Chandy’s practice pursues perfection

Zach Chandy isn’t a sprinter. He isn’t a distance runner, in the pure sense at least. He is more of a hybrid. Capable of excelling in either, but built to dominate in-between.

The Sage Hill School senior has owned school records in eight running events and both relays, but will compete in his top two ? the 200 and 400 meters ? tonight at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet.

His success is part hard work and part natural ability ? 80% in favor of the genes, if you ask Elias Moreno, one of Chandy’s running coaches at Sage Hill and a former UC Irvine sprinter.

While some fathers lecture their kids about the tribulations of walking long distances to school uphill, Chandy’s father schooled his son on his history of running track in India on ash in long spikes. Mom, as it turns out, was a runner, too.

“They were fast for having no training,” Chandy said.

But Chandy has training. It’s one of his favorite parts of the sport, the work, the constant focus on improving. He has been running since he was in the fifth grade. So practicing once a day is not enough.

“His work ethic is phenomenal,” Moreno said. “He works out in the morning and in the afternoon.”

Moreno, a three-time Big West Conference finalist in the 100 and 200, marvels at Chandy’s ability to find success in sprint and distance races.

“It’s almost different sides of the spectrum,” said Moreno, who is in his first year coaching at Sage Hill. “He ran a [1 minute, 55 seconds] 800 [at the Arcadia Invitational]. For him to do that is unbelievable.”

Chandy qualified for the section preliminaries in the 800, but did not participate. It is the event he expects to run when he enrolls at Stanford on scholarship in the fall. At 5-foot-7, it is the race for which he is best suited.

“In college, 400 runners are usually 5-10 to 6-1,” Chandy said. “My future is in the 800. Right now, the 400 is my bread and butter.”

Chandy has shown flexibility. He held the school record in the 1,600 until the Academy League meet when teammate Connor Rose took it from him.

“I can’t have him with the mile record,” Rose said.

It was just a coincidence Chandy took it back from Rose in the first place. He ran the 1,600 in a dual meet to get extra work and help the Lightning with some points.

It isn’t just on the track that Chandy aids his teammates. Before meets, he knows what to say to get the adrenaline running. In practice, he knows how to keep everyone motivated.

“Before every race, he gets us pumped up,” Rose said. “Especially for relays, he gets the team focused, leads the stretch. Knowing he’s going to run a 40 [second split], it makes us want to help so it’s not all on him.”

A smile washes over Rose’s face when he remembers the times the first three runners of the relay team watched as Chandy made up distance and won a race.

“Especially for our league, we knew if we stayed with a team he’d win it,” Rose said. “It takes a little bit of pressure off. It’s fun to watch.”

His high school career will undoubtedly end stronger then it started, when he broke his leg two practices into his freshman year. But track Coach Nate Miller didn’t need to see Chandy run track his freshman year to know he was special.

“I had heard quite a bit about him and I knew the times,” Miller said. “He’s definitely got natural ability. He does extensive offseason training. He’s been training at a high level for five or six years and that gives him a jump on guys who don’t take it as seriously.”

Chandy’s dedication to the sport landed him in Morocco last summer for the International Amateur Athletic Federation World Youth Track Championships. He left with a gold medal in the sprint medley for the 17-and-under division and a desire to compete internationally again.

“It was pretty cool, all the guys I raced against, all my rivals were on my team,” said Chandy, who finished fourth in the 400 at that meet. “It was great meeting people from around the world.”

Chandy was also selected the U.S. team captain. A leader on all teams, Chandy hopes his abilities lead him to the state meet.dpt-chandy26.IMGGraphicInfoQV1RBHO720060526QV1RBHO7No Captiondpt.26-chandy-2-BPhotoInfoKT1RBHFP20060526izlcrdncMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Sage Hill School’s Zach Chandy, center, shown here at the CIF Southern Section Division IV track finals, will run in tonight’s CIF Southern Section Masters Meet.