Mike Fout (IN) racing to the finish, winning the boys title
(Photo by John Herzog)
Running as a true underdog despite winning Foot Locker Midwest, Indiana's Michael Fout ran an incredibly smart race to win the Foot Locker Nationals Boys Race. As the race pushed on minute by minute Fout put himself in position to win, finally opening a slight lead before the second run up the big hill. A strong field pushed the pace early, with the top finishers getting up front. At the end though it was the strong kick of Fout's earning the victory.
Foot Locker Coverage: Underdog Fout Wins Boys Race
One of the deepest Foot Locker National races took place Saturday morning in San Diego and the results were mighty exciting. Heading into race day, a half dozen runners were being labeled as pre-race favorites, all of them having some very major accomplishments to their names. German Fernandez (CA), Colby Lowe (TX), Donn Cabral (CT) and Mike Fout (IN) all won Foot Locker regional races, while Chris Derrick (IL) and Luke Puskedra (UT) were considered serious threats to win too.
Luke Puskedra (#82) leading the start of the boys race
Right from the gun Puskedra grabbed the lead in a move that has defined much of his racing all season. His honest effort early on spread the boys field out very quick. Coming through the first half mile Puskedra was clocked at 2:10, while Fernandez, Cabral and Kevin Williams (CO) pushed the front runner right behind, with a few others in the mix.
Over the next half mile the pack would spread out even further, however athletes like Lowe and Fout joined the chase pack. At the mile the athletes passed through in 4:28, pusing up the back hill and swingging around the pound down the hill. At that point Lowe put in 50 meters of quick turnover and gapped Puskedra and Fernandez by a few strides. However, those two caught back up to Lowe after the downhill and Cabral and Fout made up ground as well.
Luke Puskedra & Mike Fout (#71) leading at the two mile mark
As the two mile mark approached a pack of six clearly gapped the rest of the field, pushing through the two mile marker in 9:28, a bit slower than the first mile. Fout and Puskedra led the way, with Fernandez, Lowe and Cabral a second behind and Derrick a second behind them. Derrick started out in the bottom third of the race in the first 400 meters and worked his way up throughout the race.
Approaching the back hill the second time Fout made his move, pushing up the hill and putting some room between himself and the rest. Around the top plateau and back down the hill, Fout looked like a man on a mission, eyes glazed forward, never looking back. Fout was picked by very few people to finish in the top three and it seemed that lack of respect was driving him forward.
A few meters behind Fout came Derrick coasting the downhill, looking like he would catch Fout at any moment. The two Midwestern runners headed into the final 800 meters, each one pushing the pace as hard as they could. Both athletes gapped the rest of the field, both reaching deeper than ever before. Around the last turn the two athletes came, with Fout switching into his final gear and Derrick realizing that he could no longer catch Fout.
The crowd cheered loudly as Fout finished the race. When he crossed the line in 14:50 he seemed as though he had just finished a local invite back in Indiana. No cheering or celebrating, no clapping or hollering, just pure Midwestern satisfaction, knowing that he was the best on the day in the entire country.
Mike Fout (IN) racing to the finish, winning the boys title
(Photo by John Herzog)
Sprinting behind Fout came Chris Derrick, finishing in 14:57 and German Fernandez finishing third in 15:09. Colby Lowe and Luke Puskedra finished strong for 4-5, while Brandon Jarrett (NJ) and Kevin Havel (IL) used monster kicks to push past the competition and come home higher than expected. Donn Cabral (CT) struggled mightly over the last 200 meters finishing eighth, with the Midwest's Rob Finnerty (MN) and Maverick Darling (MI) finished 9-10 to give the Midwest five in the top ten.
With so many high profile athletes with so many accomplishments to their names, this season is far from over. Mike Fout proved to be the best cross country runner in the land, but you can expect the battles to continue deep into these athlete's senior years. What a great day for our sport. What a great day for the underdog from Indiana.