By Esteban Ramirez

Sports Editor

When the movie “McFarland USA” hits theaters on Feb. 20, more people across the country will know about the impact that Johnny Samaniego and his teammates made on the McFarland High cross-country team.

However, it was CSUB that helped him prepare for his future as a physical education teacher at McFarland Middle School.

“I’m proud to be an alumni of CSUB,” Samaniego said. “My brothers and my sister graduated there. I graduated there. It’s 45 years for the school, and it’s growing and growing. CSUB does prepare us for the future. “They had a great liberal studies program,” he said on how CSUB helped him. “It was fun, and I enjoyed the teachers that I had. I remember Dr. James Whitney was a fantastic teacher. Dr. John Sage was a great inspiration with physical education.”

Samaniego was a part of the McFarland cross-country team that won the state championship in 1987 and sparked a dynasty.

He graduated from McFarland in 1990. He then went on to the College of the Sequoias and competed there from 1990-1992 before transferring to CSUB. Without a cross-country team at CSUB, Samaniego ran for the track and field team.

He competed in the 1,500-meter race and 800 for the ’Runners from 1993-1995. His success carried over to CSUB as he was a part of the team that won the conference in 1994. Samaniego still holds CSUB’s 18th best time in the 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:02.07 in 1995

“My best memory was when we won our conference in 1994,” Samaniego said. “It was something neat for us and for myself. The school got us jackets, and I still got my jacket, so that was pretty neat that we won conference. “I [also] enjoyed hanging out at the club. I would drive up from McFarland and go to morning practice, go hit the showers and then go to the club.”

The movie will be based on all of the successes of McFarland’s cross-country teams have had and Hector Duran will play him in the movie.

“It’s humbling, and to God be the glory,” he said. “We went to the premiere and it’s like a dream. You think about these things and you watch sports. You watch Michael Jordan, and you have your Magic Johnsons, and you aspire to be like that. We did other sports, but we focused on this running thing, and sure enough we were good at it. We enjoyed it, we did it with our friends, and it became more of a sport – it was a lifestyle. It’s humbling, and it’s neat. It’s the old story of the underdog or the old David and Goliath story. That’s what it is about.”

He said it was nerve-racking but very exciting to be at the premiere. Samaniego also said he was satisfied with how they portrayed himself and the team.

“Hector did a great number,” he said. “He did a good job playing Johnny Samaniego. He actually came over and we talked. “He wanted to get to know the character more. He wanted to get emotionally involved, and he did a fantastic job.”