In the 1980s, a team of unlikely runners from an impoverished, predominantly Latino high school overcame social and economic hurdles to win a number of state championships.

The cross country runners from McFarland High School, in the San Joaquin Valley of California, inspired the film “McFarland USA,” set to be released Feb. 20. The film follows a group of Latino students and their new gym teacher Jim White, played by Kevin Costner, who put together the high school’s first ever cross country team.

The team faces many challenges.

“This is a farming town,” a colleague tells White as he starts his new job at the high school. “These kids working here are invisible. They come from the fields and they go back to the fields.”

Coach White becomes more than a mentor to the boys, he becomes something of a second father to them, with a commitment that blurs the line between work and home. Along the way, he learns a lot about their culture, strong family relationships and work ethic. The film also tackles real life issues such as prejudice and crime.

With hard work and determination, the runners build a championship team and beat their much more affluent competitors from around the state.

The true story of the cross-country runners from McFarland High School was detailed in a 1997 Los Angeles Times article about the team. Following the story’s publication, Jim White received an outpouring of support from strangers around the state. He received envelopes with checks, offers from individuals and corporations to buy clothing, food and athletic gear for the boys – and calls from movie companies interested in their story.

Not a whole lot has changed in McFarland since the team’s first state championship in 1987. McFarland is still among the state’s poorest cities, with per capita income of $8,903, according to the most recent U.S. Census data. More than 90 percent of the population is Latino, with the majority hailing from Mexico. Most of these families work in the fields, harvesting the rich bounty of grapes, peaches, plums, nectarines, watermelons and bell peppers. They eke out a living with the help of wages earned by their children – some who start working as young as 8.

As one runner in the film says, “There ain’t nothing American Dream about this place.”

In the summer months, kids in McFarland would toil alongside their parents, picking crops from sunrise to sundown. At the end of the day, Coach White would lead the boys on the team back through the fields, running for miles. They ran with hand-me-down running shoes, sometimes without enough food in their bellies.

But for some of them, running meant a way out of the fields and out of poverty. Dozens have gone on to get college educations and become teachers, prison guards and journalists. Many would return each year to attend meets, and also help mentor and train a new group of runners.

In reality, the team went on to win 25 section titles since 1987 in divisions V through II. But due to a one-of-a-kind competitive equity model, which allows restructuring of division based on wins as well as school size, last year the school was elevated to Division I. McFarland, which has 750 students, was forced to compete against schools that have more than 2,000 students.
The team was knocked out by the larger schools, and missed the state competition for the first time in 24 years.

The runners from this small, underfunded school will have to work harder than ever to win another state championship. But if history is any indication, the McFarland cross-country team is up for the challenge.

“McFarland, USA,” produced by Disney, is directed by Niki Caro. The film stars Costner and Maria Bello alongside a number of young Latino actors, including “The Bridge’s” Carlos Platts, and actual McFarland student runners. Latin music superstar Juanes recorded the film’s title track, “Juntos (Together).”