EUGENE -- Summit's Travis Neuman made his move on the hill just past the 2-mile marker, turning Saturday's OSAA Class 5A boys' cross country championship race into a one-man show at Lane Community College.
As the other contenders faded, Neuman powered his way through the finish and easily defended his individual title, covering the 5,000-meter course in a time of 15 minutes, 29 seconds -– the fastest winning time in the seven-year history of the Class 5A race.
Summit's Matthew Maton finished second in 15:42, followed by teammates Eric Alldritt is sixth, Luke Hinz eighth, and Tyler Jones 16th, carrying the Storm of Bend to a 33-61 victory over Cleveland and their second consecutive team.
As the leaders hit the 2-mile mark, the race was still a three-man battle with Neuman running shoulder-to-shoulder with Hermiston's Alejandro Cisneros and Maton close on their heels.
Cross country
Then Neuman made his move at the top of the short hill about a mile from the finish, leaving Cisneros and Maton to battle for second.
"Usually after the second mile is when everyone's a little bit dazed from the speed, so that's where I chose to make my move," said Neuman, who trimmed three seconds off last year's winning time. "I knew I had to pick it up the last mile for sure and then just ran hard until the end."
Cisneros got lightheaded as he reached the top of the hill and ended up fading to third in 15:46.
"I still wanted to make those Summit guys earn it," Cisneros said. "I kind of wish I was in that picture with Travis and Matthew to make this a better race, but I'm happy with the result."
Cleveland sophomore Nabi Amin placed seventh in 16:25 and the Warriors' next four runners all finished among the top 15, pacing the Portland Interscholastic League champions to their highest team finish in school history.
-- Jim Beseda
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