Your vision closes to the finish line: it’s the only thing you can see.  The pain that’s been building in every muscle in your body falls away and your mind slows down.  Left, nobody, right, nobody, in front, a line quickly approaching. With every ounce of remaining energy, you push yourself across the line.  

Then, everything floods back, your vision, your heart beating in your ears, your heavy breathing, the sweat, and the cheers of your teammates.  You look at the scoreboard and see a best time, but something is special about the race you just finished. That time will never be posted by another Viking athlete for the next 20 years.  

Paly is a high school with so much athletic talent, it’s hard for records to stand for more than a few years at a time.  But sometimes, something beyond the reach of a normal human is performed.

For Alex (‘17) and Andrew (‘14) Liang, a record is nothing new.  The brothers both swam at Paly and are now swimming at Stanford alongside Katie Ledecky and other world-class swimmers.  Combined, they hold nine out of 11 records for the Paly men’s swim team. If you swim, you know their name.

“As far as I can tell, A. Liang is the only name on the record board,” sophomore Charles Mitz said.

However, Alex Liang left high school with more than just five records on the board.

“I think the records are just the cherries on top of a great high school career,” Liang said. “I think being able to represent Paly with all my buddies was the most important part”.

Even though the Paly swim program has a lot of talent, the Liang brothers’ records are sure to stand for a long time.

As with swimming, running isn’t a sport for everyone, but in the case of Alicia Ivanhoe and Kathleen Tarlow, it comes naturally.  Ivanhoe graduated Paly in 2007 but has yet to be knocked off the top of the leaderboard for the three mile event in cross country.

“Running has taught me to cherish the process of working towards a goal and to appreciate any bit of improvement no matter how small” Ivanhoe said, “There have been races where I’ve only knocked off a second or two of my time but even those small improvements are things to feel good about and it makes you want to get back to work to shave off more time”.

Even more impressive is Tarlow’s record.  20 years ago in 1998, she ran an astonishingly fast time of 17:53 in the women’s 5K, and would continue on at Stanford for both their cross country and track teams.

“I’m proud my record still stands,” Tarlow said. I am amazed I was ever able to run that fast, because the sad news is I’m not getting faster as I age. All that being said, I’d love to see a young Viking demolish that record!”

Her Paly career, along with those of over 12 olympians, eight professional athletes, hundreds of D1 athletes, and many influential college and professional coaches since 1918, are what put Paly athletics on another level.  The comradery and Viking spirit that athletes exhibit on every field, court, and track are a core part of being an athlete at Paly.

“Paly cross country and track taught me what it’s like to be on a team where all are welcome,” Tarlow said. “Coach Jones taught me that working hard and having fun can happen together, and that every runner can improve, no matter what level. He helped inspire me to become a teacher and coach. And because fun was always a focus, I still love running and run almost every day.”

With Paly’s otherworldly level of athletic success, it’s hard to stay on the record board as long as Tarlow, Ivanhoe, and the Liang’s have, and although their records won’t be there forever, the memories they made and the lessons they learned will be with them for the rest of their lives.