Name: William and Thomas Rienas
School: Northern Valley Old
Tappan
What was your most memorable race or moment?
The State Meet of Champions 4x400m relay. Will had to run a huge PR to finally break 48 and Thomas had to dive at the end to hold off Cory Poole. It was the greatest win of both our careers and our goal since freshman year.
Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?
We consider each other to be our biggest competition. Every day we go at it in practice and it makes us better. We make sure that neither of us slacks off.
What was your greatest accomplishment?
For Tom it was the first time he broke 48 at Nationals last year to get fourth in the 4x400. For Will it was at the State Meet of Champions when he brought us from 15 meters behind to 7 meters in front in the 4x400.
If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?
We would change just taking in the moment because senior year ends so quickly and we didn't spend enough time enjoying the present. We kept looking towards the next meet as they got bigger and bigger.
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
Every Monday of our entire track careers our coach would give us a brutal workout. It tested us mentally and physically but it also made us a lot stronger. There was no better or worse way to have a Monday.
What will you miss the most?
We will miss the pressure of everyone wanting to beat our relay. We were the best, and everyone wanted to take a hit at us. We will miss the redemption we got from an unlucky winter season with that relay in the spring.
What advice would you give to younger athletes?
Everything adds up. We won SMOC by less then .01 so that could have been any repetition or drill we did in practice. Also, always try your best because the regret of not trying is far worse than the feeling of pain.
Full race video of Old Tappan's Group 3 State Championship.
What influence has your coach had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?
Our Coach, Coach Gregory, has had a huge impact on us. He would always give us insane workouts but they made us better as people and runners. What we learned from him is that if we could get through his training, then we could get through almost anything.
What are your college plans?
We will both be running at Harvard University.
Who would you like to say 'thank you' to?
We would like to thank all of our coaches, family, and friends who support us and help us out. We would not be nearly as good if not for them. Whenever we had a bad race, our coaches would never let us get down because they knew it would impact our next race. Also, they would always push us to be the best we could possibly be.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
It is true that the harder you work the luckier you get. We practiced at 100% every day and never skipped anything, which lead us to winning on a dive at the state final.
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