During the 2002-2003 school year,
Mark Matusak's coaches were intent on making him the best team
player possible. The end result was a California State Division
I team cross-country championship and a CIF-SS Division II team
track title. During the 2003-2004 school year, Matusak's coaches
are now intent on making him the best runner possible. The end
result might be a complete rewriting of the Golden State record
books.
Matusak, a junior at Los Angeles-based Loyola High
School, enjoyed a high-profile career breakthrough in claiming
top overall time honors at the gargantuan 56th annual Mt. SAC
Invitational last weekend, establishing a junior class course
record 14:33 for 2.91miles (along a hilly layout that was adjusted
slightly in 1999) in winning the featured Individual Sweepstakes
race.
For "Tuz", who had clocked course records
in two previous invitationals this fall, it was another productive
day at the office under the tutelage of co-coaches/mentors Dr.
Lalo Diaz and Dr. Frank Meza.
"My goal was to run a fast
time by attaching myself to the front pack," said
Matusak, a straight-A student. "In the back of my mind, I felt I had
a chance to win the race if I was with the lead pack at (Reservoir Hill,
at 2.4 miles). ... Going into the race, I would've been happy with a top
3 finish and a time in the high 14:30's."
Matusak pushed the pace off
Reservoir Hill to drop Duarte's Mohamed Trafeh (seventh at last year's
nationals) in winning the race, which featured 14 of the top 27 runners
in the Western United States. Even so, Matusak is seeming to keep an
even keel.
"My goals really haven't changed, except now nationals
are definitely a tangible focus point," he said. The Loyola
standout missed last year's West Regional, opting to rest a strained
groin once the state meet team title was won.
Matusak, whose team
finished the 2002 season ranked 6th in the nation by The Harrier,
is considering medicine as a possible field of study in college.
Loyola HS is considered one of the premier academic institutions
in Southern California. [Rich Gonzalez] Matusak's past performances: 2003 cross country
Time Dist Pos/Meet
14:33 2.91m 1 @ Mt. SAC Div 1/2 Indi CA 10/25/2003
14:41 3m 1 @ Santa Clarita Inv CA 10/18/2003
14:29 2.9m 1 @ Bell-Jeff Inv Div 1 CA 9/27/2003
14:37 3m 1 @ Bosco Tech Inv CA 9/13/2003
2003 outdoor
Event Mark Meet
B-2Mile 9:19.03 c 6/7/2003, Statemeet Finals CA, # 12
B-Mile 4:14.2 c 6/7/2003, Statemeet Finals CA, # 7
B-Mile 4:14.16 c 6/6/2003, Statemeet Prelims CA, #
B-Mile 4:12.74 c 5/24/2003, SS Divisions CA, #
B-Mile 4:16.28 c 4/5/2003, Trabuco Hills Inv CA, # 1
B-2Mile 9:08.19 c 3/29/2003, Pasadena Games CA, # 2
2003 indoor
Event Mark Meet
B-Mile 4:23.6 2/15/2003, LA Invitational CA, # 1
2002 cross country
Time Dist Pos/Meet
15:23 5k 3 @ State Div 1 CA 11/30/2002
15:07 2.92 2 @ SS Div 1 CA 11/23/2002
15:08 2.92m 3 @ Mt. SAC race 47 CA 10/26/2002
14:20 3.0m 1 @ Bell-Jeff Inv Div 1 CA 9/28/2002
15:10 3m 1 @ Don Bosco Inv CA 9/14/2002
|
For 2.4 miles last Saturday, Laguna Creek' High School senior
Rachel Bryan seemed content to play games with the competition.
But once she decided to get serious, it was all downhill from there.
Bryan, a senior at the Northern California school, unleashed
a fierce kick descending the final hill to win going away at last
weekend's Mt. SAC Invitational, the nation's largest cross-country
event. Bryan was clocked in 17:14 for the challenging 2.91-mile
course, 18 seconds faster than the next fastest of the nearly 4,500
other females competing at Mt. SAC that weekend.
It was the most impressive performance this fall
for the 2002 Foot Locker Nationals qualifier (16th in San Diego
last year), who missed a good part of the track season due to
injury.
Bryan was content to share the work for much of
Saturday's race, then joined San Pasqual's Claire Rethmeier in
comparing fitness levels along the final two hills. Rethmeier
claimed the lead just before the summit of Reservoir Hill (with
a downhill-and-flat half-mile portion remaining), but it was
a very short-lived advantage as Bryan made a swooping pass along
the subsequent steep downhill that curled down toward the finish.
Although three of the weekend's four featured
races were decided by a pronounced finishing kick off the final
downhill, the others paled in comparison to Bryan's, who opened
up all of her subsequent 18-second victory margin in a span of
800 meters. [Rich Gonzalez] Bryan's past performances:
2003 cross country
Time Dist Pos/Meet
17:14 2.91m 1 @ Mt. SAC Div 1/2 Indi CA 10/25/2003
18:04 5k 1 @ Clovis Inv CA 10/11/2003
18:26 3.1m 3 @ Stanford Inv Div 1 CA 9/27/2003
2003 outdoor
Event Mark Meet
G-2Mile 10:38.87 c 6/7/2003, Statemeet Finals CA, # 2
2002 cross country
Time Dist Pos/Meet
18:06 5k 16 @ FootLocker nationals CA 12/14/2002
18:17 5k 3 @ FootLocker WE seeded CA 12/7/2002
17:41 5k 1 @ State Div 1 CA 11/30/2002
17:38 3m 1 @ Sac-Joaquin Div 1 CA 11/16/2002
17:08 2.92m 1 @ Mt. SAC race 50 CA 10/26/2002
17:43 5k 1 @ Clovis Inv CA 10/12/2002
18:11 3.0m 1 @ Nevada Union CA 9/21/2002
18:23 3.0m 2 @ Granite Bay CA 8/31/2002 |
