Post-West Regional comments from Shadrack Kiptoo, Mohamed Trafeh, Galen Rupp, Stuart Eagon, Evan Garber, Mark Matusak and Alex Dunn
By Eric Richey

Shadrack Kiptoo
We spoke with Kenyan Shadrack Kiptoo of Albuquerque, New Mexico, immediately following his victory in the Foot Locker West Regional on December 6th. Kiptoo ran in the lead pack throughout the race before comfortably accelerating away from the competition over the last 300m, thus backing up the hype and stamping himself as a legitimate contender — and possible the favorite — for the national championship December 13th in San Diego.

On how the race unfolded:
"The race was pretty good. It was a tough course, but if you're ready for it, you will do great. But if you're not ready for it, then you will be hurting bad."

On his health after struggling with minor injuries earlier in the fall:
"It's not yet cleared up. I am still having a knee problem and today, when I was running, I was feeling some pain so I didn't want to go really hard. I just sat at the back of those guys in front and pushed a little bit in the last stretch."

On the intensity of his effort:
"I think I ran about 80% today."

On his goals for the national meet:
"I can't tell now. Time will tell."

Mohamed Trafeh
Mohamed Trafeh, a senior from Duarte, California, finished second in 15:35 — to Kiptoo's 15:32 — on the challenging Mt. SAC 5k course. Trafeh will be making his second trip to the National Finals; he finished seventh in San Diego a year ago.

On his comfort level:
"It felt very comfortable. The first mile was passed in 4:45 — the same time as last year, but it felt a little bit easier. We pushed the hills and relaxed a little bit on the downhills. It felt relaxed the whole race and the best eight guys made it."

On whether he felt any pressure after his seventh-place national finish a year ago:
"No I had no pressure. I don't really put any pressure on myself. I just go out there and run and whatever happens, happens. I just do my best"

On how much energy he expended in the regional:
"I can't give you a percentage, but I didn't run all-out. It felt good and comfortable."

On his aspirations for Nationals:
"Next week will be different. I'll have to go for it. Today, I just saved it for next week to try to stay fresh. Next week I will do my best."

Galen Rupp
Third-place finisher Galen Rupp is a senior at Central Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon. He will be making his second trip to Nationals.

On controlling the pace early:
"I felt really good. I just wanted to try to stay out of trouble and do what I did last year and make sure I qualified again."

On his effort level:
"I wasn't trying to go all-out this week because we only have a week to recover. I was trying to save myself as much as possible, but that's hard to do. You always have to run hard when there's this many tough guys in the race."

On how competing internationally on the track last summer has elevated his running:
"I think that has helped me the most out of everything. The experience of running against so many great guys who are so much better than me was really valuable. Seeing what they are able to do at the same young age just humbles you and makes you want to work that much harder so you can compete with them."

On his health this fall:
"It's been going well. I've stayed healthy all year. I haven't gotten sick a lot, which has been a problem for me in the past. I am feeling good and my legs are feeling good so I think I'll be ready to go next Saturday."

On the series of form drills he performed for about 15-20 minutes after the race under the watchful eye of his coach, Alberto Salazar:
"We do those before and after every workout. Some of them are flexibility ones and others help with your form, like getting your knees up. It teaches your body to remember good sprinting form."

On his goals for next week:
"I just want to run well. I think I have a chance of winning, but there's so many good guys this year and it's wide open. I just have to run my best and give 100% and hopefully it will work out.

On his plans for the future:
"I haven't decided yet. I haven't really thought about it."

Stuart Eagon
Stuart Eagon is a senior at Beaverton High School in Portland, Oregon. He finished fourth at the West Regional in 15:38.

On his race:
"It was an interesting race. My plan was just to get in the top group from the start, stay there, and run hard, especially at the top of the hills. [I wanted to] continue pushing into the start of the downhills. I was leading at the top of Reservoir Hill (at 2.5 miles).

On his height (he stands about 6'5'') and his approach to the hills:
"It's kind of uncharacteristic. A tall guy should really run well on the downhills and not as well on the uphills, but every uphill today, I was running really well and that was my strength today."

On his season up until this point:
"My training has been going really well the last couple weeks. I had a tough State Meet. I was hoping to challenge Galen Rupp for the win, and I just didn't have it on that day. We just had to be optimistic after that and get back into good training and focus on the Border Clash and this meet, and it's worked out great."

On his friendly cross-town rivalry with third-place finisher, Galen Rupp:
"Galen and I train a lot together and we're good friends. He's a great guy. Everybody wants to be sure to qualify today, but you hit the track and there's no reason not to go for it, so when I saw him up ahead, I tried to go after him, but I couldn't quite catch Galen."

