"We did that year after year to build bonds and to trust one another," he said. Thank you for reading! But Diaz believes Puentes has the tools to turn his life around. I want all of my. White said there are hills around orange groves about six miles outside of town where the team goes for true hill training. Excellent, no trash or language. He also allegedly filed false federal tax returns. William Broyles Jr. was hired to write the screenplay for the film, which was in development since 2004. Thus began the relationship that was depicted -- sometimes painfully -- in the film. He was like a second dad," Puentes says. I just dont need it anymore. Unlike many of his former teammates, Puentes no longer runs, but he misses it. White sees the athletic Sign up on Classmates for free to reconnect with Victor Puentes and other high school alumni. That was the true beginning of the program's championship run to eight more titles. The alleged offenses took place from April 2012 to February of this year, he said. Victor Puente Is An American News Ancho Born in Germany to Army parents, He has spent most of his life living in Kentucky. Diaz, and father and mother Paul and Host Keetin Marchi interviews Victor Puentes at the McFarland, USA premiere. Enterprise. This California farm kingdom holds a key, Six people, including mother and baby, killed in Tulare County; drug cartel suspected, These are the 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles, New Bay Area maps show hidden flood risk from sea level rise and groundwater, Storm sets new L.A. rain records. But thanks to the film, hes been given a new lease on life. [12], The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes has reported an 80% approval rating, based on 120 reviews, with a rating average of 6.7/10. "He was our second dad. Diaz had a life that afforded him many opportunities, including the opportunity to serve and protect his community as an officer of the law, said Phillip A. Talbert, the acting U.S. attorney for Californias eastern district. Based on the 1987 true story, McFarland USA movie follows the lives of athletes from McFarland, a predominately Latino community in California Central Valley as they build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Kevin Costner). White said the team would run in the heat of the summer when temperatures were into the triple digits. That was my running family, my brothers, my teammates, Mr. He took us to church once in a while. Wagner said during a press conference Friday that they began looking into Diazs activities as a result of information received from unrelated drug investigations earlier this year. Victor Puentes, member of the 1987 McFarland cross country team, has battled drug addiction. What about this one? Valles said he asked the McFarland principal if the team had won. But thanks to the film, hes been given a new lease on life. Diaz, a 17-year veteran of the department, was arrested at BPD headquarters Friday morning. Hey were in a Gifted class and were doing a Documentary in National History Day and wed like to interview you for a primary source for McFarland, USA. The search uncovered an ice chest containing approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine. They're not going to let kids run all over them. to know what it feels like to be Is McFarland, USA Sad? Well, yeah, that happened. 5, was not in the picture. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Public speaker. I dont know if it changed everybody else, but it changed me.. Yes, the nickname the boys gave him, as depicted in the film, was real. "(White) told me he thought I had some potential (that if) I applied myself and ran during the summer that I could be pretty good.". David, however, graduated the year before McFarland's first state title win. -LCU.edu, Yes. In response, White joins them in the fields and convinces them to come to meets and races at earlier and later times of the day, to which they finally address him as "coach". From left: McFarland's Victor Puentes, Thomas Valles and Damacio Diaz at the 1987 California Southern Area championship in Bakersfield. The McFarland girls cross-country team ran in the California Interscholastic Federation South . I wish I had the time to start, Puentes says. When you run long distance, you just lose yourself. 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 Life (Victor Puentes/McFarland USA) by dbkiwi YOU ARE READING After Life (Victor Puentes/McFarland USA) Fanfiction Athena Sanders left McFarland for college, leaving everyone she knew behind. Listen Closely (Victor Puentes/McFarland USA Fanfic). At first, it is just a temporary pla McFarland, USA | Preferences and Imagines. Privacy Policy Jim White, Coach Behind McFarland Movie: Its a Running Town Now, .css-1ck2l7d{display:block;font-family:Sailec,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-1ck2l7d:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1ck2l7d{font-size:1.2rem;line-height:1.4;}}.css-1ck2l7d h2 span:hover{color:#CDCDCD;}The Tunnel Is a 200-Mile Race Through Darkness, Usain Bolt Mysteriously Loses Millions of Dollars, Fall Causes Chaos at the Valencia 10K Start, Theres No Way NFL Players Are Faster Than Bolt, Boston Bomber Attorney Asks to Toss Death Penalty, Colleges Drop Body Composition Testing for Runners, He Ran the Length of the Toronto Subway System, Polish Runner Sets Womens 12-Hour World Record, B.A.A. I didn't want to go home," says Thomas. There was alcohol or drug abuse in their homes. So I'd have two practices." 