This track season has been nothing short of record-breaking for senior Jake Pirnazar. Jake got busy early on in the season and has not looked back since. He started off with an impressive 100m time of 10.80 seconds at the Eagle Invitational hosted by Santa Margarita, where he surpassed the 20-year-old Sage Hill school record held by Zach Chandy, who had run a 10.81.
“In the moments leading up to breaking the record, I felt confident. I knew everything I trained for, and I trusted my abilities,” Jake said. Attaining a record like this is no simple feat, as the 100m is a very competitive event and the training is demanding.
It didn’t stop there for Jake. He went on to break his own 100m record twice, ultimately hitting a personal best of 10.57 seconds, a mark he’s now achieved twice. This is very difficult to do, as every hundredth of a second can make a difference.
“I always suspected I could break this record. The way I think is that if it has been achieved before, it can be achieved by me. I know that nobody can train more intelligently than me, and nobody does the little things that I do,” Jake said. His commitment to staying mentally focused allows him to continually top his own records.
Jake’s training is not just about working hard. It’s about implementing strategy. He approaches personal improvement during practice with a deep understanding of neuromuscular efficiency.
“I implement neuromuscular efficiency and brain training into my training by making sure I do everything fully rested. Sprinting requires maximum motor unit recruitment, which can only happen if the nervous system is firing at the highest rate it possibly can,” Jake said. To Jake, it is critical that he trains not just his physical endurance but also his mental agility.
“The way I walk and carry myself in space is intended to give my brain the opportunity to pick up on new, efficient movement patterns, and the way I train is all centered on training my brain to reduce inhibitions and access higher threshold motor units,” Jake said.
Alongside being on the school’s track and field team for all four of his high school years, he has been a part of the football program as well playing wide receiver and defensive back. His record-breaking season has been a true testament to his drive and passion to exceed his limits.
“One thing that inspires me is making my younger self proud. Even when I don’t want to do things, I remind myself that younger me would want to see me succeed,” Jake said. Now that he has understood what it takes to succeed as a sprinter, he can train with greater experience.
“I approach challenges differently because I understand sprinting and training from a much more nuanced and holistic perspective. I understand that the nervous system is the most important thing when it comes to maximizing output. So for me, when I notice declines in performance, I actually opt to decrease volume rather than increase to allow my central nervous system to recover so it can fire at higher rates in the next few days,” Jake said.
He was also named Sage Hill’s CIF-SS Student Player of the Year, an award given to a Sage Hill student-athlete who has earned a letter, maintained a GPA of 3.5 (4.0 scale), and participated in extracurricular activities.
“I feel honored to win Student Athlete of the Year. I’m super proud of myself for winning this award, and to me it represents a culmination of both the research and training I have put in over the last few years,” Jake said.
Jake plans on attempting to run even faster times for the remainder of the season.
“My goal for the end of the season is to run a 10.2 or a 10.3 in the 100-meter dash, and a 20.8 in the 200m. I hope to be in the top 5 in the state in either of these events. I also want to perfect my start,” Jake said.
