Round Lake’s Chosen Juan chose pain

Round Lake’s Chosen Juan chose pain.

Running extremely long distances, after all, exhausts both mentally and physically.

“Every day of the week, I had push myself,” Juan Carrera says. “I had to make my body hurt to become a better runner. I had to hurt it every day so when it was race day, I knew I could take more pain than the next guy.”

Carrera had played soccer freshman year, because, well, that’s what all his friends were doing. But then he went out for track in the spring of 2009.

Turns out, the soccer player kicked tail at the sport.

“We were all pretty excited because as a freshman he ran a 4:44 (in the 1,600 meters), and we were like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty good,’” Round Lake track/cross country coach Kevin Brady says of Carrera. “He kind of got convinced to go out for cross country the next year, and he’s gotten progressively better every year.”

Few have been better — faster — in a Round Lake tank top.

“He’s the fastest distance runner we’ve had, maybe ever,” Brady says.

Carrera is also, according Rodrigo Lopez, Round Lake’s college adviser, the high school’s first Latino to earn a Division I scholarship. Carrera, a two-time state qualifier in cross country, signed a letter of intent last week with Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

He chose SIU over Illinois State, which also offered him scholarship dollars.

“(SIU) offered the major I’m thinking about going into — sports administration with a minor in business,” Carrera says. “I’m hoping to open my own running store.”

The runner is in no hurry to trade his sneakers for dress shoes, and he understands college will challenge him more than most cross country competitors on a fall day. But those who know the senior won’t be surprised to learn he has a game plan.

“He’s got great leadership initiative,” Lopez says. “He’s very respectful, very goal-oriented. He knows exactly what he wants.”

And Carrera knows exactly who is he and where he comes from.

“He really keeps in mind his family,” Lopez says.

“He wants to do something for the community. He wants to come back to Round Lake (after college). He just has all these things in his mind that he wants to accomplish, but he’s very realistic about it.”

The middle child of Angel Jose and Maria Rocha, both of whom were born in Mexico, Carrera, who was born here, studied his options long and hard before choosing SIU.

“I just feel they have the most potential to turn me into a great runner,” Carrera says.

“The freshman runners they have come from the same (background) as I do. They come from high schools that are not known for running. They were good runners in high school, but they’re not really those great guys that are in (running) magazines that you’re always reading about.”

When told that he might be the first Latino from Round Lake to sign with a Division I school, Carrera smiled. He is proud to be Mexican and proud to be a Round Lake Panther.

“I take a lot of pride in just running for this school,” he says. “This school isn’t well-known for any sports in particular. It just feels great to go out there and destroy the competition every week.”

Don’t let the boyish looks and 5-foot-9, 135-pound frame fool you. Carrera is a competitor, a Panther who pounces.

Almost every week during the fall he was running to victory. He crossed the finish line first in invitationals hosted by Wauconda, Niles West, Grant, Johnsburg, Elmwood Park and Warren.

“It felt great,” Carrera says. “Going out there, people weren’t expecting a thing out of me.

“Here I am now,” he adds, shaking his head in a proud moment, “going to Southern Illinois. I’m going D-I.”

Carrera set Round Lake’s school record in the 1,600 meters last spring, and while he doesn’t run the 3,200 often, Brady thinks that school mark is within his reach, too.

“I’m just really excited because this is good for our program,” Brady says. “This shows kids around here that they can actually do something and be really good and competitive.”

The cross country program has grown under Carrera’s leadership.

Once only capable of beating North Chicago in the division, because North Chicago didn’t field a team, the Panthers grew with Carrera at the front of their pack. Only Lakes was better in the division last fall.

At state, his 15:09 at Peoria’s Detweiler Park was a personal best.

“His best race ever,” Brady says.

In track, Carrera has gotten faster every year.

Who knew three years ago that Carrera would now find himself on a fast track to success?

Not him.

“I never thought I’d be able to do something like this,” Carrera says. “Going into high school, I just wanted to get it out of the way and go to CLC (College of Lake County) or something. I didn’t expect much out of myself going into high school.

“As the years went on, I started realizing. ‘Hey, I can do something here. I got to take advantage of the opportunity.’”

The Chosen Juan chose the right path.

jaguilar@dailyherald.com