meet.

“Most people only recognize the top guy,” Anderson said. “But I don’t think Dan feels slighted. I know he never considered himself No. 2. And Tony never did either.

“They are Nos. 1A and 1B. They feed off each other.”

Gaston and Trueba have been together since their freshman year at Huntington Beach, although they did not compete together that season.

Trueba, running with the varsity, gained notoriety with the fastest freshman time in the Southern Section preliminaries at Mt. San Antonio College in 1993.

Gaston was quietly winning many races for the Oiler freshman team.

Although both tasted success, it was fitting that both accomplished it in different fashion.

“Tony is an introvert, Gerbs more of an extrovert,” Anderson said. “Gerbs wears flowery shirts and plaid to school and he’s into disco, but Tony wouldn’t be caught dead doing that.

“They’re totally opposite in that aspect.”

Their running styles also differ. Gaston runs faster at the beginning of the season (he won Saturday’s Central Park Invitational) and Trueba picks it up as the season closes.

“Gerbs will smoke Tony in a 10K, but Tony will smoke Gerbs in a one-miler,” Anderson said.

But together in three-mile races, the pair helped the Oiler cross-country team come within one good performance of the school’s first state berth.

Unfortunately, the dream came apart for the Oilers at the Southern Section Division I finals at Mt. SAC last season.

“We were warming up and we got into a silly argument,” Gaston said. “So for the first time in the season, before the biggest race, the team split up for warm-ups.

“But we haven’t dwelt on it. We just know not to repeat that same mistake this year.”

Gaston, being recruited by schools, including UCLA, hopes he and the Oilers will make their first appearance in the state meet this season. He figures to have a good shot, considering the Oilers are top-ranked in Division II.

“Going to state with the team, then making [the Foot Locker] nationals would be the perfect ending,” Gaston said. “But for my senior year I want to try and forget about all those distractions and just go out, race and mellow it out.”