Dameworth Answers Challenge

Bryan Dameworth, the senior from Agoura High in Calabasas who has not lost a cross-country race this season, found himself facing an unlikely challenge from Andy Maris, a senior from Buckley, Wash., Saturday in the Kinney Nationals at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.

It was unlikely because Maris managed only a sixth-place finish in the Western regional last week and did not figure to push Dameworth.

“The whole time we were running together,” Dameworth said, “I was thinking that I got him in the regionals pretty good.”

Maris had something else on his mind--beating Dameworth. In fact, he had kept Dameworth in sight all week. Maris was right behind him in line for meals at the Hotel Del Coronado, or right next to him when they relaxed on the beach.

“I was focusing on him,” Maris said. “I was getting a mental image--if I kept him in sight during the week, then I could keep him in sight during the race. I kept telling myself, ‘I’m as good as him.’ ”

And Maris was Dameworth’s equal, at least until the last quarter mile. That’s when Maris ran into dire straights, and Dameworth cruised to a first-place finish in 14 minutes 49.9 seconds for the 5,000-meter course.

Actually, Maris heard some Dire Straights. All week long, he played the band’s Brothers In Arms tape on his Walkman.

And what song popped into his head with a quarter-mile to go? The Man’s Too Strong.

At that point, “I just lost my mental discipline,” Maris said. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s the best.’ And that’s not the way a competitor thinks. One negative thought just blew me away.”

Still, Maris wound up second in 15:00.9. Louie Quintana of Nipomo was third (15:10.0), Michael McWilliams of Grove City, Pa., fourth (15:10.7) and Stuart Henderson of McDonald, Ohio, fifth (15:10.9).

Martin Keino, son of Kip Keino, the former 1,500-meter world record holder who beat Jim Ryun in the 1968 Olympics, placed sixth at 15:13.0.