Wilson’s Destination Uncertain Despite His Speed

Newbury Park High senior Jeff Wilson appears to be a dream come true for the Brigham Young distance-running program.

He is an A-minus student and has scored more than 1,100 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. And perhaps most importantly, he is a devout Mormon who longs to be a Cougar.

On Saturday, he proved he is worthy of a scholarship to an NCAA Division I program, finishing second in the Kinney national cross-country championships at Morley Field in San Diego.

Wilson timed 15 minutes 18.7 seconds over the 5,000-meter course to finish behind Corey Ihmels (15:03.6) of Williston, N. D.

On Friday, Wilson had proved his devotion to his faith by paying a taxi driver $35 to take him to and from a Mormon church service in San Diego.

Still, BYU’s recruiting song remains the same.

Wilson is welcome to join the Cougars’ lair in the fall, but he’ll have to do it as a walk-on, which is is not economically feasible for Wilson.

After the season that Wilson completed Saturday, the Cougars might be missing a good prospect.

He won 11 of 13 races, and he finished second in the two meets (Kinney West regionals and nationals) he did not win. Among his victories were the Mt. San Antonio College individual sweepstakes race, the Ventura County championships, and the Southern Section and state Division III meets.

“I do need help,” said Wilson, the second of six children. “My family is not in position to send me (to an out-of-state school).”

If BYU holds pat on its stance and refuses to offer Wilson a scholarship, the Cougars will probably fail to land him. Schools such as Arkansas--the two-time defending Division I cross-country champion--Arizona, Northern Arizona, Oregon, Indiana, Notre Dame, Navy and California have shown interest in Wilson.

“I’m very interested in going to BYU,” Wilson said. “But I can’t go there for free. I’ll probably go where I can get a scholarship.”

Though it is common for elite high school distance runners to run an average of 70 or 80 miles a week, a huge week for Wilson this season was 50 miles, and a typical one was 30-35.

“I’ve never been one of those coaches who believes in high school kids running a lot of miles,” Newbury Park Coach Ed Lingelbach said. “You want them to improve in college and beyond, so I don’t have them run a ton of miles in high school.”

The lack of mileage did not seem to hurt Wilson on Saturday as he moved from sixth place to second in the last mile of the 5,000-meter race. “I’m happy with the way I ran,” Wilson said. “I feel like I ran about as well as I could. I finished up great and there were parts of the race where I couldn’t have gone any faster.”

Wilson’s second-place effort was the third-highest finish ever by a runner from the region. Only individual champions Eric Reynolds of Camarillo (1982) and Bryan Dameworth of Agoura (1989) placed better at the national meet, which began in 1979.

A powerful finishing kick has become Wilson’s trademark, and it was in evidence Saturday when he jetted from third to second in the final 150 meters, passing Brian Hesson of Elba, Ohio.

“He just has that ability to shift into that fifth gear,” Lingelbach said. “There are very few kids around who can do that.”

That extra gear will come in handy in the upcoming track and field season, during which Wilson will concentrate on the 1,600. “I love the (1,600),” he said. “It gets over quick. The 3,200 kind of gets annoying. Eight laps (around the track) can be excessive, but four laps is perfect. . . . I think I can run 4:09 or 4:10 if I get my speed down.”

A time like that might also force BYU’s hand, making the Cougars ante up some scholarship money or risk losing a runner who longs for Provo, Utah.