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69 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 12, 2005 Crater�s Isaac Stoutenburgh has been one of the top distance runners in the SOC this year. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Hitting his stride Crater’s Isaac Stoutenburgh has the Comets poised to defend their title at this week’s district meet By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Isaac Stoutenburgh clearly recalls the first time he tried to match strides with the Crater High School runners. It was the spring of 2001. Stoutenburgh had entered a run-a-thon — a fund- raiser where the participants were being paid for the number of laps they could run in one hour. Stoutenburgh, then a seventh-grader at Scenic Middle School, ran alongside former Crater High runners Jeremy Firestone and Perry Dickson for the first 45 minutes. But with his lungs burning and his legs feeling like cement, Stoutenburgh could no longer keep up. "I had an idea right then what it was going to take to be a good high-school runner," Stoutenburgh says. "I knew my workouts were going to get a lot tougher." Stoutenburgh welcomed the challenge. Four years later, the slender junior has blossomed into one of the premier distance runners in the state. He’ll put his star power on display today and Saturday at North Medford High when the Comets aim to defend their Southern Oregon Conference district track and field title. Advertisement Today’s action, which kicks off at 11:30 a.m., includes finals in the boys long jump, high jump, pole vault, discus and 3,000 meters, where Stoutenburgh will battle Ashland’s David Morgan in what should be a dandy distance duel. Girls finals set for today are the discus, javelin, long jump and 3,000. Stoutenburgh has yet to beat Morgan on the track this spring, but he served notice that he’s primed for a rapid pace after recently setting school records in the 1,500 and 3,000. Stoutenburgh blazed the 3,000 in 8:33.82 on April 30 at the XO meet in Eugene, shaving 21 seconds off the old school record. His time is the fifth-fastest in a state rife with superb distance runners and it ranks among the top 10 nationally. Three days after the XO meet, Stoutenburgh ran the 1,500 in 3:59.59 in a dual meet against South Medford to become the first Comet to break the four-minute barrier. "My goals this year were to run 8:30 and 3:55, and now they’re within reach," Stoutenburgh says. Crater distance coach Justin Loftus isn’t the least bit surprised at what Stoutenburgh has accomplished. "He does every workout I ask him to do and hits all the interval splits," says Loftus, who works out with Stoutenburgh and his other distance runners. "He puts in extra mileage in the mornings. He’s a very committed runner who sets high goals." Although laid-back away from the track, Stoutenburgh has shown a fiery demeanor this season during the few times he’s lost. He was especially irked after getting boxed in during the Crater Classic 1,500 that led to a third-place finish behind Summit’s Kenyon Neuman and Morgan. Stoutenburgh also wasn’t completely happy after his record-setting 3,000 because he, as Loftus puts, "got worked" by Benson’s Zuber Ahmed over the final 1½ laps. Ahmed was clocked in a state-leading time of 8:26.06. "The first words out of Isaac’s mouth after the race were, ‘I can do better,’" Loftus says. "He hasn’t been in too many races with the really elite runners like that. It’s a learning experience for him." While today’s 3,000 figures to furnish its share of excitement, Saturday’s 1,500 should be a hang-on-to-your-hat race where five runners — Morgan, Stoutenburgh, Geoff Donaldson, Jake Keyser and Roseburg’s Gavin Weaver — could meet the state-qualifying time of 3:55.0 "I think anything can happen in the 1,500," Loftus says. "I know Morgan’s going to be ready, but I also know all three of our guys can get under four minutes. It should be one heck of a race." Crater expects to amass huge points in the distance races and hopes to use them as a springboard to its second straight district title. Not that the Comets don’t possess other point-getters. Adam Goff will be the favorite in the 110 high hurdles (14.8) and a threat to win the 300 intermediate hurdles (40.33), and could also score heavily in the pole vault (13-6). Mike White owns the third-best mark in the shot put (47-6), Nick Nutting possesses the third-best mark in the triple jump (41-6½ ) and also could score in the sprints, and Crater’s 4x400 relay squad is expected to push Grants Pass for SOC supremacy. "Our guys are confident," Crater head coach Hans Smith says. "The confidence we gained from winning district last year has carried over. "I told the kids to just enjoy the meet and have some fun. District and state — that’s what you work for all season." Roseburg, which finished a surprising second last year, has the horses to win it this time around. Leading the Indians are Weaver, jump specialist Isaiah Smith, pole vaulters Adam Brink and Eli Hanna, hurdlers Jacob Schott and Ben Sharp, thrower Kyle Lacefield and sprinter Don Sheldon. Brink, a sophomore, has the second-best vault mark in the state at 14-9 and Smith has the third-best triple jump at 45-6¼ . Also competing at the meet will be North Medford’s Steve Johnson, ranked No. 1 in the state in the discus at 167-5; Eagle Point’s Jake Olson, ranked No. 2 in the shot put (57-2¼ ), and Jered McClellen, who is No. 5 in the javelin (188-3). Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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