Oregon XC Athletes of the Decade

Oregon Cross Country Male Athletes of the Decade

PHOTO BY: Angela Collins

With the start of the next decade of the 21st Century it seems appropriate to reflect on the runners, who stood out over the past ten years. There have been a good deal of runners, who have made the sport more interesting over the years & have put in noteworthy performances. Before looking at the harriers it is best that a few parameters be established. First it should be noted that I am limiting the list to high school runners only, which eliminates both early years as youth runners as well as those runners, who ran in college. For example, although Ryan Vail has run quite well for Oklahoma State, that does not impact this list. Secondly attention is being given to those, who race well against runners from other states, so Foot Locker, Nike & Border Clash in particular effect the ranking. As it is far more difficult to qualify for Foot Locker more weight is given to those, who do well at the regional & the national races. Certainly a state championship is considered but winning is just one thing to consider. One only has to attend the Foot Locker West Regional at Mt. SAC & listen to the litany of state champions, who are introduced, to know that there are champions & there are champions & thus how a champion would fare in another division is another consideration. Time has some meaning but it is not crucial given that weather can have such an impact. Certainly the conditions in 2005, when Kenny Klotz won, & in 2009, when Drew Jordan won the large school division, were so poor that it would be unfair to hold time as too crucial a factor. There was also an attempt to look at those, who had an impact over a longer period, rather than just consider those with a more mercurial impact. Lastly this is a cross country list and therefor track success has no effect here.

We’ll look at the guys first partially, because there have been a number, who were able to take their act on the road as it were and were able to have success against champions from other states. In a sense that is the essence of a champion: success against the best. At the top of the list is Central Catholic’s Galen Rupp. Galen won state titles in 2002 & 2003 after placing 6th in 4A in 2001. His winning time of 14:56 as a junior was impressive in its own right, He also had a strong record in the Oregon - Washington Bordrr Clash, where he placed 12th, 3rd & 1st successively. Rupp was able to do well at Foot Locker and placed 26th, 6th & 3rd in the West from his sophomore through his senior years. At Foot Locker National he made up for his DNF as a junior by taking second in San Diego, which is the best any Oregon male runner has done. (Mariel Ettinger & Melissa Lucas placed 2nd in the girls’ race) It is that second place finish against the nation’s best, which gives him a slight edge along with the fact that he also placed 2nd as a high school runner in the US Junior National meet.

Kenny Klotz is a very close second and in some ways I can see him as tie for the top. He placed 17th as a soph & then, like Rupp, won back to back state titles. He placed 49th in his first Border Clash & then won successive BC titles as a junior & senior: the only runner to accomplish that. He placed 63rd at Foot Locker West in 2003 & then earned a trip to nationals by finishing 6th as a junior. At Balboa Park that year he finished 24th. In his senior year he led Central Catholic to the NTN meet, which he then won. In doing so he earned a trip to Foot Locker, where he placed 4th. Had he not run in Portland, he might have won a national championship at Foot Locker, but the race at very least cost him a place or two. As you can see the records of Kenny & Galen are quite close. (Kenny did score in the US Junior meet as a freshman in college but for this list that was discounted.)

Lauren Jesperson of Klamath Union is right behind Rupp & Klotz after winning a state title as a junior in 2001 after placing 48th as a sophomore. As a senior he made the mistake of giving Rupp too much of a lead but in doing so he made for exciting racing. His time of 14:57 is impressive as well. He placed 2nd at Border Clash as a junior & then defeated Rupp his senior year, so his BC record is second only to that of Klotz. In 2001 Lauren finished 21st at Foot Locker West before placing 5th in successive years. His senior year he also was 2nd at the Stanford Invitational. At nationals for two years he earned 12th & then 10th which is an excellent record. It should also be noted that, although he lost the state title against Rupp, he defeated his junior rival in the last three races of the year.

For my money those are the top three runners of the decade and in the order presented. All three have stellar careers, which were high-lighted by two trips to the Foot Locker National Championships in San Diego. The competition just to qualify for Foot Locker is just so tough, that they should be credited for the accomplishment. The next four runners all earned a trip to Foot Locker and in my mind are in the next division and probably in the order in which they will be presented.

Erik Heinonen of South Salem ran only one year in this decade but it was of special quality. He entered the state meet in 2000 as the co-favorite with Joey Hambrick but was surprised by Lane Neely & placed only third. At the Border Clash he was the top Oregon finisher but placed 2nd behind Michael Kiter. Like Jesperson, he placed 2nd at the Stanford Invitational. At Mt. SAC he placed 5th to earn a trip to Foot Locker Nationals where he finished 5th in the nation. Erik defeated Kiter at nationals as well, so he saved is best for last.

