Josh Methner gains his composure after a hard-fought race
Portland, Oregon-
The Glendoveer Golf Course was the scene for an exciting race despite the rain and the overriding love for... Nico Young.
Soon after the introductions were in for the athletes, the race was underway and the Newbury Park senior started off like a fox released back into the wild. Young, as he had all season, put himself in the catbird seat with a three-second lead over a stellar field led by Josh Methner (Sr., Hersey HS IL), Caleb Brown (Sr., Shelby HS OH), Matt Strangio (Sr., Jesuit HS CA), EJ Holland (Sr., Ashland HS OR), Cole Sprout (Sr., Valor HS CO) and Ryan Schoppe (Sr., Laporte HS TX) among others.
Young look as though he labored during his continued assault, but the pack could not reel him in. The fact that he rained incessantly throughout the morning did not help matters. As the race approached and later passed the second mile in 9:39, the gap stretched out to nearly ten seconds.
Methner began to pull away from the pack with less than a mile remaining, but the distance between and Young appeared to be insurmountable. Methner got stranded on an island and one wonders if he should have called an audible sooner.
Runners typically burnout in the latter stages of the race when chasing down a big deficit. Methner head checked the field behind inside the final half-mile when the victory was all but over. As Young crossed the finish line in a record 14:52, Methner held off Brown 15:06-15:08.3. Strangio was third in 15:08.8. Despite horrible conditions, 13 runners broke 15:20.
#1 Newbury Park added icing on the team cake scoring 128 points to narrowly defeat fellow California for Great Oak by four points. The 1:25 scoring spread by the victors was solid but Great Oak's 10-second gap was incredible. Draper XC (Canyon Corner Utah) was a surprise third place ahead of the at-large crew from St. Charles East IL 142-163. Senior Bob Liking continued his late season surge- picking up All-American honors with a 19th place finish.
Wheaton-Warrenville South impressed with a 9th place finish scoring 253 points. Senior ace William Hauenstein led the way with a solid 27th place effort.
The Dukes of York round out the Illinois contingent by placing 12th with 275 points.
Top Boys Finishers