Beverly Hills High School (BHHS) twins Josh and Danielle Hollander have been setting new cross-country records in track since they were freshmen. On Nov. 2, the Hollanders were individual Ocean League Cross Country Champions, and both qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section championships. The twins were recently selected to represent Team USA in track and field in the U-18 Maccabi Games, which will be held in Israel during the summer of 2022.
With the fastest 3-mile course time of the week at 16:28.80, Danielle also earned a nomination as one of the California girls XC runners of the week based on her Ocean League finals time. This past weekend at the CIF Prelims, Danielle advanced to the next round to hopefully get a chance to compete in the CIF State finals next week. Unfortunately, Josh is unable to run due to an injury.
“We came to the sport relatively late compared to many other high school runners and it has motivated us to work even harder every day,” Danielle told the Courier.
Having grown up playing soccer and attending cross country conditioning in the summer before high school, Josh and Danielle cultivated and fostered their passion for cross country. In the ninth grade, both set the freshmen records at BHHS for the 3-mile run, and Danielle advanced all the way to CIF finals in cross country.
As sophomores last year, the twins won the Ocean League Track titles in the 800- meter, 1600-meter, and the 3200-meter races. Despite last year’s shortened track season, Josh set a personal record of 9:56 in the 3200-meter race. Without a coach or a team to train with during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hollanders relied on each other to come up with training routines and condition together.
“You can never be satisfied in either cross country or track,” Josh told the Courier. “There is always a new challenge and a better time you are trying to achieve.”
