Herman Surged Toward Finish Line

He won only three of 13 cross-country races in 1997 and had a losing record against one of his teammates, yet no runner from the region performed at a higher level in the last half of the season than senior Dusty Herman of Nordhoff High.

Because of that, Herman has been selected The Times’ Valley-Ventura County region boys’ runner of the year.

Although senior teammate Victor Ochoa finished ahead of Herman in eight of the 11 races in which they ran against each other, Herman had a 3-2 record against Ochoa over the last half of the season.

Included in that stretch was a victory in the Division IV sweepstakes race of the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational on Oct. 24, a victory in the Ventura County championships at Lake Casitas on Oct. 31 and a stunning second-place finish in the West regionals at Woodward Park in Fresno on Dec. 6.

Herman’s runner-up finish in the West regional put him 30 places ahead of Ochoa and came a week after he placed fourth in the Division IV final of the state championships at Woodward Park.

Although his performance in that race--coupled with the 2-3 finish of Ochoa and teammate Matthew Torres--helped Nordhoff win the Division IV title, his time only tied him for 31st among competitors in the meet’s five divisions.

Undaunted, the gutsy Herman took the lead at the one-mile mark of the West regional, was in second place at two miles and surged into the lead with a quarter-mile left before being passed by senior Steve Smith of Chino Hills Ayala in the final 100 meters of the 5,000-meter event.

“The West regional was my biggest race,” said Herman, a two-time all-region selection. “I knew I had to finish in the top eight to make it to nationals or the season was over. I didn’t run as well at nationals as I did at regionals, but I gave it my best shot. The guys that beat me were just better than me that day.”

Herman’s 18th-place effort on a rain-soaked course at the national championships in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., fell short of his goal of a top-seven finish.

But he wasn’t totally disappointed.

“I basically had the dream season of anyone,” Herman said. “I love cross-country and I made it as far as you can go in my senior year.”

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How Dusty Herman Fared This Season

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Date Meet Finish Sept. 13 Morro Bay Invitational 3rd Sept. 20 Ojai Invitational (small schools) 3rd Sept. 27 Blue Lagoon Invitational 2nd Oct. 1 Frontier League No. 1 2nd Oct. 11 Clovis Invitational (large schools) 3rd Oct. 14 Frontier League No. 2 2nd Oct. 24 Mt. SAC Division IV sweepstakes 1st Oct. 31 Ventura County championships 1st Nov. 15 Southern Section Division IV prelims 1st Nov. 22 Southern Section Division IV finals 3rd Nov. 29 State Division IV finals 4th Dec. 6 West regionals 2nd Dec. 13 National championships 18th

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