Aragon runners hope to restore XC greatness

Hunt and Bill Daskarolis both coached the 2012 team. Hunt officially stepped away from the team this season due to health reasons. Daskarolis, who was one of the school’s inaugural HOF inductees in 2008, died in 2021.

“[Hunt] and Daskarolis were just such a perfect pairing,”Aragon athletic director Steve Sell said. “That Bill could coordinate an entire program, and part of it was Bill Daskarolis being so selfless. He saw that Frank had this knowledge, and Bill, no disrespect to Frank, Bill is the hero in this.”

Hunt turned over the coaching reins two years ago at Aragon due to health reasons, with John Abrams and Denise Fournier taking over the program. This marks the first year Hunt has stepped away from the team entirely.

“Coach Hunt brings an expertise to running that was extraordinary,” Sell said. “What was impressive to me was how much reading he did and how current he wanted to be. ... That concept as a coach that you owe it to your athletes that you continue to learn all the time.”

Nichols is one in a quartet of seniors with hopes of reestablishing the Dons as a Central Coast Section qualifier. It will be an uphill climb, as Aragon finished in eighth place in the 12-team Peninsula Athletic League #1 race, Sept. 17, on the 2.33-mile course at Half Moon Bay, fronted by seniors Shuma Otsuka (19th place, 12 minutes, 52 seconds); Luke Novak (25th, 13:04); and Nichols (30th, 13:11).

“They just ultimately need to finish in the top half to qualify for the CCS,” Abrams said. “We are hoping to do that without dipping in to our sophomore depth because as of right now our sophomores, our frosh-soph team has potential to be very successful.”

Nichols was Aragon’s top finisher at the Ram Invitational, qualifying for a medal in 21st place with a time of 14:46 on the 2.7-mile course. The senior was 17 seconds off his personal record on the course from last year, but after not medaling with a 28th-place finish in 2024, earned a better result.

“Obviously, [the goal] is always to PR and to medal,” Nichols said. “And I did medal. So, I’m pretty happy about that.”

Aragon put in a lot of miles during the offseason, and Nichols is no exception. Prior to the start of his senior year, Nichols rans in the Alaska Salmon Runs marathon July 19 in Cordova, Alaska. It was music, not running that took Nichols to the Last Frontier. A double bass player for the Aragon Orchestra, Nichols was working as an instructor at the the Cordova Music Camp. In entering the Alaska Salmon Runs, he took second place overall, and first in the 18-and-under division, with a time of 3:31.18.

Nichols wasn’t the only Aragon runner to compete in a marathon over the summer. Three current Dons — senior Darren Benavente, sophomore Drew Benavente, Leah Magliulo, along with Aragon graduates Eshaan Thakral and Ian Ta — ran July 27 in the San Francisco Marathon.

“The truth is these athletes are getting super inspired to put in the work and put in the time during the offseason and so forth,” Abrams said. “And we do have a handful that have done a marathon. ... With our full potential, I’m pretty confident that we’ll advance to the CCS championship.”

Also inducted Saturday into the Aragon HOF were: Stephanie Dere Tejo, volleyball, girls’ basketball and badminton; Derek Foster, boys’ basketball; Matangi Tonga, football, boys’ basketball and track; Kim Tripplett, track; and Sam Manu, boys’ and girls’ basketball coach.

CORRECTION: The original content of this article misstated the names of participants in the San Francisco Marathon.