South Eugene junior Yosuke Shibata marked himself as a top contender in 6A boys cross country with his performance in the prestigious Nike Portland XC Danner Championships race Friday at Blue Lake Park in Fairview.
Shibata finished runner-up by four seconds to senior Conor Lott of Clovis North (Calif.) in 14:38.20, a personal best by nearly 15 seconds. More notably, he edged Sheldon senior Malachi Schoenherr – the reigning 6A champion – for second place by two-tenths of a second.
“It wasn't a surprise to me,” South Eugene coach Jeff Hess said of Shibata's effort. “His training indicated that he was ready to run that fast and run that competitively against a very good field. It was nice to see.”
It was Shibata's first cross country win against Schoenherr, a Southwest Conference rival. Last season, he was district runner-up to Schoenherr by 14 seconds. Shibata placed 18th in the 6A championships, 43 seconds behind Schoenherr.
Shibata's time Friday was 45 seconds faster than last year at the Danner Championships, when he placed 23rd. In that race, he finished 10 seconds behind Schoenherr (15th).
“I knew I had something great in store for me today,” Shibata told DyeStat. “I had a bunch of solid workouts.”
Shibata bolted to the front at the start and led for the first two miles. He was unable to hold off Lott, who passed him in the last 200 meters, but had enough to turn back Schoenherr at the finish line.
“I was like, 'I might as well see how fast I can go,' just leading from the start to the finish, and that's what I did,” Shibata told DyeStat.
Hess said Shibata didn't expect to lead the race.
“He likes to run in front, but he didn't really anticipate being there immediately,” Hess said. “It kind of felt like once he was there, it was up to him to keep the pressure on. He did that very well. He ran a bold, tough race.”
In the 6A track meet last spring, Shibata took third in the 800 and sixth in the 1,500. He beat Schoenherr for the district title in the 1,500 but finished two places behind Schoenherr at state.
Friday's race shows that a state title could be within reach for Shibata.
“That would be huge,” he told DyeStat. “I've always wanted to win a state championship. I always kind of think of myself as a 1,500-meter runner. Doing this good in 5K is pretty surprising to me.”
It was Shibata's third race this season. He finished second in the 6A/5A division at The Ultimook Race on Sept. 6 at Hydrangea Ranch, 10 seconds behind Thurston senior Carson Buergey. He won the Oregon City Invitational on Sept. 13 at Clackamas Community College.
Shibata has the No. 3 time in the state this season behind Jesuit senior Kellen Williams (14:28.1) and Schoenherr (14:34.0).
Hess said that Shibata's strength is the breadth of his range. He has good speed – running a sub-50 split on the 4x400 relay – and showed Friday that he can sustain it over a longer distance.
“All of the pieces are there,” Hess said. “He's fast, he's strong, he's got a great engine. He's got a really great tolerance to work. He's very competitive.
“He's not in a huge worry to rush into it, so he's able to keep himself healthy. He understands it's an incremental process.”
Add Danner Championships
Crater junior Brynn Davenport was the top Oregon finisher in the Danner Championships girls race, taking third place in 17:32.0. Senior Emry Schwalm of Heritage (Colo.) won in 16:56.5.
Davenport improved on her previous personal best of 17:39.8. She has the No. 1 time in 5A this season and is third overall in the state behind two 6A runners – Lincoln junior Ellery Lincoln (16:28.5) and North Salem senior Nelida Dalgas (16:53.0).
Davenport came back Saturday to win the Rogue XC Invitational at Colver Sports Fields in Talent. She clocked 19:52.64 to beat sophomore teammate Mari Dunlap (20:02.98).
jerryu@osaa.org
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