Trafeh, Nelson and Poe advance to Nationals!

The West Regional Final for the 24th annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships was a dandy indeed, with all the top runners from the region converging on the fathomed Mt. SAC course under a great day of weather!

On with those race notes:

Mike Poe's victory was great to see, having one of the Southland's more humble runners continue his dream season with another clutch effort on his "home course."

To be able to string together this many quality efforts along championship courses in a five-week span (League Finals, CIF-SS Prelims, CIF-SS Finals and West Regional at Mt. SAC; CIF-State at Woodward Park) says much for his strength. It was suggested to Mike last spring that he likely had the most leg strength of any runner in the state -- I don't think he believed it at the time. The point was reiterated after the Mt. SAC Invitational this year, when it was suggested that "strength runners" have the edge in faring best against other Californians in Southern Section confines, since the five-week run of high-end meets and pounding really separates the men from the boys. Obviously, Mike's a man indeed, with his exceptional power sure to grab the attention of many more college coaches!

Poe was so drained after the race that he literally told the Foot Locker people he had no strength/coordination to write, so he could not fill out the required post-race questionnaires in the athlete tent. He asked help in filling it out for him while he tried to gather his strength and let "sink in" what had just happened. He was so drained, he couldn't even remember his PRs , which were requested to be included on the questionnaire. When's the last time a kid couldn't remember his PRs??? Yeah, he was pooped! In typical Mike Poe fashion, he was extremely nice and humble afterward with all runners afterward, letting his true colors shine.

Statistically, Poe's race was a mammoth! His time of 15:34 appears to rank fourth all-time among Californians in the six-year history of the Foot Locker West 5k layout at Mt. SAC, trailing only Ryan Hall (15:30 in 2000), Billy Nelson (15:32 in 2001) and Yong-Sung Leal (15:33 in 2001). Considering Hall is a legend here and Nelson and Leal represented the U.S. Team in the World Junior Championships, Poe moved into some very elite company! NorCal research whiz Adam Hall informed us that Poe was the second California male to win the West Regional since 1994 (joining Steve Smith, we believe). During that same time frame, a very impressive list of four California females have won the region: Julia Stamps, Kristen Gordon, Sara Bei and Amber Trotter --- quite a list!

We'd have to research it in our garage archives, but when was the last time a California runner probably pulled off a "Triple Crown" (Sectional, Statewide and West Regional titles)? We have to check and see if they fit all the criteria, but the three names that come to mind are Mebrahtom Keflezhigi in 1993, Louie Quintana in 1990 or Bryan Dameworth in 1989. Talk about a Who's Who of names!!! Anyone else have the info on "the sweep" right at their fingertips?

Steve Shepherd is the next superstar on the prep running landscape and today was his coming-out party. The Utah 5-A state champion, Shepherd was a personal pick to win the race, and he was stride-for-stride with Poe over much of the last 700 meters before settling for second place in 15:38, more than a minute improvement off his non-seeded junior race win in 16:43 a year ago! Shepherd started a bit farther back early in the race this year, but moved up well in the latter half to find himself in perfect position: contending for the win, but in very safe position to qualify. Shepherd, too, was so drained in the athlete tent afterward and said he could not muster the strength to write, that Mt. SAC Athletic Director John Norton had to fill out his forms.

Only one kid has more strength than Steve Shepherd and Poe, in one person's opinion, and that kid is Wisconsin's Chris Solinsky. Shepherd, being his usual modest and kind self, thanked many people for allowing him to run and for their continued support afterward. He indicated by phone in midweek that he was in better shape than ever and really looking forward to the season's stretch drive. Where did he come from? Well, you just have to look closely. He has been sensational in Utah, posting great efforts at high altitude throughout. He is no stranger to Southern California either. As a sophomore, Steven was the day-meet 1600-meter champion at Arcadia in 2001 with a 4:16 win in a dry heat (with Poe winning the Open Arcadia 1600 in 2002!) and then Steve came back to place second to Kentucky's Bobby Curtis in the Arcadia Invitational night mile earlier this year! If you check your issues of Track & Field News, you'll spot Shepherd chasing Curtis in the coverage pictures from the 2002 Arcadia meet.

Andrew Jones had been the best-kept secret in America, but a secret no more! Not having the chance to race the nation's best too often, his efforts in his home state were discreetly awesome, crushing the competition and the courses in recent months. When informed during Thursday registration that he was considered among the favorites, he wondered aloud how anyone knew, since he rarely "faced off" with people. Even so, one could almost sense a quiet confidence about him. Jones was in contact with the leaders throughout the second half of the seeded race after a conservative start, closing well in the final mile to seal his spot to San Diego! Very impressive effort, with a sense of much greater things possible on the oval in the springtime.

