Injury Puts Spiker Out Rest of Season in Cross-Country

Josh Spiker of Ventura High said Thursday he had a feeling of relief when an MRI on Tuesday revealed he had a stress fracture in his lower right leg and would have to miss the rest of the cross-country season.

The anger came a week and a half earlier when Spiker first suspected a stress fracture might be the cause of the pain he first felt in his knee while warming down after a course-record effort in the Ventura County Championships at Lake Casitas in Ventura on Oct. 29.

“In a way, it was a relief knowing what it was,” Spiker said. “I wanted to know if I could keep running or not, and the MRI kind of made it simple. I had to take some time off.”

The injury, which kept Spiker out of the Channel League final last week, will prevent him from running for at least six weeks and is in the same general area as the stress fracture he sustained as a freshman.

The injury cuts short a superb senior season in which he won six of seven races by an average of 47 seconds and established himself as a contender for the national championships at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Dec. 11.

His biggest victory came in the individual sweepstakes race of the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational on Oct. 23 when Spiker’s 14:42 clocking over the hilly 2.95-mile layout came within 10 seconds of the course record set by Jeff Nelson of Burbank in 1978, moved him to sixth on the all-time course performer list and was the fastest run since 1990.

That effort might have started the stress fracture in Spiker’s tibia because his legs took a pounding on the three downhill sections of the course. He won his second consecutive Ventura County title six days later with a course record of 14:53 over the three-mile layout at Lake Casitas, but that course also had some steep down-hills.

“My coach thinks those two races did it,” Spiker said. “Mt. SAC kind of opened it up and Lake Casitas finished it.”

A recently discovered muscle imbalance in the area around Spiker’s right hip and a hard workout three days after Mt. SAC might have contributed to the injury, according to Coach Bill Tokar of Ventura.

The injury won’t jeopardize Spiker’s scholarship to Wisconsin or his upcoming track season. Spiker hopes to break 4:07 in the 1,600 meters and 8:50 in the 3,200, and defend his state title in the 3,200.

“I’m just really disappointed for [Josh] and also for everyone who has been so supportive of him,” Tokar said. “You can’t help but feel that you let everyone down as a coach.”

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ABRUPT FINISH

Josh Spiker of Ventura High won six of seven cross-country races before his season was ended by a stress fracture in his lower right leg.

A closer look at his season:

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Sept. 11

Morro Bay Invitational

Finished: 1st

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Sept. 22

Channel League Meet No. 1

Finished: 1st

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Sept. 25

Blue Lagoon Invitational

Finished: 1st

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Oct. 2

Stanford Invitational

Finished: 2nd

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Oct. 14

Channel League Meet No. 2

Finished: 1st

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Oct. 23

Mt. SAC Invitational

Finished: 1st

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Oct. 29

Ventura Championships

Finished: 1st