Starting Out, Reid Is Already Finishing First for Rio Mesa

With four victories, a third-place finish and a fourth in six cross-country races this season, Phillip Reid of Rio Mesa High has shown great promise at the start of his prep distance running career.

Reid won the freshman race of the season-opening Seaside Park Invitational at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on Sept. 10 and has since won the varsity boys’ division in the first two Pacific View League meets. But his most noteworthy statistic is his age.

Reid is 13 years old.

He will turn 14 Nov. 24, which is four days after the Southern Section championships at Mt. San Antonio College and three days before the state finals at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Reid’s chances of advancing to the state Division I final would appear to be slim, but the 5-foot-8, 110-pound Spartan has a legitimate shot at qualifying for the section Division I final.

“That’s been one of his goals since the start of the season,” said boys’ Coach Jeff Wrout of Rio Mesa. “He really wants to make it to [the section] final, hopefully with the team, but if not, as an individual.”

Wrout, in his seventh season at Rio Mesa, knew of Reid’s accomplishments at the youth level last summer, but it wasn’t until Reid won the first Pacific View meet at Mission Oaks Park in Camarillo on Sept. 22 that Wrout decided to run him on the varsity all season.

“He was far and away our best guy,” Wrout said that meet. “I just felt like he belonged at the varsity level and I think he felt that way too.”

Reid, who attributes a lot of his success to “my coaches and teammates,” began running when he was 6 and became “serious” about it when he was 10.

He ran 9:40 in the 3,000 meters when he was 12 and clocked 9:32.10 to finish second in the youth division (ages 13-14) of the USA Track & Field Junior Olympics in Omaha, Neb., on July 29.

He had solid early-season workouts, but his competitiveness and racing abilities have amazed Wrout.

“It’s not to say that he doesn’t work hard [in practice],” Wrout said. “But you get the kid in a race and he’s a totally different runner. . . . He’s the most competitive runner I’ve coached and he’s extremely intelligent for someone who’s so young. He doesn’t go out too hard. He paces himself well and he’s very good about knowing when to make a move in a race.”

That was evident in the second Pacific View meet at Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura last week.

Reid trailed senior Shad Hopkins and sophomore Brandon Lucero of Camarillo for two miles before pulling away from Hopkins and Lucero.

“I’m really anxious to see what he can do [in the Mt. SAC Invitational] on Saturday and in the Ventura County championships [at Lake Casitas in Ojai on Oct. 29],” Wrout said. “He’s not in the class of guys like [Josh Spiker of Ventura, Mark Nevers of Oak Park and Jason Lanning of Buena], but I think he can be in that second group of guys in the county meet.”

The prospect of going against the top high school runners in Ventura County doesn’t intimidate Reid.

“I really don’t give it much thought,” he said. “I’m sure that if a really, really fast guy beats me, I can say to myself that he’s older than me and he’s had more time to train. But I don’t worry about it.”

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Senior Germain Ortiz of Monroe is even younger for his grade level than Reid.

Ortiz, who ran a career best of 9:53.62 to finish sixth in the 3,200 in the City Section track and field championships in May, recently turned 16.

“It’s too bad he’s a senior,” Coach Dean Balzarett said. “Because he’s a very talented kid. You give him another year and he’d really be something.”

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Junior Whitney Phillips of Hart, third in the Foothill League girls’ final last year, will miss the rest of the season because of a hip injury.

Phillips was Hart’s No. 3 runner in the Ojai Invitational on Sept. 18, but hadn’t raced since then.

“I think [Whitney] wanted some time to step back and reassess where she wants to go with her running,” Coach Larry David said.

The loss of Phillips will hurt Hart’s depth, but the Indians can win the Foothill title with a victory in the league final at Griffith Park on Nov. 4.

Hart, Saugus and four-time defending champion Canyon are tied for first place after Saugus’ victory in the second league meet.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Top 10

Rankings of region cross-country teams

BOYS

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RK LW School (League) 1 1 Oak Park (Tri-Valley) 2 2 Canyon (Foothill) 3 3 Ventura (Channel) 4 5 Nordhoff (Frontier) 5 4 Burroughs (Foothill) 6 6 Agoura (Marmonte) 7 7 Camarillo (Pacific View) 8 8 Buena (Channel) 9 9 Newbury Park (Marmonte) 10 10 Saugus (Foothill)

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GIRLS

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RK LW School (League) 1 1 La Canada (Rio Hondo) 2 2 Westlake (Marmonte) 3 3 Nordhoff (Frontier) 4 7 Ventura (Channel) 5 NR Saugus (Foothill) 6 9 Hart (Foothill) 7 8 Canyon (Foothill) 8 NR Royal (Marmonte) 9 4 Agoura (Marmonte) 10 10 Louisville (Mission)

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