3. Boys 3000m And Mile
Just like the girls distance races, the boys add some fiery races, too.
Camas (WA) High junior Daniel Maton, the younger brother of University of Oregon graduate Ashley Maton and Ducks junior Matthew Maton, is heading into the most important juncture in his career.
He's coming off an outdoor season where he bested 1:51.48 in the 800m and finished eighth at Brooks PR. He also ran 4:10.64 in the mile and could offer a great national performance here. Maton is the guy to watch in the mile, though Wilson (OR) High's Alex Slenning, who's the favorite in the 3000m, will be on his tail as well.
Five runners enter with seed times under 4:20.
In the 3000m, Slenning will have the upper hand, considering he finished third in this same race last year in 8:44.24. He may be disappointed by a fifth-place finish at outdoor states in 8:41.09 -- because he owns a PR of 8:26.41 -- and so look for Slenning to get after it in this race.
Slenning will have some good competition, including Maton and Gig Harbor junior Bradley Peloquin, who had an extremely good cross country season where he was the lead stick for his team. Peloquin has run 8:44.43 outdoors in the 3000m, too.