Coupeville Sports

Manuel Lopez-Santillana

Manuel Lopez-Santillana is far more than just a track star.

The Coupeville High School junior, who saved his best performance for the lone home meet of the season April 18, winning the 800 in an eight-man battle, can casually rattle off info about neuron synapses and finds musical joy in the work of Icelandic and Welsh folk bands.

He’s got a lot going on, and track is just a small, but important, slice of his busy life.

A veteran of Science Olympiad — he won awards last year with Heni Barnes and Allison Stricker for work on protein modeling — he’s the sort of guy who views learning as far more than just schoolwork.

“Science Olympiad has introduced me into a lot of different sciences and I plan to take it again for my senior year,” Lopez-Santillana said. “I would also like to thank my coaches for my events, and Dan d’Almieda, for taking the time out of his day to help me achieve my goals.”

A lot of his success comes from his dedication and natural curiosity. If he has a moment, he’s got time to learn something new.

“I just did some chemical analysis on a project a few days ago and in a few weeks I want to complete a course on neuron synapses and the brain,” Lopez-Santillana said. “I usually just choose a type of science and study it for a few months in my free time.”

He plans to major in physics and is currently working on finishing a train scale converter that will take a real size train and model it down.

Somewhere in between the constant learning, set to the soundtrack of the Joy Formidable and Of Monsters and Men, Lopez-Santillana has found time to excel on the track oval the past two seasons, as well.

“I started because I like running and having friendly competition,” he said. “I enjoy the cohesive environment. In track it seems like there are no enemy teams.

“Everyone seems to understand that the worst enemy that they have is themselves and they can fight at whatever pace they want.”

Having transitioned from soccer (“I really wanted to try something new”), Lopez-Santillana started with distance races, but has found his most success in shorter races like the 400 and 800.

“I believe that my greatest strength is simply endurance, and not just physical, but mental,” he added. “I was used to being in the lower third of the contestants in track. It was a complete shock when I actually scored 1st in the 800 at the home meet.”

He has a strong support group (Erik Holt, Michael Thanem, Brian Wood, d’Almeida) headed up by his parents, Juan and Jane Lopez-Santillana.

“They have really allowed me to further my academic career and have challenged me to learn more and through that grow,” he said. “It has really impacted what I do, and who I am.”

On the oval, he draws inspiration from former teammates who showed him how to adapt to new challenges.

“The highlight of my track career was seeing Mitch Pelroy and Larry Hurlburt switch events and go to state,” Lopez-Santillana said. “I still remember the day I asked Mitch about his doing hurdles and he was uneasy about the idea, thinking that he was simply not the right person.

“It’s astounding how a simple suggestion and some hard work has led to such a promising future.”