Eventually sophomore Danny Diaz crossed in 91st (68th) to close out the scoring. Mostly cloudy skies. However, he did rebuild the boys and girls cross country programs from the ground up. Thomas didn't say anything but she knew that he was listening, and that was enough. This photo . Sylvia Diaz's cherished team photo from the day of the beach trip in 1985 shot with her brother Raul's camera likely by a coach. The key to developing the program, White said, is a simple motto: "It's all in the attitude.". She has also received three other Tony Award nominations for her performances in Airline Highway in 2013, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus in 2019 and POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive . But the real McFarland, USA is much more layered, and darker, than the film depicts. Photos: Apocalyptic skies hung over Texas panhandle Monday. The message is so clear, never give up, even when the odds are against you. La historia de Valles apareci en la pelcula de Disney "McFarland USA". ", "Thomas he made a big impact on our life," White said. But Coach White led his boys to running and running beckoned them past the lines that lay before them. Though Sylvia and Herlinda and the rest of the girls team are omitted in the recent media publicity generated by "McFarland, USA," they've never been forgotten by their teammates or their home town. High 47F. Tu cuenta de Descarga previa (EZA) se mantendr vigente durante un ao. Yet 35 years later, coach White and all seven boys from the 1987 team are back making a difference in the city they love: McFarland, USA. Fun was all that was on our minds. "He had to be wondering, 'Hey, what am I doing up here?' They're my brothers.. Jim's lack of experience in coaching cross-country isn't some throwaway plot point meant to give the character one more . Many of White's former runners credit him with inspiring them to achieve personal and career goals they would have otherwise deemed impossible (People.com). "You saw the hills at the end of the movie.". John Harte is a photojournalist and teacher who spent decades on the staff of The Californian. We're still here hopefully trying to make a positive difference in our communities.". Dolores Plata Rodriguez says the bus trips were the most fun of her cross-country experience. During cross-country practice on Oct. 27, 1986, Sylvia Diaz, a 16-year-old McFarland High senior, and Herlinda Gonzalez, 14, a sophomore, were struck by a car on Whisler Road in McFarland. As part of our series looking back at that first CIF-State Cross Country Championships in 1987, we also wanted to provide some clarity between Hollywood's version of the story, depicted in the popular McFarland USA, and the McFarland High boys cross country team coached by Jim White. He said he told his mother that he wanted to go somewhere small, somewhere where he could have an impact. Learn more about the McFarland, USA true story by watching the Jim White interview below. Not unlike many McFarland kids, she worked in the fields to help support her family. Bold, original and fun, her collection of silk scarves & specialty socks are collectable and timeless. Herlinda Gonzalez's sophomore photo in the 1986-87 McFarland High yearbook. 1. Thomas Valles, a former member of the McFarland, Calif. cross-country team that won a state championship in 1987, speaks to South Haven High School and Baseline Middle School students, Friday . On occasion, he said, the boys would have to work in the fields on a Saturday morning before going off to a meet that afternoon. After the Disney film came out, Valles was asked to speak at McFarland Junior High and was nervous. She often brought along a music magazine that had all of the current top hits' lyrics inside. Yes. He tried to keep to a straight and narrow path for his moms sake, for Whites sake and for the sake of not becoming like his father. Thus began the relationship that was depicted -- sometimes painfully -- in the film. Suspense: . A live-action Disney movie starring Kevin Costner, this 2015 film set in the late 1980s opens on the downward spiraling career of high school football coach Jim White (Costner). Yes. Retired from law enforcement. None of us could carry a tune even if our lives depended on it. I photographed Thomas Valles, who is featured prominently in the film. He got drunk one day with some senior teammates after practice. "Some had never had a sit-down dinner with forks.". November 06, 2021. Sylvia Diaz at work in the agricultural fields of McFarland in 1985. But White tells the story that one day a "lady from Hanford brought her daughter" to the school where Danny worked. Despite a strong group returning from the '87 championship team, McFarland only placed fifth in 1988. MileSplit California Editor: He came over, introduced himself, and said, I'm running. When Valles entered third grade in 1979, his dad bought a home in McFarland. In fact, it is memorialized at the 12-acre Jim White "Blanco" Park in McFarland. "We couldn't go out there and run those things," White said. "Sylvia was so sweet, kind, and naturally stunning," says her friend and 1985 teammate Dolores Plata Rodriguez, now an assistant principal at Cesar