On his college plans:
"I haven't decided yet. I'm going to hopefully make some more visits over the off-season. I've visited Oregon already. I'm mainly interested in Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Villanova, and University of Portland in town. I didn't sign early with Oregon because I thought I needed to put a lot more thought into it."

On his goals for Nationals:
"I just want to have fun down there. I want to get in there and compete near the front of the pack. I've been in a lot of national-class races on the track. That's my plan — to get in the top group and do the best I can."

Evan Garber
Evan Garber is a senior at Mead High School in Spokane, Washington. He finished fifth at the West Regional in 15:42 and will be a first-time Finalist.

On his race:
"I felt pretty good. I had a stomach ache at the top of Poop-Out Hill, but I just really got into the race and ignored all the pain. I started out in about 10th place, but I gradually slipped back to about 25th. I just tried to maintain my position on the uphills and move up and pass guys on the flats and downhills. I was in ninth going down Reservoir Hill, with about a half-mile left, when David Kinsella (who was in 8th) fell, so I knew I just had to go and I kept passing people and ended up 5th."

On the confidence derived from the tradition established in the Mead High School program under Coach Pat Tyson:
"Knowing all the guys who have made it to (Foot Locker) Nationals from Mead in the past 15 years, it's great. I think we've had like 10 guys make it to the Finals. It's just expected, I guess."

On his training this fall:
"I run about 60 miles a week. I'm just really confident from all the workouts we've done. I've trained so hard for the past two or three years with the help of Coach Tyson. We go to a lot of big meets, which has also really helped my confidence grow."

On his college plans:
"I'm not sure yet. I'm looking at a few schools all over. I'm hoping to get some more calls after this race today."

On his goals for Nationals:
"I just want to have a good race and put it all on the line. It's the last cross country race of my high school career."

Mark Matusak
Mark Matusak, a junior from Torrance, California, finished sixth in 15:44 and will make his first trip to Nationals.

On how the race developed:
"I wanted to get out fast to avoid getting bumped around. I was probably around 15th place in the first mile, right behind Shadrack Kiptoo. I knew if I was there, I would be in good position. I moved up into the top eight on the hills and by Poop-Out Hill (about 1.7 miles), the top eight had kind of broken off. I was counting guys to make sure I was in a good position. I wanted to stay comfortable without having to do too much so I looked back as we got to the track (with 250m to go) so there wouldn't be any surprises."

On being the only junior in the boys' race to qualify for Nationals:
"It's awesome — knowing that you get to go and have this experience. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Hopefully twice in a lifetime (laughs). I'm excited to go and hang out with the high-caliber runners that will be there."

On the ankle brace he wore during the race:
"I twisted my ankle back at the Mt. SAC invite in October, and it's still a little tender, so I just wear it for precaution. After the season, I'll get it healed back to full strength. It didn't really give me much trouble during the race."

On his goals for Nationals:
"I'm just looking at getting in the top 10. I want to make sure I'm with the leaders with about a mile to go. I don't want to get caught back in the second pack. I'm just going to go out and have fun and see what I can do. I just want to thank everyone who supported me. My coaches did a great job of getting me ready."

Alex Dunn
Alex Dunn, a senior at San Lorenzo Valley High School in Santa Cruz, California, finished seventh in 15:45 and will be making his first trip to the Foot Locker National Finals.

On the early stages of the race:
"Coming into the race, I wasn't really motivated. I just wanted to finish in the top 20. I kind of wanted my season to end, in a way. I wanted to get out fast and I did. I was in the top 15 or so and I was feeling good the first mile. I relaxed going up the Switchbacks and then really took off on the downhill and was passing people. I relaxed again up Poop-Out Hill and tried to use the downhills as much as possible on the backside. I was moving up to about 10th or so, but I still wasn't in it mentally. I still didn't think I really had a chance of qualifying."

On his huge finish, which saw him move all the way up to seventh after being in 10th, 25-30m behind the eighth-place runner as they approached the track with 300m to go:
"I saw the guys up ahead with about 400m to go and I said 'Why not?' I started going and then I saw the track, and I love the track, so I just took off and passed them and made it all the way up to seventh. That was definitely my best finish ever."

On his training:
"I ran about 50 miles a week all fall, and now tapered down to 30-40 in the last few weeks."

On his college plans:
"I signed early with Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo. I am planning on studying civil engineering there. I'm very excited about it."

Goals for next week:
"None — just run. Even if I finished 32nd, I'd still be happy. For right now I am just going to enjoy it, and once I'm down in San Diego, I'll figure out what I want to do."