Tim Nelson went from ninth to fourth (finishing in that spot in 15:39) in a short burst that started with about 550 meters to go! Obviously playing it smart and safe, he picked just the right time to ensure his spot to nationals! During a short chat at registrstion on Friday evening, Tim modestly confirmed that the real goal here would be just to qualify, conserving as much energy as possible for a berth to San Diego, should it be in the cards. After his race, the typically quiet and mature youngster had about as much poise as anyone. One really gets thefeeling that Nelson fully knows the real race begins next week!

Lauren Jespersen, Alec Wall and Galen Rupp (L-to-R) have revived excitement in Oregon!

Lauren Jespersen (fifth in 15:40) did exactly what he needed to: run smart, leave some gas in the tank, put himself in position to use his 1:51 speed if needed to outkick for a spot. It was not needed, with the Oregon phenom very happy for a return trip to nationals on this level of effort. Jespersen lost the Oregon state championship, reportedly nursing the ill-effects of the flu and having to contend with a focused Galen Rupp in their showdown. Many considered Lauren as the favorite to win here, but the favorites often don't try to win the regional if it requires a maximal effort, opting to not put the body through and unnecessary just one work prior to nationals. Lauren indicated his recent workouts pointed well toward a fine year-end peak, where he hopes to challenge Solinsky and others for the crown!

Galen Rupp (sixth in 15:41) was nursing a mild foot problem, but managed the course well to "just qualify" as designed. Rupp's coach, famed one-time world-class marathoner Alberto Salazar, was not along for the trip, but formed a custom orthotic support to be used in Rupp's right racing flat. When Rupp showed me the mini-creation impanted under the sole, my jaw dropped. It was the size of a half a golf ball, and situated right where the ball of the foot goes! Galen explained he had a problem with the second metatarsal region of the right foot, and Coach Salazar's creation really helped alleviate the discomfort! Rupp promised "domination" by the entire West team in San Diego next week! Did the other regions hear that??? It should be noted, Galen said it with a wide smile and a fun laugh, intending no disrespect toward anyone. :-)

Alec Wall (seventh in 15:43) is another of the Oregon whiz kids on the regional scene this fall and the statistics geek of the crew to boot, quickly trying to determine what the conversion time would have been from the conventional Mt. SAC 2.92-mile course to the full 5k layout. Wall modestly admitted he was not surprised by his fine showing, sharing that race workouts the last three weeks indicated he was more than ready for these types of performances! By the way, did anyone notice that the Oregon trio placed 5-6-7 in 15:40, 15:41, 15:43 while running hard but seemingly controlled throughout? Yikes! A warning to all rivals: they might have another gear on the throttle, fellas! In the off-season, these elite Oregon kids often have the chance to train together! Imagine joining Rupp, Wall and Jespersen on a training run? A Nike commercial in the making!!!!

Mohamed Trafeh (eighth and final spot to nationals in 15:49) was quite a sight to behold with 100 meters to go, the lanky and exhausted youngster continually looking over his shoulder to make sure no others were ready to pounce on him. Gingerly prancing those last few meters and fighting exhaustion, Trafeh's showing closed the door on California's third male ticket to finals, sharing that distinction with the Oregon triumvirate for top stately honors! Trafeh, as is customary of him, was the quietest of the bunch in the athlete tent, happily filling out his form and just tickled to not awake from the dream season. Remember, Trafeh is a Muslim who was celebrating the Ramadan season for the last five weeks, so he was fasting from sun-up until sun-down (no food or water) during that stretch. The Ramadan season ended Thursday, so young Mohamed sure ate any food thrown his way this weekend! Trafeh has really bought into the high-mileage approach the lasty two summers, accumlating close to 2500 miles during those months!

Antonio Jimenez (ninth in 15:52, securing the alternate's position) might have had the best step-up effort of any of the elite youngsters here, with the fine Rubidoux HS standout becoming the first alternate to nationals on a very nice effort. Speaking briefly with him afterward, Tony admitted he was pleased with his race and wished just a few more seconds could have been in his favor. A huge key to his team's statewide runner-up placing in Division II, Jimenez did confirm it was very unlikely he would run track in the spring with his HS team, although he might do it for his club team. A fine youngster with a very pleasant disposition, he will obviously be missed this spring should he choose to not run for the high school.

Had Babey Wagnew (10th in 15:52) made it to nationals, the Foot Locker people could have been further overjoyed in knowing that a local boy (Babey is from Helix High, in the San Diego Mesa region) would represent a unique high-interest angle for local media outlets! As it was, Wagnew defeated many rivals he lost to during the season, handling the conditions well to finish strongly.

