Captain Fear Leads the Stampede to Victory!
Updated: Nov 20, 2025
BV Newsroom
By Mark Yadchuk
Fair Oaks, CA - November 20th, 2025
This past weekend, the Bella Vista Cross Country team headed to Section finals, one of their final races of the season. They ended up bringing home third place- enough for them to advance to the State Finals coming up on the 29th!
Leading the charge this season for the Broncos was varsity runner(and my good friend) Calvin Fear- who holds multiple records for Bella Vista Cross Country and is in the midst of yet another stellar season. I had the privilege to interview him on the Friday before their Section Finals about his and the team’s preparation process, the team’s accomplishments, and his own individual accomplishments. Below is our complete interview, slightly edited for grammar:
Q: I want to start off by gathering some basic information- What school records have you broken? I am under the impression that you broke the mile record for freshmen a couple of years back and are currently on varsity?
A: I’ll give you the track ones since they are more recognizable. I have freshman records in the 800, 1600, 3200 and the sophomore record in the 1600. I hold the course records in 6 different courses. I am top 10 in 2 events all-time. Yes, I’m on Varsity.
Q: How long have you been running?
A: 5 years.
Q: What makes you enjoy running?
A: Winning. Of course it doesn’t happen all the time, but I enjoy beating myself- beating my PRs and reaching perfection.
Q: What goes into your preparation for races?
A: Good hydration, good eating habits, I’ve trained a butt-ton. And then I pray before every race.
Q: What are some positive takeaways you have had from your cross country experience so far?
A: The best way to learn is from losing. I learned the value of a good team effort. You don’t get there alone, especially in cross country.
Q: You are a junior- what excites you most about being a senior on cross country next season?
A:Breaking my coach’s records!
Q: How would you describe this cross country season so far? What has gone better than previous and what has perhaps gone worse than previous seasons?
A: It’s been pretty fantastic! I’ve raced the best I ever had, and have had a great mental strategy for races that has worked. However, I don’t feel I’m in the best shape of my life but I’m mentally fresh so that makes up for it and most of cross country is mental. For the team as a whole, the season has gone very well- all ages made it to section finals, and we were really good across the board. Our varsity boys have the ability to go to state, and we are going to find out if we will tomorrow! Our girls are really good, too! They should make state as well.
Q: As I understand, you have Section and State Finals in the following weeks. Does your preparation for those races change at all from what you usually do? Is there a greater sense of urgency at all?
A: No, the team and myself have to continue doing what we’ve been doing. We don’t have to change anything when we’ve been doing good, and we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing.
Q: Looking a bit farther ahead, there is about a 2-month gap between the conclusion of the cross country season and the start of track and field season- how do you stay loose during that break?
A: I take a two-week break, and then I play a lot of basketball and then run about 60 miles a week.
Q: Thanks so much for doing the interview and good luck the rest of the season!
A: No problem!
In the coming weeks, Calvin along with the rest of his team will continue to demonstrate their work ethic and then crush it at state finals! Good luck to Calvin and the rest of the team on the remainder of their season and the upcoming track season!
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