Birmingham freshman Ryan Alexander is a special running talent

Ryan Alexander is a 14-year-old freshman at Lake Balboa Birmingham who is so small that he could fit in his school locker. He wears size 5 shoes, stands 4 feet 11 and weighs 85 pounds.

“I don’t think people stop and say, ‘Boy, look at that kid. He must be an athlete,’ ” cross country Coach Scott King said.

Underestimate Alexander if you like, but he can probably outrun any football player going three miles or longer.

“When he trains, you can tell right away he’s a special talent,” King said.

Alexander was a national age-group cross country champion last year as an eighth-grader. He won the freshman race at the Seaside Invitational this month and finished second in the freshman race at the Mt. Carmel Invitational in 16 minutes 27 seconds.

King is going to have him running on varsity and thinks he can finish in the top five spots in the City Section, and who knows what might happen come November if Alexander gets stronger and starts his growth spurt.

“You rarely see a ninth-grader on a good team run varsity, and there have been very few kids that help their own teams on the varsity level, let alone be a good individual, but I think he has a chance,” King said. “He’s an outstanding hill runner. He’s already a special cross-country runner.”

It’s not as if Alexander showed up at Birmingham as an unknown. His father, Jerry, was a cross-country runner at Birmingham in the early 1970s. His mother, Adele, has run marathons. Alexander’s twin older brothers, Wade and Dylan, ran for the Patriots, and everyone has been raving about the youngest in a family of runners.

“I just try my best and hope I get to the finish line running as hard as I can,” Alexander said.

King’s biggest concern is dealing with an expected growth spurt. Dylan finished fourth in the City as a junior but didn’t run as a senior because of a series of injuries that weren’t helped by him growing about eight inches in a year and a half.

“I do worry he’s going to grow, and when you grow that fast, you have to keep up the strength,” King said.

Added Alexander: “I’m looking forward to growing. I’m hoping I don’t grow as fast as Dylan did, just make it more gradual.”

Teammates can be found resting their arms on Alexander’s shoulders when standing and listening to a lecture by King. Others find themselves rubbing his head. He’s someone who easily fits in, makes friends and loves to work hard and become better.

“I just want to keep running,” he said. “I love it.”

Volleyball showdown

Two of the top teams in Southern Section Division 1AA girls’ volleyball, Redondo and Santa Ana Mater Dei, face off Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Redondo. Los Alamitos is ranked No. 1.

Is it luck?

Last season, Westlake Village Oaks Christian rallied from a 19-0 deficit to defeat Ventura St. Bonaventure in overtime, 33-32. Oaks Christian Coach Bill Redell said it was one of his most fortunate wins.

On Friday night, St. Bonaventure was making a furious fourth-quarter comeback against Oaks Christian and trailed, 27-24, when the stadium lights went out for 22 minutes and stopped its momentum. Oaks Christian ended up winning, 36-24.

“Bill Redell has a hundred rabbits’ feet in his pocket when he plays St. Bonaventure,” Seraphs Coach Todd Therrien said.

Don’t be surprised if there’s a December rematch between St. Bonaventure and Oaks Christian. And Therrien is going to search for his own lucky charm.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

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