All-Area Boys’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Flintridge Prep’s Van Scoter powers way to state’s top mark

For four years, senior Jack Van Scoter had a common designation among his track and field peers.

The distance runner was the kid who ran for small-school Flintridge Prep, an academic institution with an enrollment of 410, according to figures from the CIF Southern Section office.

Van Scoter was the athlete from the friendly Prep League and often forgotten Division IV.

In other words, Van Scoter was the small feel-good story, the polite little engine that could.

“When they hear Flintridge Prep, some of the athletes from the bigger schools might not take you seriously,” Van Scoter said. “And sometimes they wonder why you’re not at a bigger school. When you get that vibe or those questions, all you can do is go out and show them who you are. That’s always been a motivating factor for me.”

Many of those references and viewpoints changed on the evening of April 9 at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational.

Van Scoter competed in an absolutely loaded field of the invitational 3,200-meter run that included 29 other athletes.

Though Van Scoter started slow and was 13th through two laps, the senior rallied and took third with an incredible personal-best and school-record time of 8 minutes, 51.32 seconds.

Van Scoter was only bested by Utah American Fork High’s Casey Clinger (8:50.70) and Illinois Fithian’s Jon Davis (8:51.17).

What that meant was that not only did Van Scoter turn in a breakthrough effort, but the distance runner finished first among all California runners with what eventually ended up being the Golden State’s No. 1 mark throughout the season.

“I’m not sure there was a prouder moment for Jack this season,” Flintridge Prep distance coach Scott Jung said. “The guy really worked hard this year and had some big goals. One goal was to get under nine minutes and when he hit that time, it was amazing.”

While Van Scoter went on to have a wonderful league campaign and postseason, it’s this effort that led the Georgetown University-bound athlete en route to being named the 2016 All-Area Boys’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year as voted by the sportswriters of the La Cañada Valley Sun, Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader.

Van Scoter had previously been named the 2014 and 2015 Cross-Country Runner of the Year and is the second straight Rebel to win the track and field award as he follows pole vaulter Barrett Weiss.

“I thank the guys before me for the guidance they gave,” Van Scoter said. “I came into a fantastic program and was a sophomore when Alan Yoho and Aaron Sugimoto were the leaders. I learned from those guys and just tried my best to improve.”

This past season, Van Scoter competed in five events, but was most serious in the 1,600 and 3,200 and set school records in both.

In the 1,600, Van Scoter captured the Louis Zamperini (4:19.65) and Redondo Invitational (4:14.17) titles, while the two-sport star also won the Redondo Invitational and UCLA Legends Meets 3,200 titles in 9:09.75 and 8:59.61, respectively.

It was at UCLA on April 1 when Van Scoter turned in a ridiculous 3,200 time of 8:59.61, which marked the senior’s first-ever breech of the 9-minute mark.

“It was a great moment,” Van Scoter said. “Here I am, this Prep League guy from this school that most people have never heard of and I was able to get under nine minutes. It’s something you work for for years and appreciate.

Success at UCLA led to further achievement at Arcadia, which led to a couple of questions.

“I think we were wondering how far Jack could keep it going and if he could duplicate Arcadia,” Jung said.

Twenty days after Arcadia, Van Scoter began his postseason assault at the Prep League finals, the setting he was most well-known.

On a steamy Friday evening on April 29, Van Scoter closed out his final league competition by winning the 1,600 and 3,200 crowns in 4:20.42 and 9:18.06, respectively.

Though Van Scoter claimed two of his team’s seven titles that night, he spent most of his interview time praising his teammates, as Flintridge Prep finished second in league behind Pasadena Poly.

“I’m really going to miss Jack because he’s an absolute class act,” Flintridge Prep boys’ cross-country Coach Ingrid Herskind said. “I think what made Jack special was his tremendous humility. Even when he’s clearly the best athlete on the field, he’s always trying to get others involved and he’s always motivating his teammates. He really gets it.”

From the Prep League finals, Van Scoter headed to the CIF Southern Section Division IV prelims in Carpinteria, where he finished first in the 1,600 (4:12.92) and 3,200 (9:08.49).

Though Van Scoter continued to pick up victories, his marks hadn’t yet climbed to within striking distance of the UCLA Legends Meet, let alone Arcadia.

“I never thought that I wouldn’t get back to 8:51 or 8:52 or 8:59,” Van Scoter said, “but I also hadn’t got back there, so that was on my mind.”

At the Division IV championships at Cerritos College on May 21, Van Scoter was again in his own world.

He breezed to victory in the 1,600 in a time of 4:13.90. The only setback from that event was that Van Scoter finished 13th overall between all four divisions and missed the cut to the following week’s Masters Meet.

That bit of bad news was heaped upon Van Scoter before a challenging 3,200 competition, in which runners from Division II and IV were combined.

Even with the tougher field, Van Scoter still captured the Division IV 3,200 title in 9:01.81, which was the third-best mark in any division.

“Most of us knew that it was going to be our last event of the year, but it was still great being out there, rooting on Jack,” Flintridge Prep junior Jonathan Valhala said. “He always had our backs, so we always had his.”

At the Masters Meet at Cerritos College on May 27, maybe Van Scoter raced his most relaxed all season knowing he only had one competition.

In the 3,200, the Rebels’ top runner returned to form with a mark of 8:52.88, which was second-best out of all runners, advanced Van Scoter to the CIF State Meet and was the first sub-9 minute mark since Arcadia.

Unlike in most other competitions, qualifying to the state meet in the 3,200 meant automatic advancement to the finals on June 4.

With one race and only one day left in the high school season, Van Scoter embarked on a 440-mile round trip to smoldering Clovis, where day-time temperatures topped off at 108 degrees.

The heat coincided with Van Scoter’s scorching hot start to the evening race, where the senior led through six laps.

Unfortunately, over the final 200 meters, Van Scoter started to slow before ultimately placing fifth in state with a mark of 8:55.60.

The final result was bittersweet.

“I’m disappointed that I didn’t do better,” Van Scoter said. “At the same time, had you told me that I would have finished in the top five at state when the season started, I would have hugged you because I wouldn’t have believed it.

“I think I was so fixated on matching my Arcadia time that I almost didn’t realize how well I did.”

While the season officially ended, Van Scoter wanted one last opportunity to run and got it with an invitation to the Brooks PR Invitational on June 18 in Renton, Wash.

In that competition, Van Scoter placed ninth nationally with a time of 8:53.98, while posting a personal-best 3,000-meter mark of 8:21.84.

“You always want to go out strong and I feel like I did that,” Van Scoter said. “When this year started, I was this guy from a little school out there competing. To get under nine minutes, to post the state’s best time, to run with the big boys, it’s really special.”