Cathedral sprinter among the state's best
 
By Lenny Jurado / El Paso Times
El Paso Times
Friday, May 5, 2006
 
Ronalds Arajs remembers a talk he had with his father about coming to the United States and chuckles.
"Basically, my dad (Ronalds Arajs Sr.) and I were talking one evening, and I was just doing nothing like I used to do, slacking around and stuff," the Latvia native said. "My father was reading the newspaper, and he came across this article saying that you could go study in the United States in a paid exchange program.

"He asked me if I wanted to go to the U.S. because I'd need my English for the future, and when he asked I took it as a joke and said, 'Yeah, yeah. Right, sure.' Then after two or three weeks he came back and he said that he had paid all the fees and stuff so I had to go."

Arajs landed in El Paso in August 2004, touching American soil for the first time. Since then he has made a smooth transition into American life, but his surprisingly crisp English and absorption of hip-hop culture isn't the most telling aspect of this 18-year-old -- far from it.

The Cathedral High School senior has run 10.40 seconds (fully automatic) in the 100-meter dash -- the fastest of any El Paso high school runner ever -- and is on the verge of qualifying for his country's Olympic team.

For his final high school meet, Arajs will compete at the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools state championships today and Saturday at Baylor University in Waco.

He is a lock to win at least three gold medals, but likely will bring home four in the 100 and 200 meters, long jump and 400-meter relay.

Dubbed the "Russian Rocket" by El Pasoans, the 6-foot, 173-pound Arajs has been the main attraction at every local track and field meet since running junior varsity at Coronado in 2005.

"It's pretty much the same this year as it was last year --Êeverybody stops to watch him run," Cathedral track and field head coach David Portillo said. "He's just an incredible athlete to watch. You don't see athletes like him very often."

Arajs has run a hand-timed 21.32 in the 200 dash and long jumped 21 feet, 4åinches. His 400 relay team has run 42.44 (FAT) and is seeded first for the state meet.

It's no wonder, then, why he has been offered scholarships by the University of Texas-San Antonio, University of Texas-Houston, UTEP, Texas Tech and the University of Arkansas. He also is talking with UCLA, the University of Miami and Florida State.

Arajs is a natural, and understandably so.

"My dad was one of the best in the Soviet Union in the 110-meter hurdles," Arajs said. "When he was a sophomore he ran 13.8, and when my mother (Agija) was a sophomore, she was running 11.9 in the 100-meter dash. My brother (Henry) is one of the best long jumpers in Latvia, he jumps around 26 feet, and my sister (Anija) was a heptathlete who also was the third-best 100 hurdler in the country; she ran 14.1 as a sophomore.

"My parents would have went professional, but when they were 18 they had my older brother so they had to quit running. I think that's my thing, to continue the tradition in track and field. I'm not doing this just for myself; it's for my mom and dad, as well."

Although blessed with talent, Arajs makes it a point to develop his skill, which has made for a sprinter with polished biomechanics and an explosive second gear.

"I think the biggest thing that makes him is his work ethic and his attitude," Portillo said. "I have yet to meet a kid who works harder than he does, and I have yet to see a kid who has a total positive attitude about his work ethic and that also carries over into the classroom."

El Pasoans are happy to have such an successful student-athlete, and Arajs is thrilled to be in the Sun City.

"I like the weather, first of all; where I come from it's rainy and very cold," he said. "I think the people here are very friendly, and I also like the hispanic culture --Êand I like hispanic girls, too. They're beautiful."

Yet more than the city, Arajs values the opportunities America offers.

"Here I can see that high school track and field programs are really developed, but in my country nobody really cares about high school track and field athletes," said Arajs, who has been running since age 9. "If you're not in a sports club, you really don't have an opportunity to run track."

The extra training has helped Arajs set a juniors record in the 100 dash for his country, which is a former Soviet republic about 1/4 the size of Texas and with approximately 2.5 million people. He can tie Latvia's national record and qualify for its Olympic team if he can cut his time down by 12 hundreths of a second.

It is for this type of success that his father sent him across the Atlantic Ocean.

"We think about him a lot when we're at home and he's in the United States, but we recognize that there are more opportunities for him as far as sports are concerned," his father said through a translator.

With his Olympic dream ever so close to becoming reality, Arajs can't thank his family and coaches enough for helping this rocket get off the ground.

"I'm really glad I decided to come over here, and I'm really blessed that my family gave me this opportunity," he said. "All the people and friends I've met here, I'm lucky to have them ... and I'm glad my father wasn't joking about sending me here."