2007 Bob Firman Invitational
Elite Boys
Sept. 22, 2007 Eagle, ID
DyeStat on-site coverage
Crater OR 121 (North Central WA 124)
Luke Puskedra, Judge Memorial UT 14:49.2 (MR CR)NW#4 Crater OR toppled NW#1 US#3 North Central by 3 points
Results - John Dye Photo Album of top 25 finishers -
a story of two races - Puskedra's solo tour de force and a battle of nationally ranked teams
by Dave Devine
The boys’ elite competition at the 2007 Bob Firman Invitational quickly devolved into two races: Luke Puskedra’s devastating solo record assault, and the battle for team supremacy unfolding behind him—a competition featuring a host of nationally- and regionally-ranked teams highlighted by US#3 North Central WA and US#17 Trabuco Hills CA. Judge Memorial’s Puskedra ensured that his pre-meet status as the individual favorite would remain intact by gapping a very good field less than a mile into the race, and never looking back. If Puskedra was free and clear, however, the top two teams were more vulnerable to upset.
Riley Sullivan, expected to be one of the lead runners for Trabuco Hills alongside senior Scott Blair, was making his seasonal debut at Firman, and no one outside the team was certain of his fitness. North Central was coming off a taxing Wednesday league meet to determine the best in Spokane, a race they couldn’t train through because it included NW#3 Central Valley and NW#6 Mead. NC took that one handily—and were joined at Firman by both Spokane rivals—but to one degree or another, all three showed signs of the midweek effort. Read more
|  | Luke Puskedra (left) made amends for his fade last year against Taylor Farnsworth
by taking 27 seconds off Farnsworth's course and meet record, while sr Ryan Santana (below) in 9th place led Crater OR boys to their big win over North Central
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photos by John Dye
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North Central’s lead duo of Andrew Kimpel and Leon Dean were out well early, climbing into the top ten after the first loop through the park, and the rest of NC’s pack was securely into the top twenty as the field moved into the second lap of the park. Trabuco Hills had Blair trailing Puskedra in a pack that included Gig Harbor WA’s Miles Unterreiner, Skyline UT’s Stephen Clark, and Springville UT’s Spencer Gardner, but the rest of the California team was scattered farther afield and would come home eighth among a tight grouping of teams between 3rd (171 pts) and 8th (186 pts).
Weaving patiently through the crowd in their bright orange singlets were the Comets of NW#4 Crater OR, keying off lead runner Ryan Santana and biding their time for a late race push. Santana would end up ninth overall, splitting up the North Central pair of Kimpel (6th) and Dean (10th), but it was Santana’s teammates, specifically the Crater 2-3-4 runners, who sealed the deal on a major Northwest upset for the 5A squad from Central Point, OR. Streaking across the line with less than 2-seconds between them, Crater’s middle three took 26th, 28th and 29th, giving them four across before North Central’s third. North Central would then group nicely between their 3rd and 5th men, but it wasn’t enough, as Crater pulled the three-point upset, 121 to 124.
It was an outcome that would take several hours to confirm, as an error in the finish chute left the official results in question long enough that Crater had to beeline for the bus immediately after their awards were presented. Coach Justin Loftus still managed to offer a few thoughts on his team’s win as he headed for the parking lot.
Initially slated to run the 3-Course Challenge in Seaside OR, Coach Loftus said he switched to Firman to see the course in advance of regionals and gain some big race experience. He considered it a successful trip on both counts, but didn’t deem it a perfect effort. “We definitely have strength in our pack, but we also have some guys who will really pop up by the end of the year. It didn’t necessarily show today, but I think it’ll show by the end of the year.” Asked if he thought coming in that his team had a shot at winning, he said, “I felt like we had a shot. I didn’t know how much of a shot we had, but we thought we could be in there.”
Another rankings-buster, somewhat off the pre-meet radar, was SW#10 Orem UT, who got up for a surprising third over a tight grouping of teams that included Mead WA, fellow Utah schools Mountain Crest and Mountain View, and Central Valley WA.
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Luke Puskedra was alone before the end of the first mile |  |  |
If the team outcome was unresolved far longer than expected, the individual race was never in doubt. Puskedra thoroughly dominated the field from the gun, using his fluid, efficient form to draw away well before an opening mile passed in 4:30. If the knock against Puskedra in the past has been a tendency to go too hard at the beginning, that particular chink in the armor was never a factor here.
It’s also something he’s working on. “I tried to hold it back a bit on this one,” he said, without a touch of irony, “because I’m working on not going out as fast—trying to even it up, but the nerves got the best of me today I think. I’m just trying to get that second mile to come around now.”
Despite not adhering to his planned conservative opening, Puskedra had a laser focus on his goal of breaking the Firman course record of 15:16.6. Many imagined he could come close to 15-flat, but few anticipated the sub-14:50 display Puskedra unfurled.