Washinton's Carl Moe is gonna be a little stud in college! Well, maybe we shouldn't say little -- he's already about 6'0". Anyway, he seemed to court the right mindset and maturity to keep developing at the next level, being just a few spots from advancing here today. Moe, a senior, confirmed that the race was quite physical in the early stages and that much movement took place on the hills, where the race was eventually decided among most in the lead pack. Moe, the fastest runner from all divisions at the Washington state meet, confirmed his status as the top runner in the Pacific Northwest with an 11-second advantage over his nearest in-state rival!

Michael Haddan of Woodbridge HS in Irvine finished 14th, saying he felt great at the outset, yet didn't know what happened once he hit Switchback Hill. Mike said his legs felt tired at that point, and they never really came back to him. He did admit it wasn't his best day, so he said it was tough for him to really gauge how he might have done had it been a typical day for him. Michael said he might run a track meet or two indoors, than crank it up for the outdoor track season! Mike skipped this meet last year, but his wealth of experience gained today will reap major dividends in 2003! Sometimes you don't have to win to gain a valuabe edge. Mike secured that plus today, as we will likely see down the road.

Yong-Sung Leal (finishing 21st) said he got out pretty bad at the start, was pleased with a nice move he made along the Valley Loop to get back into postion, but said he flat-out died on Switchback Hill. As we mentioned to you at the state meet, Leal informed us he had not done a hill workout in SEVEN MONTHS (since April, because of the injuries!) and he knew the hills of Mt. SAC would be a major challenge. Yong-Sung said he and Troy Swier had major problems on the first hill, and knew right away it was going to be "a matter of survival" in not giving in to the course. He further said each subsequent hill was tougher to negotiate, saying the only hills he had seen in recent months were the ones in the race at last week's state meet. Although some youngsters have a tendency to sulk after an "off race", Leal reported he was very, very happy just to be back healthy and in the mix, adding that he is very confident that Lauren, Galen, Tim, Mike and Co. would represent the West Coast quite well at nationals. It was awesome to see Yong-Sung smiling and back in action. We look forward to his battles during the track season down the road!

California state Division II champion Phillip Reid (36th in 16:23) was in serious contention with only 600 meters to go, but then struggled to find his legs for a true kick from there, being sapped to the point that wave after wave of runners caught him down the stretch to lead to a misleading finishing place on the results sheet. Reid, with many impressive big-meet efforts under his belt, will surely rebound from this one as a true champion.

The Foot Locker All-Western United State team was comprised of the top 24 individuals, with mny of the aforementioned also joined by Californians Austin Ramos of Jesuit (13th), David Napper of Cypress (15th), Kyle Alcorn of Clovis (16th), Troy Swier of San Diego (22nd) and sophomore Jose Melena of Antelope Valley (23rd). Loyola High sophomore Mark Matusak was the fastest Californian and top-rated Western Regional athlete not to compete, opting to rest out an injury which was somewhat ailed him over the last month. Better safe than sorry!

Zoe "The Zephyr" Nelson en route to win!

On the girls side, we missed some chances to interact with the top performers as duties in handling the pre-race athlete introductions for the boys race took some priority at the time.

As it turned out, Zoe "The Zephyr" Nelson of Montana continued an amazing prep career, with the sophomore sensation bolting out to a solid pace by midrace, with no one dare challenging the diminutive star who has been rewriting course record books with reckless abandon. Nelson, clearly a visibly much stronger specimen than a year ago, came bounding down Reservoir Hill and along toward the finish in great form, looking to be in total command of her faculties. Her clocking of 18:02 appears to equal Stanford star Lauren Fleshman for sixth on the all-time Foot Locker West Mt. SAC course list, trailing only Amber Trotter, Sara Bei, Felicia Guliford, Alicia Craig and Anita Siraki. With the exception of then-sophomore Bei and now Nelson, the rest on the list are seniors!

Utah's Heidi Magill looked extremly impressive during her runner-up 18:15 effort, leading the chase pack drawing off Nelson. Magill, who dazzled last track season, appeared to never be in danger of not qualifying, shaking off the effects of a fairly physical start (146 runners on the line!) in snaring her first berth to finals. Along Balboa Park's moderately challenging layout, some experts will undoubtedly point to Heidi's speed as making her a fine threat for the national crown!

