Lakota East senior Dustin Horter, on his 18th birthday, defended his Division I cross country state championship with a wild finish against Middletown's Conant Smith on Nov. 4, 2017, at National Trail Raceway The Enquirer/Adam Baum
On December 2 a pair of local runners headed West. They returned as two of the top high school harriers in the country.
Dustin Horter, a senior at Lakota East, and Conant Smith, a junior at Middletown, competed at the 2017 Nike Cross Nationals, placing sixth and eighth, respectively. The meet, which featured 199 of the nation’s top high school cross country runners took place at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore. Horter, who has won the last two Ohio Division I state cross country championships, finished with a time of 15:14.2 for the 5000-meter race. Smith, the Div. I state runner-up this fall, finished with a time of 15:24.9.
The course in Oregon is a little different than what both runners are used to here in Southwest Ohio. Horter, who placed 30th at the 2016 Nike Cross Nationals, was well aware of what he was getting himself into. He used that knowledge to help Smith prepare.
“It’s so muddy out there, so much different from Cincinnati,” Horter said. “Here you’re always running on firm ground unless it rained the night before – then it might be a little mushy but you’re still going to have relatively flat ground and firm ground at that. Out in Portland it’s misty and rainy and there’s always a chance of rain. You get a different dynamic and the terrain is different. The trees around the course leave pine cones everywhere and there are lots of inclines and hills. Once people get out there, they tear up the course and it gets muddy; potentially ankle deep. It’s not going to be the most fun race you’ve ever run but you still want to compete and think about your goals and take all of that into account.”
For Horter the race was the culmination of a high school cross country career that saw him win his two state championships and set school records. He still has a final track season ahead of him – he is the reigning 1600m state champion – before he leaves for Indiana University later this year.
This was Smith’s first time on the national stage. Prior to placing second to Horter at the state cross country meet earlier this year he placed third in the state as a sophomore. His eighth-place showing in Portland was a major moment in his racing life.
"My goal going in was to earn All-American and place in the top 15, but I exceeded my expectations," Smith said.
Horter says he was aiming for a top-five finish but allowed the lead pack to pull away from him too quickly. He says he ended up in “no-man’s land” between the lead pack and the second group of runners. He was still able to turn that outcome into a top-10 finish.
The two Greater Miami Conference rivals have formed a bond over the past few years. The two flew to and from Portland together and spent much of the weekend going over the race together. It helps that the two see each other often in both cross country and track.
“We were out at Nike and we mentioned (to other runners) that we’re in the same conference and we race each other four or five times a year and they said ‘that must be one of the best conferences in the country’” Horter said. “We’re kind of two diamonds in the rough, I guess (to see each other so much).”
Of the 199 runners that competed in Oregon, 105 were seniors. A total of 63 juniors participated in the race with Smith placing as the third junior overall. The top placing sophomore was 15th, making Smith one of the favorites for next year’s race.
"Confidence has been the biggest thing," Smith said of what he's gleaned from his huge year. "Seeing what I could do this junior year has been really eye-opening for me. It gives me a lot of confidence going into next year."
Horter says he’s working on trying to recruit Smith to Indiana. That might make for an interesting situation in the Smith household as Smith’s older brother, Cole, is currently being redshirted as a freshman on Cincinnati’s football team.
“I’m just going to keep on it,” Horter said of his attempts to lure Smith to Bloomington. “I’m going to rep my team. I really like Conant, he’s a great guy and it would be really fun to work with him."
Smith says he is not really thinking about college at this time. His current focus is on the upcoming track season. He has personal goals set in the 1600, 3200 and 800. He placed fifth in the state in the 3200 last season with a time of 9:14.04. He would like to break the nine-minute mark this spring. He would also like to qualify for the Brooks PR Invitational – the annual Washington state-based, nation-wide track meet that features the top high school track athletes in the country. Horter ran at the meet this past June, placing eighth in the one-mile run.
After that Smith will be one of the favorites to win next fall's Div. I state cross country title. And maybe even more.
"I look at him," Horter said of Smith, "and I see a guy that could (next year) claim a national title for Ohio which hasn’t been done for a while."
Read Again https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/high-school/2017/12/13/gmc-pair-among-best-country/944130001/Bagikan Berita Ini
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