Except maybe Puskedra.
“I was hoping to go under fifteen for sure,” he said. “That was my goal, to go under Taylor Farnsworth’s record. He’s a very established runner, so it’s a good feeling.”
Runner-up Stephen Clark (sr Skyline UT), more than thirty-five seconds back at 15:25.04, has seen plenty of his in-state rival. “Running against Luke is a good opportunity to race one of the best,” he said after the finish. “You know, he’s one of the best out there, and getting to race him every week is a huge advantage. See how he’s progressing and how I’m progressing.”
Puskedra, Clark and another Utah product, Spencer Gardner of Springville, made it a 1-2-3 sweep for the Utah crowd, something that couldn’t have pleased the lanky senior from Judge Memorial more. “It’s good to see Utah do so well,” Puskedra said. “Steven and Spencer are good guys, we do cool-downs and warm-ups together, so it’s good to see them do well too.”
Asked about his goals for the rest of the year, Puskedra admitted that Foot Locker is never far from his mind, but said he’s not putting as much pressure on himself as last year, when he failed to finish in the Foot Locker West qualifier. “This year,” he said, “I’m just enjoying running much more, trying to have fun with it.”
If this is how Luke Puskedra has fun, the rest of the country could be in trouble.
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The one mile marker is on the beach, where the runners trudge through deep sand for about 100 meters.
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Results
Capital High School Hy-Tek's Meet Manager
Bob Firman Cross Country Meet 2007 - 9/22/2007
Boise Schools Invite
Eagle Island State Park
Last Completed Event
Event 6 Boys 5k Run CC Elite
=======================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
=======================================================================
1 #1040 Luke Puskedra SR Judge Memorial 14:49 1
2 #1949 Stephen Clark SR Skyline 15:25 2
3 #2092 Spencer Gardner SR Springville High 15:28
4 #734 Miles Unterreiner SR Gig Harbor 15:46 3
5 #2198 Scott Blair SR Trabuco Hills 15:56 4
6 #1693 Andrew Kimpel JR North Central Hi 15:58 5
7 #1406 Kevin Dickey SR Mountain Crest 15:59 6
8 #1410 Neal Ferrin SR Mountain Crest 16:04 7
9 #465 Ryan Santana SR Crater 16:05 8
10 #1684 Leon Dean JR North Central Hi 16:06 9
11 #1240 Kelly Lynch SR Mead 16:08 10
12 #2598 Nigel Sharp SR Campbell Collegiate 16:09
13 #2352 Elijah Rono JR Wasatch Academy 16:12
14 #183 Jared Nielsen SR Borah 16:14
15 #1573 Travis Fuller SR Mountain View-Utah 16:16 11
16 #502 Seth Gutzwiller JR Davis 16:18 12
17 #1567 Greg Bate SR Mountain View-Utah 16:19 13
18 #1829 Bryan Willoughby SR Orem 16:19 14
19 #351 Bryce Aguilar SR Central Valley 16:20 15
20 #381 Jayson Taylor SR Central Valley 16:22 16
21 #282 Ryan Saunders SR Capital 16:25
22 #2208 Riley Sullivan SR Trabuco Hills 16:26 17
23 #233 Tyler Curtis SR Caldwell 16:26
24 #1421 Skylar Riggs JR Mountain Crest 16:27 18
25 #1825 Jason Palmer SR Orem 16:28 19
26 #456 Josh Elliot SO Crater 16:28 20
27 #497 Spencer Anderson SR Davis 16:28 21
28 #462 Jerrod Pucket SR Crater 16:28 22
29 #457 Zach Elliot JR Crater 16:29 23
30 #848 Tommy Bollinger SR Highland (Poc) 16:29 24
31 #124 Max Hardy JR Boise 16:30 25
32 #1824 Darren Ott SR Orem 16:31 26
33 #378 Jason Stoker SR Central Valley 16:32 27
34 #732 Connor Peloquin SO Gig Harbor 16:32 28
35 #1230 Jordan Baker JR Mead 16:32 29
36 #401 Aaron Jenkins SR Century 16:33