E. Chavez High School in Delano. All seven Diaz children ran for Jim White and all seven went . He got into the truck and began to talk with Coach White about his difficulties at home. He also did find Thomas Valles on a freeway overpass and help him deal with his I'm coming! I broke my moms heart at 13, he told the kids. Herlinda was bound for greatness and every year during cross-country season, when the hot summers start to dissipate and the leaves start to change colors, I am reminded of how sensitive life really is. who is the anchor of the cross country team. Its not part of the movie, but the team was, obviously, grieving and impacted deeply. I have never forgotten what it was like covering 1980s McFarland, from the image of those girls posing in front of the limousine and trying to look happy to the night one year later when Ernesto Bravo saw me photographing his 14-year-old son, Mario, in his casket, the town's sixth cancer victim. Low near 35F. "Things that Mrs. Diaz did (in the film), that's what Cheryl was doing. "She was crying and hugging Danny. Was enlisted in the armed services. -KGET 17, Yes. "As soon as Mr. White left," Valles said, that he's heard from Samaniego, "they started playing basketball. No. ", White said Diaz was about 110 pounds as a sophomore in 1987. Subject from McFarland USA shares life story, Rare endangered animal seen running across Texas road. This is part of a series of articles looking back at the 1987 CIF-State Cross Country Championships, the first in California. As Valles wrapped his speech to the kids, he encouraged them to take steps toward reaching their goals by getting an education, going into a trade or joining the military. 1 runner on the 1987 championship team, and asked if he was still close with his high school teammates. Who was Jim White? Juanita Diaz. Thomas gives her a bracelet that his grandmother made. "I would not have been surprised if she had ended up becoming a doctor or some top-notch lawyer," says Plata Rodriguez. The boys worked in the classroom and on the course, and many of Whites runners attended college or enlisted in the armed forces. Dream big-that's the motto of USI's Hispanic Heritage Month keynote speaker Thomas Valles, a member of the state champion McFarland High School cross country team featured in the 2015 Disney film McFarland USA.Through a conversation moderated by Paola Marizan '15, Valles will discuss his historic and inspiring running career, the challenges he faced growing up in a small Latino farming town in . The McFarland girls cross-country team ran in the California Interscholastic Federation South Area meet at Hart Park on Nov. 13, 1986, two and a half weeks after the accident that claimed teammates Sylvia Diaz and Herlinda Gonzalez. DMCA NoticesNewspaper web site content management software and services. : The actress is best known for her role as Lulu Hogg, the wife of Boss Hogg, on the classic "Dukes of Hazzard." She was also on "The Waltons" and "Step by Step." "Grace Under Fire" would be her last acting job as she retired after the show's cancellation and passed away on February 5, 2011, at the age of 89. Find where to watch Julie White's latest movies and tv shows She never held back when it came to laughing, making people laugh, and just being downright silly. He might never have given the incident another thought if not for Whites actions. His first teaching position in the district was instructing fifth grade science, which he did for nine years. Yes. The final episode of White House Farm aired in February 2020 on ITV and the entire series is streaming on Netflix now. SKOTY. You might know Valles from the famous Disney movie McFarland USA. Carlos Chalabi portrayed him as a high school student. Durning the season, the boys are not supposed to play basketball. Herlinda said that was cool. From left: Eva Renteria, Hollie Wykoff, Delfina Herrera, Maria Herrera, Alicia Herrera, Tammy Carter, Norma Torres and coach Gary Pierson. Thank you for reading! Almost all had never been to the beach. "We achieved what we set out to do. The McFarland girls arrived for the CIF Central Section South Area meet on Nov. 13, 1986 in a limousine. Fuel your hometown passion and plug into the stories that define it. Thomas Valles, one of the real-life runners featured in the Disney film 'McFarland, USA,' is taking part in his first New York City Marathon. I'm in sixth grade, and Im running.. He stressed the importance of Whites impact. Thomas Valles has been running since middle school, and he still hasnt stopped at 52. "I can't speak for everybody, I can speak for myself," Valles said. Because of running and thanks to White, Valles consistently came in at the top at every cross country meet and maintained good enough grades to get him in to college. It was a bit of a surprise when she exited the . Jose Cardenas, McFarland's expected No. "She wanted to meet Danny Diaz," White said. Taff Jones initially suspected that Sheila Caffell had killed her family before taking her own life (Photo: ITV) We knew we had the potential coming into '87. Here's all you need to know about Taff Jones. Valles' friend Ernie Bueno, who introduced Valles to Killian, asked Valles to participate in