Article published Dec 9, 2007

Fout races to U.S. title; Banfich finishes 21st

TIM CREASON
Tribune Correspondent

Mike Fout was hurting. He had never run that fast before.

But he also knew that his moment had arrived. If he was going to be a national champ, he had to make his move.

Right ... Now.

"I told myself, 'Pass with authority and don't look back,'" the LaPorte High School senior said. "I thought, 'It's time to go. Just go.'"

With a worldwide audience viewing live on the Internet, Fout bolted into the lead at the 3,500 meter mark, then surged away from an elite field to win the Foot Locker National High School Boys Cross Country Championship on Saturday in San Diego, Calif.Running on a muddy, rain-soaked course at Balboa Park, Fout covered 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) in 14 minutes, 50 seconds.

As he did this fall in almost every meet he ran, Fout simply buried the field over the final mile. He beat the second place finisher, Chris Derrick of Naperville, Ill., by a full seven seconds. Third place German Fernandez of Riverbank, Calif., was 19 seconds behind.

Out of 40 elite runners in the race -- the best high school cross country athletes in the United States -- only 22 managed to finish within a minute of the Slicer senior.

Fout becomes the first Indiana runner ever to win the boys national cross country championship. Prior to Saturday, the best Hoosier finish belonged to Jason Casiano of Portage, who finished second in 1990.

"What a thrill. What a phenomenal race," said LaPorte coach Tim Beres, speaking by phone Saturday evening. "Mike knew he was taking a risk when he made that move after the two-mile mark. They were running an insane pace, just a crazy fast pace, and he really didn't know what he had left in his tank. But it was the national championship and so he threw down the challenge and nobody responded."

The first mile went by in 4:28. When the lead pack reached the second mile mark in 9:27, only six guys were left.

"The pace was a lot quicker than I expected, but I knew I had to make a move pretty soon after the two mile," said Fout. "I didn't want it to come down to a kick."

Only Derrick, who defeated Fout earlier this season at the Culver Academies Invitational, then lost to Fout at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional, attempted to give chase.

He closed the gap to about 40 meters with 400 to go, but Fout reached the finish before there was any threat.

"I was still feeling pretty strong," said Fout. "I had the urge to look back, but I didn't want my form to break down and have somebody come sailing past me in the last 50 meters. I heard some people yelling that a Midwestern guy was closing on me, and I knew it was Chris (Derrick), so I just tried to pick it up a little."

Beres could only marvel at what he saw.

"At the two mile mark, there were six people in the lead pack," said Beres. "At the finish, there was only one guy within 19 seconds of Mike. What does that tell you about his third mile?"

Along the race course, one of Fout's biggest fans was Culver Girls Academy senior Alex Banfich.

"I was jumping up and down and yelling for Mike," said Banfich. "I was so excited for him."

A few minutes earlier, Banfich had competed in the Foot Locker girls national championship race, finishing 21st overall. Her time was 18:07.

Girls race winner Ashley Brasovan of West Palm Beach, Fla., clocked 17:20.

"It was all right," said Banfich, who was making her third appearance at the national championship race. She finished 17th a year ago.

"My time was better than last year but the place wasn't as good," said Banfich, who found herself in the middle of the field after the first mile.

"I was hoping for better but I'm only a little disappointed. This will give me more motivation for the Nike Indoor (national track championships)." Banfich is only the second Hoosier girl to qualify three times for the national finals.

Fout was making his first trip to San Diego.

"To win the national championship, obviously I'm thrilled and excited," said Fout. "I feel on top of the world."

BOYS

"Team" scores: Midwest 29, Northeast 59, West 62, South 64.TOP 10 FINISHERS: 1, Mike Fout (LaPorte, Ind.) 14:50. 2, Chris Derrick (Naperville, Ill.) 14:57. 3, Greman Fernandez (Riverbank, Calif.) 15:09. 4, Colby Lowe (Southlake, Tex.) 15:12. 5, Luke Puskedra (Ogden, Utah) 15:15. 6, Brandon Jarrett (Hillsborough, NJ) 15:16. 7, Kevin Havel (Arlington Heights, Ill.) 15:18. 8, Dann Cabral (Glastonbury, Conn.) 15:19. 9, Rob Finnerty (Burnsville, MN) 15:21. 10, Maverick Darling (Ovid, Mich.) 15:23 ... 30, Tito Medrano (Lafayette, Ind.) 15:59.

GIRLS

"Team" scores: Northeast 42, South 42, West 63, Midwest 70.

TOP 10 FINISHERS: 1, Ashley Brasovan (West Palm Beach, Fla.) 17:20. 2, Kathy Kroeger (Franklin, Tenn.) 17:28. 3, Jordan Hasay (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) 17:31. 4, Neely Spence (Shippensburg, Pa.) 17:35. 5, Claire Durkin (Columbus, OH) 17:44. 6, Emily Lipari (Greenvale, NY) 17:46. 7, Aurora Scott (Portsmouth, Va.) 17:46. 8, Katie Flood (Des Moines, Iowa) 17:47. 9, Carly Seymour (Ebensburg, Pa.) 17:48. 10, Kauren Tarver (Wrightwood, Calif.) 17:53 ... 21, Alex Banfich (Plymouth, Ind.) 18:07.