37 #2146 Mike Bills SR Timpanogos 16:33 30
38 #1408 Zak Dymock SR Mountain Crest 16:33 31
39 #1707 Adam Tyler SR North Central Hi 16:35 32
40 #1504 Derek Gunn SR Mountain View-Idaho 16:36 33
41 #420 Zeke Wilson SR Challis 16:37
42 #725 Chris Adgar-Beal JR Gig Harbor 16:37 34
43 #2057 Sammy Kirtner JR South Eugene 16:38 35
44 #1673 Alex Avila SO North Central Hi 16:40 36
45 #1231 Marcus Budig SR Mead 16:42 37
46 #1233 Jordan Curnutt JR Mead 16:43 38
47 #2201 James Hendra SR Trabuco Hills 16:43 39
48 #1950 Morgan Empey JR Skyline 16:44 40
49 #2056 Eamonn Kerr-Daly JR South Eugene 16:45 41
50 #442 Neil Easter SR Columbia 16:45
51 #1692 Jeff Howard JR North Central Hi 16:46 42
52 #2145 Jake Berlin SO Timpanogos 16:47 43
53 #359 Andrew Cesal SR Central Valley 16:47 44
54 #1932 Todd Hueckstaedt JR Rock Springs 16:48 45
55 #1565 Trent Allred SR Mountain View-Utah 16:49 46
56 #118 Eric Fitzpatrick SO Boise 16:51 47
57 #464 Wyatt Rice-Narusch SR Crater 16:52 48
58 #1822 Ben Johnson JR Orem 16:52 49
59 #1578 Eric Lunt JR Mountain View-Utah 16:53 50
60 #1933 Taylor McCort SR Rock Springs 16:53 51
61 #1534 Cory Ytsma JR Mountain View-Idaho 16:53 52
62 #1938 Garrett Zans SO Rock Springs 16:54 53
63 #2209 Steven Tan JR Trabuco Hills 16:54 54
64 #1954 Thatcher Olson SR Skyline 16:55 55
65 #1592 Matt Tenney JR Mountain View-Utah 16:57 56
66 #1038 Parker Mildenhall SO Judge Memorial 16:57 57
67 #2320 Brian Corral FR Vallivue 16:59
68 #1239 Steven Kutsch JR Mead 16:59 58
69 #1370 Layton Dorsett SO Mountain Brook 16:60 59
70 #504 Bryce Larsen SR Davis 17:01 60
71 #1691 Steve Hicks SR North Central Hi 17:02 61
72 #1951 Gemechu Gaesse SO Skyline 17:05 62
73 #1818 Ray Bateman SR Orem 17:06 63
74 #2149 Matt Liddle SO Timpanogos 17:06 64
75 #727 Mark Davis SR Gig Harbor 17:08 65
76 #1630 Jason Towery SR Nampa Christian 17:09
77 #1379 Conrad Taylor SR Mountain Brook 17:10 66
78 #469 Curtis Yungen SR Crater 17:11 67
79 #511 Jason Thomas SO Davis 17:12 68
80 #2050 Walker Augustyniak SR South Eugene 17:13 69
81 #2843 Matt Dionne JR Mead 17:14 70
82 #2061 Zach Schneider SR South Eugene 17:15 71
83 #2200 Brian Gomez FR Trabuco Hills 17:15 72
84 #1953 Isaac Hales JR Skyline 17:16 73
85 #1518 Kevin Miller JR Mountain View-Idaho 17:18 74
86 #365 Brandon Heintz SR Central Valley 17:19 75
87 #1583 Taylor Ottesen JR Mountain View-Utah 17:20 76
88 #2151 Dane Smith JR Timpanogos 17:21 77
89 #1955 Ben Taylor JR Skyline 17:22 78
90 #1820 Mike Garlick SR Orem 17:23 79
91 #1037 Max Lamb SO Judge Memorial 17:23 80
92 #1375 Jack Morgan FR Mountain Brook 17:23 81
93 #510 Jordan Stuart SR Davis 17:24 82
94 #1710 Andrew Wordell FR North Central Hi 17:25 83
95 #1575 Nick Harrison SO Mountain View-Utah 17:25 84
96 #2202 Nhu-Nguyen Le SR Trabuco Hills 17:26 85
97 #733 Shane Polley SR Gig Harbor 17:27 86
98 #731 Spencer Payne SO Gig Harbor 17:28 87
99 #845 Chaz Anestos SR Highland (Poc) 17:28 88
100 #509 Leland Stenquist JR Davis 17:29 89
101 #1983 Scott Jenkins SR Skyview 17:29
102 #1526 Cody Pugil JR Mountain View-Idaho 17:29 90
103 #854 Jason Lyons FR Highland (Poc) 17:30 91
104 #130 Greg Montgomery JR Boise 17:30 92
105 #454 James Croft JR Crater 17:30 93
106 #1948 Ian Anderson SO Skyline 17:31 94
107 #350 Bryan Aguilar SO Central Valley 17:31 95
108 #507 Bryson Snow SR Davis 17:33 96
109 #376 Kyle Staples JR Central Valley 17:35 97
110 #1376 Richard Murray JR Mountain Brook 17:36 98
111 #1035 John Foye JR Judge Memorial 17:37 99
