Distance Runners Take Spotlight : Prep track: Venice High’s talented Danny Jordan will be challenged in the 1,600 meters by up-and coming Brian Gastelum in City meet.

Spectators at the City Section track finals usually come to watch the state’s premiere sprinters battle each other and the clock.

Rarely has the crowd been treated to talented distance runners. At least, however, until this season.

With the City finals only a week away, a battle is brewing in the 1,600-meter run between the established Danny Jordan of Venice High and up-and-coming challenger Brian Gastelum of Birmingham.

The two seniors won their respective heats last week in the preliminaries and will run in separate races again today in the semifinals. All of the competition is being held at Birmingham.

Jordan has established himself as one of the top milers in the nation. His 1,600-meter time of 4 minutes, 10.8 seconds ranks as third best in the state and among the top five in the country. He has lost only twice this season and has a strong kick.

Jordan, 18, has been getting a lot of attention from college coaches.

“What’s about to happen to me in the next month represents three years of very hard work,” Jordan said. “The success just didn’t happen all of a sudden. I’ve been running like crazy to get into this situation. I may never be in this position again.”

Anticipating increased competition on the college level, Jordan knows this might be his last chance to shine among the country’s elite runners.

Beginning May 24 with the City finals, Jordan kicks off the most important racing month of his career. The City finals will be followed by the state meet at Cerritos College. He will then compete in the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, the Keebler Invitational in Chicago, and the TAC Jr. Nationals in Fresno.

By the end of June, Jordan should know if his name belongs among the leaders.

But what might be more impressive than Jordan’s schedule of meets is the progress he’s made in a short time. Although his father, Jim Jordan, was a successful miler at Crescenta Valley in the early 1960s and later coached track for several years at Glendale, Danny didn’t take up the sport until he was a sophomore.

He tried out for the cross-country team at Venice, and was an instant success by winning the sophomore City championship. Although Jordan continued with cross-country the next two years, the mile became his favorite event.

“When Danny first came to Venice I knew nothing about him,” said Chris Hieatt, Jordan’s cross-country and track coach the past three years. “But the first day he got on the track I knew he was very talented. He was totally inexperienced, but he had a great stride and natural speed. Those are things you normally can’t coach.”

Jordan said he was immediately attracted to the mile because he felt comfortable with the distance.

Hieatt, in his seventh year at Venice, was careful not to bring Jordan along too quickly. Hieatt started Jordan off by running him 35 miles a week as a sophomore, 45 miles a week as a junior and 55 as a senior, when Jordan started training year-round.

The progress has been noticeable. As a sophomore, Jordan ran a personal best of 4:22.0 and finished fifth in the City. He qualified for the state meet but didn’t place. He won City as a junior, improving his time to 4:16.0, but finished eighth at the state meet after battling a cold the week before.

This season he has won the 1,500 meters at the Alemany Invitational in 3:57.0 and the 1,600 meters at the Pasadena Games in 4:13.0. His performance at the Pasadena Games earned him athlete of the meet honors.

Jordan finished second in both the 1,500 at the Mount San Antonio College Invitational (3:52.2) and in the 1,600 at the Arcadia Invitational in a personal best of 4:10.8. Surprisingly, it was Gastelum who beat him at Arcadia with a 4:09.87. It was Gastelum’s first victory against Jordan in 10 attempts and established the second-best time in the state this season.

The two have not raced against each other since Arcadia, making their anticipated City final showdown more attractive.

“I predict a very close race,” said Gastelum, who finished second in the 1,600 at the City finals last season. “I’ve always believed I was as good as Danny, but I guess it was just more of a mental thing. He’s been such a dominating runner.

“Right now I’m just concentrating on getting a good strategy to beat him. The thing about us is that we both like to let someone else set the pace. Danny likes to follow me and then kick it in during the stretch. I can’t let him do it this time.”

Since there are no other notable challengers in the City, Gastelum and Jordan likely will be battling each other to see who sets the pace. Jordan has adopted a style of hanging in the back of the pack and making his move with about 500 meters to go.

“Danny has always had that great natural speed,” Jim Jordan said. “But now he has the strength to use that speed. Instead of making his move with 300 meters to go, he makes it with 500 meters. It’s a thing of beauty to watch.”

Jordan was 5-foot-10 and 145 pounds as a sophomore, but has grown to 6-0 and 160 this season. He’s spending more time in the weight room and his physique shows it.

Hieatt said Jordan could run several races well, from a 400 meters to a 3,200. Jordan ran the 3,200 most of the season, but scratched during last week’s preliminaries to concentrate on the 1,600.

Jordan has taken recruiting visits to UCLA, Notre Dame and Southern Methodist. Iowa State also has shown interest, but Jordan appears to be leaning toward SMU. He said he plans to make a decision “any day now.”

Few people are more proud of his accomplishments than his father. Jim, who placed second in the mile with a 4:16.0 at the Southern Section championships in 1963, always wanted his son to run track but never pushed him. Even when he saw Danny’s potential, he kept his opinions to himself.

Danny played tennis and ran track during the spring of his sophomore year, but decided to give up tennis in favor of track. Jim has regular training discussions with Hieatt, and said the two have a great working relationship.

“My role has been one more of offering advice and giving encouragement,” Jim said. “And that encouragement is coming from someone with a lot of experience in the sport.”

Danny said his biggest goal now is to block out all distractions and devote his full attention to track.

“Everything is about to all come together,” he said. “It is payoff time, and I want to win City and state. Deep in my heart, I know it’s very possible to do both. I just have to try and remember that.”