Beverly Hills’ Smith Has Made Strides

It’s fortunate for Noah Smith of Beverly Hills that he didn’t act on his first thought after his inaugural cross-country race.

If he had, the gregarious junior would not be one of the bright new faces on the Southern Section boys’ scene this season.

Smith ran his first cross-country race two years ago as a freshman at North High in Wichita, Kan., but immediately swore off the sport.

“I quit,” he said. “That’s what I told myself after the race because I couldn’t believe how much I was hurting. But then they announced my name afterward and I got to go up and get my cheesy medal and I was hooked.”

A lot has change for Smith.

He enrolled at Beverly Hills midway through his freshman year after moving to California with his mother and became serious about running last summer.

Smith was Beverly Hills’ No. 1 or 2 cross-country runner as a sophomore and ran a promising 4 minutes 26.39 seconds in the 1,600 meters in track, but he didn’t train consistently until last summer.

“He worked his tail off,” Coach Mitch Cohen said. “He decided that he wanted to be a better athlete and a better runner. He ran 40-45 miles a week and a lot of that was on hills.”

Smith is unbeaten in five races entering the Kenny Staub Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park in Glendale on Saturday.

Among his victories are wins in the Division II junior races of the Woodbridge and Dana Hills invitationals last month when he pulled away in the final mile.

“I’m just so much stronger in the last mile,” he said. “Last year, I was pathetic in the last mile. I was a wimp. I would be hurting and thinking, ‘When is it going to be over?’ I still hurt, but I know I can hold it.”

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On the rise: The Dana Point Dana Hills boys stunned many people with their 23-34 victory over Lake Forest El Toro in a dual meet on Wednesday, but Coach Tim Butler wasn’t surprised by the Dolphins’ victory.

El Toro beat Dana Hills in the Laguna Hills and Dana Hills invitationals last month, but the host Dolphins had five of the top seven finishers Wednesday.

“It’s all in our cycle of training,” Butler said.

“We’re out of our strength phase now and our legs are feeling fresher.”

On track: Senior Jazmin Treadway of Canyon Country Canyon is expected to run in the Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday.

Treadway missed the first Foothill League meet of the season last week because of soreness in a hamstring.