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Ashland's Stout-Wolf overcame serious injuries Asha Stout-Wolf doesn't remember the wreck or the six days after it happened. And that's just as well, given the severity of his injuries: a fractured skull, two broken legs, two broken ribs and a broken shoulder. Stout-Wolf was about to complete his sophomore year at Ashland High in the spring of 2000 and was already looking forward to the following fall, when he would be one of the top runners on the Grizzlies' cross country team. But on that fateful day - May 20 - he and classmate Eric Westerberg traveled up the Greensprings Highway on a camping trip. They wound their way up the steep mountain road and were within a mile of the summit when Westerberg lost control on a sharp curve. The car flew off the road and slammed into a tree. Westerberg suffered a concussion, a broken shoulder and pelvis, but Stout-Wolf got the worst of it. And to complicate matters, the car had wrapped itself around the tree and had trapped Wolf-Stout in the passenger side. It took paramedics nearly two hours to extract him from the car, and when he was finally airlifted from the scene, he suffered a seizure on the way to the hospital. Stout-Wolf could have died that day, but if you've ever watched him run, you know how tough he is. He didn't run from death - he ran right past it and then outlasted it. "He pushes himself to the limit in every race," Ashland cross country coach Bob Julian, Jr. says. "He doesn't worry about burning out or hurting his kick or any of that stuff. He just hammers and hammers. It's pretty amazing." It was that kind of attitude and spirit that enabled Stout-Wolf to come back much faster than his doctors anticipated. He spent two days in a coma, a week in intensive care and a month in the hospital, but his scheduled six-month stay in a wheelchair ended up being only half that long. And Stout-Wolf surprised everyone when he made it to the starting line for the final two cross country races last October - five months after the accident. Runners, coaches and spectators from other teams, mindful of what he'd gone through, gave him an ovation as he crossed the finish line of his first race back. "It felt incredibly good to be back running again," Stout-Wolf says. "It had been a long time." Stout-Wolf was still only a shell of his former self as a runner, but now he's back to full strength and running better than ever. He's the No. 2 man on the team behind fellow senior Chris Faudree, and he recently ran a personal-record time of 16 minutes, 41 seconds over a 5,000-meter course. He also finished eighth at the predistrict meet last week. Stout-Wolf, who had steel plates implanted in each leg during surgery, shrugs and smiles when asked about his gritty style of running. "You're only out there for about 15 minutes," he says of a normal race. "It's not a big deal to put yourself through some agony for that length of time. "And the way I look at it is, I'm already in some pain, so why not make it hurt a little more and pass some people?" Stout-Wolf admits he sometimes wonders why his life was spared in the accident while others aren't so fortunate. "I keep saying to myself, 'If I'm not supposed to leave yet, then what am I here for?'" he says. Perhaps it's to serve as an inspiration to others who have encountered similar fates. Or perhaps it's to lead the Grizzlies to the Class 4A state cross country meet next month in Eugene. Or perhaps it's to become a teacher. Stout-Wolf, who carries a 3.6 grade-point average, enjoys working with young people. He particularly likes leading them on backpacking trips, where he's been a guide at the Wilderness Charter School in Ashland. Stout-Wolf spent two weeks in the Yolla Bolly Wilderness Area in Northern California last spring, less than a year after the accident, and he plans on scaling Mount Shasta next summer. It's one of the tougher climbs on the West Coast, but Stout-Wolf probably won't even break a sweat. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.