Is this BHS cross country team the best ever?

BARSTOW — What’s better than being the best?

Isaac Chavez paused momentarily to think about that question earlier this season. Finally, the junior cross country runner came up with an appropriate answer.

“Great ... greaterest,” said Chavez, laughing.

You’re allowed to begin creating new adjectives when you’re on a team that’s poised to win its third straight CIF cross country title. All the preexisting words have been rendered mundane and overused with this team.

The Aztecs will compete for another CIF title today at 11:15 a.m. at Woodward Park in Fresno.

The Aztecs are coming off of back-to-back state championship seasons and have owned that title four times in the 2000s. Barstow won last year’s title by 88 points and almost two minutes over Del Campo, yet some how Barstow coach Jim Duarte has assembled a stronger team this season.

With one race still to go, Duarte already observes this team as his most talented collection of runners ever. A state title will only cement that as fact. Even though the Aztecs lost three runners from 2006 squad to graduation, Duarte said he knew this year’s squad had a shot at being the best ever, but they’ve surpassed even his expectations.

“I knew or strongly felt that this team would be better than last year, and it had a chance at being about the best we’ve had.” Duarte said. “You never know how good the kids are going to get. You always hope they aspire to do even greater feats.”

Barstow is entering rare territory and approaching some of the best cross country programs ever in California. Just three boys programs and two girls programs have won five or more California state titles. If the Aztecs win, it would be their fifth title in seven seasons and their first three-peat performance.

Even Duarte admits the results are a little bit surreal. Season after season a small school from the desert manages not only to be in contention for the state title but surpasses the previous year’s statistics. Race times that were the best in school history just last year have been obliterated this season.

“I think what happens is each successive group of kids sees what the kids have done before and realizes they can do that,” Duarte said.

Barstow Assistant Coach Keith Shipman noticed Duarte was a little more tightly wound entering this season. At first, he jokingly questioned if it was some extra caffeine, but he realized it was because of the pressure and expectations surrounding the program in 2007.

“As coaches, your goal is not to win championships but to get your athletes to perform to their potential,” Shipman said. “That puts more pressure on us as coaches.”

The Aztecs have been cashing in on that potential since the cross county postseason began in early November. Shipman openly refers to the regular season as practice for the Aztecs. He said they got their first real taste of how good the team was at the Desert Sky League Finals running in racing flats, rather than training shoes, for the first time all season. Barstow had six of the top eight finishers and earned a team time of 78 minutes, 48 seconds.

The Aztecs returned to training shoes for the CIF-Southern Section preliminary meet at Mt. San Antonio College and still took first. In front of 15 runners from past Barstow teams, the Aztecs returned to Mt. SAC for CIF-SS Finals and put on a show for the record books.

Five decades of Barstow cross country runners — from Duarte, who ran for Barstow in the late ’60s, to members of recent title-winning teams — watched Barstow’s current runners demolish the competition. The Aztecs ran a 77:08, which bested their previous low by 61 seconds. It was the fastest time ever for a Division III school and third fastest time ever at CIF-SS Finals regardless of division. Barstow top three runners beat last year’s No. 1 runner Carlos Perez’ time at Finals.

“That was pretty crazy,” junior Andrew Romano said. “It was like a family reunion or something. As you compare the times from now and then you say ‘What the heck? How did this happen?’

“I don’t know (how it happened). That’s a good question.”

Those kind of times have opened a new set of goals. While winning state is still the main objective, the Aztecs are aiming even higher this year. The top two teams in terms of team time will get invited to the Nike Team Nationals on Dec. 1 in Portland, Ore. Durate said he believes his team has a shot at earning one of the spots and has already been contacted by NTN officials to set up plans if they do qualify.

If the team is having problems finding adjectives this season, the may want to create a whole new language for next season. Junior Josh Ow said the team could be one of the best in the country next season. Barstow will lose Anthony Solis, its No. 1 runner and team captain, but even he admits the team will be improved from this year.

“If they win this year, then they’ll win next year,” Solis said. “They’ll probably be better next year. I think the top five can be under 15:30 or faster.”