Stuart Eagon of Beaverton has a record that is quite enviable in spite of the fact that he had to face Galen Rupp all his career. He placed 6th in 4A at state as junior and then finished 3rd as a senior with a fine time of 15:22. At Border Clash in two years he placed 8th and then 4th. He took advantage of Rupp’s absence to blitz the New Balance course in 15:09 & he also won at South Salem. In 2002 as a junior he took 17th and then followed with a 4th as senior. At nationals he left no doubt that he was one of the best in the nation by scoring in 8th place.

Isaac Stoutenburgh of Crater is the only runner on this list to qualify for state all four years in the large school competition, which makes him special. His first three years he finished 46th, 11th & then 6th. At the old Danner meet he & Kenny Klotz staged a great race, which Isaac won in a time of 15:04. Memory still recalls both runners coming up to me to ask who won (I noted that it appeared that Kenny’s lean at the finish knocked Isaac slightly home first) after the race, because it was so close between them. Isaac was a three-time Border Clash qualifier placing 32nd & 10th in his first two years. As a senior he placed 3rd in the race & for Oregon as Jerhoemee Murray of Century caught him at the end. That was by the way a great class for Oregon. The Crater Comet placed 76th at the Western Regional but earned a trip to Nationals by taking 5th Foot Locker as a senior. He then finished 28th in the nation. Isaac also placed 8th in the US Junior Nationals, narrowly missing a World’s berth, & he defeated his old rival Klotz, who was 15th.

Alec Wall of Grant was a three year 4A state qualifier placing 30th, 4th & 3rd. At Border Clash he proved his quality as a junior & a senior by taking 5th & then 4th - note only one Washington runner beat him his senior year. Alec earned a trip to San Diego by placing 7th at the regional and then at Foot Locker he placed 24th.

Bryce Burgess of Franklin is number eight on the list. He is a three-time state qualifier, who placed 18th as a sophomore & 3rd as a junior before claiming the 6A title in 2007 in a time of 15:44. In his first two trips to Border Clash he finished 41st & then 27th before earning 4th in 2007. He shared the distinction with Eliott Jantzer as being the only two male runners from Oregon to place in the top ten at Border Clash. At Foot Locker West Bryce took 24th as a junior & then finished 11th in 2007. That place left him one place from qualifying for Nationals and he was the first alternate. Bryce had the misfortune of starting on the side of the road, when the course was changed due to inclement weather, & it cost him valuable energy early, while most runners had the flat & hard surface of the road. I still feel he belonged at Foot Locker.

Jacob Keyser of Crater raced only as a junior & a senior in this decade and placed 4th & then 2nd in 4A. His time of 15:29 would be a winner in most years. He put in strong efforts in Border Clash those two years taking third place both times. At Foot Locker West he placed 10th as a junior, which today would make him a qualifier. Unfortunately he had an off day his senior year and finished only 60th. It underscores just how difficult it is to qualify for the San Diego race: the competition is so great there is almost no margin for error or bad luck.

Elliott Jantzer of Phoenix competed on the new 4A level, where he placed 3rd as a sophomore before winning as a junior & a senior. His times of 15:35 & 15:42 were the best times from all divisions those years, so you can’t say it was just poor competition. He placed 3rd at Border Clash as a junior to join Burgess as a rare Oregon top ten finisher in recent years. At Foot Locker he placed 18th at the regional making him one of the highest underclassmen in the west. As a senior he ran at the NTN Northwest Regional in Boise and finished 6th. He decided to take the sure thing and ran in Portland, where he placed 32nd.

