Aragaon sisters share 'splendid moment' at NCAAs

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

EUGENE, Ore. -- The Aragon family of Billings, Mont. had a moment Thursday that was years in the making -- and is unlikely to ever happen again.

Two daughters of Chuck and Kathy Aragon, separated by four years, who moved in opposite directions to go to college, raced one another in the first heat of the women's 1,500 meters Thursday at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field

Danielle is a fifth-year senior at Notre Dame, where she has begun graduate studies.

Christina is a freshman at Stanford.

On Thursday, they qualified for the final together and were separated by 0.05 seconds at the finish line, second and third in the heat.

Earlier in the day both of them got a text message from their father, Chuck, a 1981 All-American in the 1,500 meters at Notre Dame and the fourth-place finisher in the 1984 Olympic Trials.

“I sent them this text and it started off with ‘I know you’ve heard all these things before but I feel inclined to tell you again,’” Chuck said. “There was about eight things, but it finished with something like ‘Hey, enjoy this moment. Believe it or not this angst you feel is what you’ll miss when it’s not there. It’s what makes us feel alive. It’s what makes life worth living, this feeling and meeting challenges.”

At Billings Senior, older sister Alexa was first. Danielle followed in her footsteps and went to Notre Dame. Christina came along and entered high school after Danielle had graduated, and tore apart the school and state record books.

Last fall, at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Aragon sisters raced one another for the first time. Danielle led Christina throughout the race but Christina passed her sister with 600 meters left and became an All-American. Danielle just missed the cutoff for that list, but still ran well.

Discovering that the two of them were in the same heat was mostly a good thing.

“It was kind of comforting to be in the same heat,” Danielle said. “Just knowing she was in it, I had more confidence in her (advancing) than myself.”

Said Christina: “It’s also a bit more nerve-racking because you want both of (us) to make it in (to the final).”

Chuck Aragon was taking pictures for Notre Dame and captured a moment at the end of the race, when both sisters knew they had advanced and gave one another a hug – one in red, the other in green.

“It was a splendid moment for me,” he said.