Avery Torres and his teammates were tired of looking at an old banner.

Displayed at Kalaheo is the team’s banner from its last OIA cross country championship in 2003. Torres and the cross country team yearned for an updated version, but it required more than a vision to bring back another title.

“That was our biggest goal,” Torres said of winning last year’s OIA team championship. “We told ourselves we can win this. Even though we got beat by a couple schools (in the preseason), we just kept telling ourselves we’re not going to give up, we’re going to win that championship.

“We wanted to bring it back. The last time we won it was 2003 and we’re tired of seeing that old banner.”

Torres won last year’s OIA individual title and helped the Mustangs capture the team title. In his final season, the senior’s mission is to win another championship for Kalaheo. But there’s more to the mission than the feeling of victory or displaying a banner in the gym.

Giving back to his “family”

There’s a desire to give back to a school that welcomed him back to Hawaii. It’s returning the favor to his team that has provided unwavering support.

“I want to bring them back another championship before I leave,” Torres said. “That’s the major goal. I want to give back to my team, that’s always my biggest goal. They’re my family, honestly. I don’t know what I would to do without them.

“I want to give back to them and I want to give back to the school. I would love to have an OIA championship or state championship to give back to them before I leave.”

Growing up, Torres always thought he’d attend Kalaheo. His youth baseball team played on the campus and it seemed he’d eventually matriculate there. It just took two trips across the Pacific Ocean to get there.

Move to the mainland

During middle school, his military family moved to Indiana. They returned to Hawaii in the middle of his sophomore year.

“I always dreamed of going to this high school because I thought I was going to stay here the rest of my life,” Torres said.

He joined his middle school track team and opted for the sprints since all of his friends were sprinters. His coaches suggested the longer distances.

“I could never use blocks and I wasn’t the fastest kid to start out,” Torres said. “So I gave that up and they’re like ‘Why don’t you try the 800?,” and I did that and I started getting into longer distances, the mile, 2 mile.”

A decision to give up football for cross country in his freshman year did more than change his athletic pursuits. Running has developed bonds with his teammates — some of whom he attended elementary school with — and relationships with runners from other schools. Running has fostered a community of support from coaches and Kalaheo’s staff, motivating him to keep on running.

“It’s a competitive sport, (but) even the other schools, they support me, too,” Torres said. “They’re really friendly and I have so many friends (on other teams). We may run against each other, but they’re all like family to me. Running with them, we’re all family in the end. We never talk bad about each other.”

Running for a cause

Much like other runners, Torres spent the summer putting in the mileage to prepare for the fall season. He also did two road races, including the Family Promise of Hawaii 5K, where proceeds benefited homeless families.

“It was really great,” Torres said. “The money went to the homeless and it was giving back to the community. It (summer) was mostly just training for cross country, resting up those legs and having fun in the community, running with my teammates and friends.”

Hurricane Lester canceled the season-opening meet on Sept. 3. Torres finished second behind teammate Colby Otero at Saturday’s Pearl City meet. Otero won the 3-mile race in 16 minutes, 6 seconds and Torres finished in 16:27. The Mustangs placed five runners in the top 20 to top the team standings.

“I have great coaches and a great team,” Torres said. “They really motivate me and push me a lot, ever since I moved back to the islands. They’ve always motivated me and pushed me and got me ready for meets.”