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Yes, the McFarland High boys did win a team title at the first CIF-State Cross Country Championships held in 1987. The family feel like they don't fit into their new community, but White has an epiphany one day when he sees his students running from their early-morning farming jobs to school: Why not channel their talents into running cross-country track? But when Coach discovers the boys' exceptional . Sergeant First Class - United States Army. (LogOut/ Slowly we became better and better at it, Puentes says. "All my teammates are still here. I was lucky enough to get one of the best looking guyshes the best looking guy of all of them, so Im proud that he played me, Puentes says. What you don't see in the film is sixth runner Luis Partida, who was replaced on the team in McFarland USA by David Diaz, who had actually graduated in 1986. "He just had high expectations of us. ", "That bothered him for awhile," White said. " U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, talks to the media Friday about the indictment for Bakersfield Police detective Damacio Diaz, while Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Williamson and Assistant Chief Lyle Martin, listen. Feel free to email jeffrey.parenti@flosports.tv. Puentes said his troubles didnt begin until after high school. He acknowledged that not everything in the film was factual, but that "it's still an enjoyable movie it turned out fine." Hey! While still being interviewed, Valles said he noticed his teammates hugging and crying. He said he told his mother that he wanted to go somewhere small, somewhere where he could have an impact. She knew that some of us needed a little bit more. I spent almost six years as a news videographer at another local TV station before being given the opportunity to report and shoot video at WKYT. There were times while doing that job that he said he thought about what might have been had it not been for Jim White and cross country. "I abruptly stopped the interview and took off," he said about joining his teammates. " A former Bakersfield Police Department detective and member of the famed McFarland High School cross-country team depicted in the Disney film McFarland, USA was sentenced this week to five years in prison. ", White said Diaz was about 110 pounds as a sophomore in 1987. Now he has nothing but the highest regard for White. At times, Diaz purchased meth from Magallanes for personal use, the indictment states. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos. No. HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 09: Damacio Diaz attends the world premiere of "McFarland, USA" at The El Capitan Theatre on February 9, 2015 in Hollywood, California. Its the best of both worlds. (David Diaz and Amador Ayon were both seniors on the 1986 team and didn't get the chance to compete for a state championship. The judge sentenced me to a time period that we believe is fair.. PE teacher in McFarland, an economically It made me rethink the choices that Ive made in the past, because I had a bad past. White taught fifth-grade science and seventh- and eighth- grade PE and woodshop. This survey is intended to capture information from citizens on their desire to secure a high-speed Broadband (Internet) plan from an Internet Service Provider (ISP), to their respective home. Some of the more notable differences included:[8]. The real McFarland Cougars who won the 1987 cross-country state championship in California are shown from left: Thomas Valles, Victor Puentes, Damacio Diaz, Johnny Samaniego, Jose Cardenas,. When Diaz filed a joint income tax return that year, he omitted additional income of at least $97,900, according to the U.S. attorneys office. "My parents divorced. Additionally, Diaz admitted to stealing nine pounds of methamphetamine, which he and his former partner, Patrick Mara, then sold for personal gain, prosecutors said. Winds light and variable.. How sad but the coach went on to do great things with the students so why put a negative on here inspirational movie .Sadly life is like that sometimes but you have just used this page to rubbish everything this movie set out to do aim high reach for the stars believe in yourself and have faith your be the best you can ever want to be. "I was blessed that I got the opportunity to be apart of something that kept me off the streets of McFarland. White's wife Cheryl organizes a tamale and car wash sale with the rest of the neighborhood to raise money for new uniforms, where the family and the neighborhood become better acquainted. Without Mrs. White, I dont think any of this would have happened. - That's what. Unlike many of his former teammates, Puentes no longer runs, but he misses it. Puentes is proud to be recognized for his role in the teams accomplishments nearly 28 years later, and that the film has put his hometown on the map. I dont need it, I dont want it, Puentes says. At the time of the crimes, he was working with the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force and the Southern Tri-County Task Force of the Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. We'd love to share your memories of that meet and that experience. He started off as a junior varsity runner but made the varsity squad as a freshman, working his way up from being the teams number four runner to being the number two runner by the time he graduated. Central Valley. I give my thanks to her because shes the foundation of [that] home and she opened her doors to every single runner that we. "We had no idea, with him not performing that day, if we'd actually won it. -23ABC News. Mejia was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2021 in local reporting for her investigation with colleague Jack Dolan that exposed failures in Los Angeles Countys safety-net healthcare system. it's not all true but he's okay with that. 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