112 #2054 Ryan Graebner SR South Eugene 17:38 100
113 #1823 Derek Jones SR Orem 17:38 101
114 #730 Jeff Osborn JR Gig Harbor 17:38 102
115 #2197 Colton Addy SR Trabuco Hills 17:40 103
116 #1994 Josh Wadsworth SR Skyview 17:40
117 #1509 Garrison Holdaway JR Mountain View-Idaho 17:41 104
118 #1237 Eric Foss JR Mead 17:41 105
119 #2147 Brandon Davies SR Timpanogos 17:42 106
120 #2063 Casey Weinman SR South Eugene 17:42 107
121 #1935 James Sing SO Rock Springs 17:43 108
122 #128 Christian Kincaid JR Boise 17:45 109
123 #129 Taylor Molenaar SO Boise 17:49 110
124 #2059 Brain Leeson JR South Eugene 17:50 111
125 #1422 Quinn Stephens SR Mountain Crest 17:50 112
126 #1981 Jerry Hagler SR Skyview 17:51
127 #1420 Jesse Peterson SR Mountain Crest 17:53 113
128 #1371 Wilkerson Given JR Mountain Brook 17:53 114
129 #1930 Blane Berrett JR Rock Springs 17:53 115
130 #1417 Brayden Mickelson SO Mountain Crest 17:55 116
131 #850 Brandon Grigg FR Highland (Poc) 17:56 117
132 #2148 Jason Hodson JR Timpanogos 18:00 118
133 #119 Kenton Freemuth FR Boise 18:01 119
134 #1042 Chris Sayre SR Judge Memorial 18:09 120
135 #2150 Mike Mace JR Timpanogos 18:10 121
136 #1603 Gatlin Creager SR Nampa 18:11
137 #1530 Cory Varland SR Mountain View-Idaho 18:12 122
138 #1503 Josh Fortin SR Mountain View-Idaho 18:13 123
139 #846 Tallin Bannister FR Highland (Poc) 18:22 124
140 #121 Walker Grimshaw JR Boise 18:23 125
141 #851 Jacob Hall FR Highland (Poc) 18:31 126
142 #1378 Jake Stephens SR Mountain Brook 18:40 127
143 #1934 Andrew Rembacz FR Rock Springs 18:47 128
144 #1032 Frank Barrows JR Judge Memorial 19:10 129
145 #1611 Scott Sweet SR Nampa 19:31
146 #1372 Craig Jones SR Mountain Brook 19:35 130
Team Scores
=================================================================================
Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9
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1 Crater 121 8 20 22 23 48 67 93
Total Time: 1:21:47.00
Average: 16:21.40
2 North Central High School 124 5 9 32 36 42 61 83
Total Time: 1:21:30.00
Average: 16:18.00
3 Orem 171 14 19 26 49 63 79 101
Total Time: 1:22:41.00
Average: 16:32.20
4 Mead 172 10 29 37 38 58 70 105
Total Time: 1:22:29.00
Average: 16:29.80
5 Mountain Crest 174 6 7 18 31 112 113 116
Total Time: 1:22:18.00
Average: 16:27.60
6 Mountain View-Utah 176 11 13 46 50 56 76 84
Total Time: 1:22:39.00
Average: 16:31.80
7 Central Valley 177 15 16 27 44 75 95 97
Total Time: 1:22:45.00
Average: 16:33.00
8 Trabuco Hills 186 4 17 39 54 72 85 103
Total Time: 1:22:39.00
Average: 16:31.80
9 Gig Harbor 216 3 28 34 65 86 87 102
Total Time: 1:22:55.00
Average: 16:35.00
10 Skyline 232 2 40 55 62 73 78 94
Total Time: 1:22:50.00
Average: 16:34.00
11 Davis 243 12 21 60 68 82 89 96
Total Time: 1:23:48.00
Average: 16:45.60
12 South Eugene 316 35 41 69 71 100 107 111
Total Time: 1:24:54.00
Average: 16:58.80
13 Timpanogos 320 30 43 64 77 106 118 121
Total Time: 1:24:54.00
Average: 16:58.80
14 Mountain View-Idaho 353 33 52 74 90 104 122 123
Total Time: 1:25:22.00
Average: 17:04.40
15 Judge Memorial 357 1 57 80 99 120 129
Total Time: 1:24:21.00
Average: 16:52.20
16 Rock Springs 372 45 51 53 108 115 128
Total Time: 1:25:37.00
Average: 17:07.40
17 Boise 383 25 47 92 109 110 119 125
Total Time: 1:25:50.00
Average: 17:10.00
18 Mountain Brook 418 59 66 81 98 114 127 130
Total Time: 1:26:28.00
Average: 17:17.60
19 Highland (Poc) 444 24 88 91 117 124 126
Total Time: 1:27:10.00
Average: 17:26.00
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