Most Jaguars make the roaring sound, yet this Charter student does not; instead, he roars on the track at PPCHS. Freshman Jaden Perez from the Cross Country and Track team has been nominated as Jaguar of the week for the week of November 3-6.
Before starting track and cross country, Perez played Flag Football yet he explains, “When I was playing Flag Football in middle school, the coach had spoken to me about my athleticism being a ‘problem’ so I decided to run track in want of proving him wrong.”
Additionally, growing up under the wing of his brother Ryan Perez who competed in track and watching him go to states, Jaden slowly started to develop a passion for the sport.
Little did he know after watching from the sidelines for so long, he would soon actually be the one on the track competing.
On the hunt to prove his middle school flag football coach wrong about his athleticism being a ‘problem,’ Perez has gone on to compete in states as an eighth grader as he ran for his high school team.
As he has risen from being the underdog, he continues on his path to states yet again this year.
So far, this year Perez had placed ninth in the Jaguars Cross Country team’s opening meet and continues to work as he practices almost every single day of the week. Whether it is with the Jaguars or alone, he is always practicing and working to get better day by day.
Perez adds that while he races he plays a certain song in his head called “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” He adds that this song helps while he runs due to the fact that the song is “about just pushing one’s body in the moment and how later it will be nice to look back on.”
Outside of Cross Country and Track, Perez is a part of the congressional debate team at PPCHS as their main goal of the club is working on solving real world problems. As well as being a part of the club Doctors without borders [MSF] which is a club that focuses on fundraising and educating students about community and global health issues.
As Jaguar of the Week freshman Jaden Perez continues to leave his mark on the track at PPCHS as just a Freshman. Whether it is on the track or academically, his work is not under looked.