Brad Taylor of Oakridge completes my top eleven. He also forced the most questions in my mind. He ran at the 2A level, where the competition was hardly stellar, but he qualified all four years. As a freshman he placed 7th and then he won his division the last three years. It should be noted that he ran 2A in an era prior to our ‘happy trophy’ one that seems to pass out awards the way Oregon academics pass out 4.0 grades. His times of 16:29, 16:10 & 16:20 are hardly astonishing but in his last two years they would have placed him 12th & then tied for 5th overall & Brad did what was needed. His Border Clash years as sophomore & a junior placed him 48th & 53rd, but Brad was a gifted runner. He ran the Silver Falls Invitational in 2005 in 20:06, which was half a minute in front of Canby’s Sean Coleman, who would later be 2nd at State a year later. To my knowledge only Billy Harper has done better on the course & it’d be cool to see future runners do better. At Adidas he overwhelmed Jerhoemee Murray with a time that no Oregon runner has even challenged (yes Alaska’s Trevor Dunbar has a time that may last forever but he later finished 2nd in the nation at Foot Locker in 2008) Brad spoke often with me and I feel confident that his coach did everything the way it should have been done but lady luck in the form of a spike wound, which required eight stitches at Border Clash ruined everything. He still made the attempt at Foot Locker but could only place 53rd. Still, although the competition at Foot Locker is so tough that one can not guarantee any one a berth at nationals, I felt very optimistic about his chances along with those of Klotz & Stoutenburgh. He seemed just a bit more likely than Jerhoemee Murray, who also had an excellent shot if all went well.- As noted this was an excellent class of guys & certainly, had he not been spiked, Oregon would have gone 1 through 4 at Border Clash.

So there you have it - a view at Oregon’s top distance guys for the decade. There are so many runners who have accomplished so much over the last ten years and it was difficult to separate them in many ways. Here are some of those, who were considered, who need to be listed as well. Thus here are the

Honorable Mentions

Taylor Morgan - if track were considered he would for sure be on the list. His three year record at state is stellar as well with finishes of 10th, 1st & 2nd. (15:53 & 15:49 his last two years) His Border Clash finishes were a bit of a problem as he placed 46th, 57th & 37th through to 2007. Still he electrified the crowd at Adidas as he overtook Trevor Dunbar. Taylor placed 6th at NTN West but in Portland he finished only 32nd and, as noted, Nike is but a glimpse of competition as compared to Foot Locker.

Kenyon Neuman - is one of my favorites in some ways. Coaching years ago both with & against Tom Halbedel, we used to discuss our theory that with proper coaching (and good luck, no injury & proper dedication) a male runner, who qualifies at state as a freshman should improve in a geometric way. Then along came Kenyon who placed 36th as a freshman & then improved to finish 16th as a sophomore in 2002. As a junior he came home 8th and then as a senior he took 2nd. That last year we assumed the same basic improvement but realized there had to be some sort of a fudge-factor for the law of small numbers. Kenyon ran two years at Border Clash placing 7th both times so he was dependable. At the Foot Locker West Regional he earned 17th as a senior meaning he was an excellent runner.

Drew Jordan & Josh Elliott won 6A & 5A titles the last two years & must have their fans but they just honorable because they did not finish at the end of the season.

Drew of North Medford placed 19th in 6A in 2007 and then won big school state titles with 15:45 & then 16:10. The weather was terrible his senior year so it was not factored in some ways. In his two trips to Border Clash he placed 34th & then 28th. Those did not help the cause. He competed at NTN from 2007-9 placing 28th, 12th & 24th & followed this year at Foot Locker West finishing 60th.

Josh Elliott of Crater was another of the relatively rare four-time qualifiers - 5A in his case. He was 33rd as a freshman & then 15th as a sophomore before claiming titles his last two years. At Border Clash he placed 15th & 47th, which did little to aid the Oregon team. He competed at the easier NTN West regional as a junior & senior placing 19th & 26th.

Ryan Vail raced well in college but in high school his record shows him placing 10th as a junior & 2nd as a senior. His time the last year was an impressive 15:13. He did place 5th as a senior at Border Clash but never tried to challenge on the national level. Who knows how he would have fared but he can’t make the list on a pure guess.

Actually for my money Cole Watson was probably the best runner in the state this year & his 3A (15:52) winning time was the best of the day. At Border Clash he was the only runner from the state to challenge the Washington runners, while everyone else moved to the back of the Washington pack quickly. He also won at New Balance & at Bend. Unfortunately there is not enough data to place him high on the list.

Others considered to name a few were Michael Maag, Jake Keyser, Jared Swehosky, Devin McDaniel, Zuber Ahmed, Jerhoemee Murray, Joaquin Chpa, David Axel & Lane Neely, who was 16th at Border Clash & 32 at Foot Locker in 2000. Joey Hambrick did not race at Foot Locker in 2000 after state, while Brian Manning’s 4th at NTN West was impressive after his 4th at State but it was not followed at nationals unfortunately. Of course this is list of all-stars, who really achieved in special ways. It is not meant to diminish the achievements of the many, who have made watching racing this decade so enjoyable. It would be nice, if they could have all have faced each other as seniors but then our state seems to disagree with that idea too. This is just an attempt to do what is only left in an imperfect cross country world - imagine. The bottom line is that we have witnessed some impressive talent and they did for sure entertain.