Laguna Creek High's Rachel Bryan represented the Golden State in fine fashion, with the California Division I champion and Mt. SAC Invitational Individual Sweepstakes winner among a pack of six that steered itself into "the safe zone" for qualifying from about two miles on. Bryan, whose ultraefficient stride pays real dividends along this challenging 5K layouts, avenged her only loss of the season (to Caitlin Chock) with an 18:17 effort, an intrinsically similar to slightly better performance to her 17:08 victory over 2.92 miles here six weeks ago!

Granite Bay's Caitlin Chock, a more muscularly developed and stronger athlete than a year ago, continued to handle an ultralong season with seeming ease, placing fourth (18:20) while never seeming to have to "push the envelope" along the latter stages. The Roseville area junior is making her first appearance at nationals, upholding a long tradition of excellence by Northern California runners over the last decade.

Is there anyone better than Ruth Graham when the chips are really down? Graham, a proven big-meet competitor over the last few years, sparkled at this meet a year ago to finish ninth -- just one place from qualifying to nationals. This year, Graham encountered an off-race in being overshadowed in Diviison II at the California State Cross Country Championships. But she rebounded masterfully here, making one wonder whether the real training focus was pointing here all along. Graham claimed the fifth spot, with an 18:22 performance for the Stanford-area senior closing out a great show of regional dominance for Northern California girls, who shut out their Southern Cal rivals with a stunning 3-4-5 overall finish!

Heather Wood had to rank as the surprise of the meet, with the New Mexico star not seeded among the top 30 in the field (embarrassed to say she was seeded 36th by yours truly) and having meet personnel scrambling to retrieve their program rosters. Wood (sixth in 18:24), from the powerhouse Los Alamos HS program, and teammate Kristen Hemphill (12th here in 18:51) gave very strong indication that their recent #8 or so national team ranking might not be good enough for the crew, which usually has its five scorers pack together in a short time gap with amazing frequency. Might this be among the top three teams in the country???

One athlete looking absolutely superb from our vantage point was Utah's Amber Harper (seventh in 18:30), who almost seemed at times as if she was treating this like a jog through the park! Harper came across the 800-meter mark in about 28th place, wasn't too much better by the mile, but then started picking off runners along the hilly segments littering the final two-plus miles. Although she came onto the airstrip with about 650 meters to go to the finish, she looked ULTRA smooth and then started pinwheeling her legs to effortlessly move into position for a spot to finals. Either we misread her effort, or she clearly had a tremendous amount left in the tank for next week 's run in San Diego!

Jamie Geissler showed Southlanders and the rest of the region that the Spokane area has no problems churning out national-class female runners as well! Geissler, a product of the fathomed Mead HS program, claimed the final berth to nationals in a time of 18:38, a comfortbale 11 seconds ahead of her nearest pursuer. As is seemingly the case in almost every West Regional, the gap between 8 and 9 was more than enough to deny any sort of a dramatic finishing kick!

Ninth-place finisher Kristina Smith of Alaska edged Washington's Susannah Shaw in receiving identical times of 18:49. Smith was hardly bummed out afterward, accepting her alternate placing to nationals with great pride. The track and field standout explained how training conditions are often less than ideal in Alaska, but her "make-the-best-of-it" approach was a joy to be exposed to.

Among the Californians joining the aforementioned on the All-Western United States teams were Lorin Scott (14th), Lindsay Allen (16th), Alison Costello (17th), Michelle Gallagher (20th), Liza Pasciuto (21st) and Amanda Thornberry (22nd).

Pasciuto, who was sixth at nationals as a freshmen, continued to rebound well from a string of hard-luck setbacks a year ago, to close out a fine junior season. Although the nation has occasionally produced a few stellar frosh phenoms who then have trouble meeting the pressure of elevated expetation levels in subsequent years, it appears Liza has an excellent support structure all around her (family, coaches, friends and fellow runners), aiding in her return to success this year. Pasciuto, still thrilled with her team's recent state championship triumph, admitted she found herself jokingly having a little difficulty getting back into the "individual race mode" today, especially after employing a "total teamwork" approach in recent months. She said she can't wait for track season!

Amanda Thornberry and Teresa McWalters were two unique California individuals here, with neither competing on a high school team this year. Thornberry, who attends Valley Christian HS in San Jose, competed with home-schooled talent Teresa McWalters at open races for much of the season, usually being not too far behind on the finish ladder. Thornberry was timed in 19:02 here, 24 seconds away from the final berth to nationals. John Dye's camcorder caught McWalters in 10th place at the crossover point heading to Poop-Out Hill (about 1.6 miles into the race), but she never finished. What actually transpired either along Poop-Out or Reservoir Hill is unconfirmed at this time.

Statistics on the race to come on Sunday!

Rich Gonzalez

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