a Run to End Duchenne at the 2021 New York Marathon. A particularly poignant photograph shows Sylvia and Raul, Delfina Herrera and Herlinda holding up her index finger, showing off the "MHS #1" she has just scrawled in the sand at Cayucos. Winds light and variable. Teammate updates and McFarland photos courtesy of Thomas Valles. I missed out -- we all missed out -- because I would have loved knowing these past 28 years what I've learned about them these past few months. White retired in 2002 but returned to coach the 2003 team. The McFarland, USA true story supports that McFarland High School won nine CIF California State Championships in cross country (including five in a row) and held a streak of attending the state championship meet 24 years in a row. Ryan Andersen . Julie K. White (born June 4, 1961) is an American actress. 'tain mais faites-le taire, cuy-l, avec sa tte de vieux nourrisson moche, j'ai pas un sou et je ne rve que de la #REVOLUTION ! champions. ". Google ' McFarland USA fact vs. fiction' and you get quite a few options that separate the true story of the upstart cross country program at the rural Central California high school and Hollywood's spin on it in the 2015 film starring Kevin Costner as coach Jim White. They are portrayed to be 15 and 10, a few years younger than they actually were at the time of the first state title in 1987 (the girls were in college at the time). We won.' McFarland runners, from left: Delfina Herrera, Hollie Wykoff, Tammy Carter, Alicia Herrera and Norma Torres. His family was dysfunctional. We grew up not having a whole lot, every single person on our team. What about this one? Both Valles and White said the movie producers preferred the idea of three Diaz brothers on the team rather than just two. Jim White attended Franklin High in Stockton and Magic Valley Christian community college in Idaho before completing his education at Pepperdine. He promised to take him places away from McFarland, California. I know bcuz Mr. Gonzalez had come 2 my office 2 bring in his work insurance, which his insurance didnt pay much. The photo was taken with Raul's camera by a teammate. Feel free to email jeffrey.parenti@flosports.tv. White said he left Stockton to visit his parents for Thanksgiving. "We had no idea, with him not performing that day, if we'd actually won it. For 15 years, actress Pauley Perrette delighted fans as the surprisingly bubbly goth forensic scientist Abby Sciuto on the CBS crime procedural NCIS. White, 79, said his experience at Franklin shaped his path toward McFarland. "We did have hills," White said. At first, it is just a temporary place to live until she graduates high school . Hollie Wykoff and Alicia Herrera, right, raced in the CIF Central Section South Area meet at Hart Park on Nov. 13, 1986. Today, Valles coaches girls cross country coach at McFarland and travels around to speak and share his story. Included in the segment, titled If Valles wanted to travel, he had to maintain good grades and stay out of trouble. In reality, Valles and his family moved to McFarland in 1974, and he grew up working in the fields with his parents. However, he had been a teacher in the McFarland School District since 1964, following his graduation from Pepperdine University. Kalynn White: ASC Operations Coordinator . It's all Hollywood. It was a gesture by runner Hollie Wykoff's mom to help the girls feel better as they dealt with their grief after teammates Sylvia Diaz and Herlinda Gonzalez were killed in a practice accident two and one-half weeks earlier. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. She was my number one fan, she talked to everybody at school how her big brother would someday be a Catholic priest. Everybody is important. Julie White Born Julie K. White June 4, 1961 San Diego, California, U.S. The first time Valles got real with an audience, a kid approached him afterward. The program, which is run by Eddie Subealdea, chief juvenile probation officer for Hale County, is an alternative placement program. ", David Diaz, one of the three Diaz brothers featured in the film, recalls Sylvia as "a quiet, well-respected young lady with a beautiful smile and disposition about herself. Partly cloudy skies. At 31 years old, Valles said he was fulfilling his dream of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. They talk about being Photo credit: ITV. We treated them just like our kids. " . Carter Bonas Is the . Change). Danny's brother. Plainview Herald. ", "It was a great accomplishment," White said. Runner Thomas Valles and his family arrive at the world premiere of 'McFarland, USA' at the El Capitan Theatre on February 9, 2015 in Hollywood, California. No, the real Coach Jim White actually started coaching cross country at McFarland High School in 1980. It wasnt easy and he shared a slip-up. Very good moviegringos better stop descriminating the Latinosjust like john Lennon saidthe world should live as one. They are portrayed to be 15 and 10, a few years younger than they actually were at the time of the first state title in 1987 (the girls were in college at the time). Her hand drawn prints are instantly recognisable. 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