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KENNY SMITH Willits, senior, cross country

Willits senior Kenny Smith has lost only once this season in cross country, but that 
third-place finish at Stanford was impressive enough to earn him plenty of interest 
from college recruiters. 

Smith won a Coastal Mountain Conference race last week by nearly two minutes and has 
set numerous course records. He's proud of setting a record on Willits' Brooktrails 
Par Course.

His 14:59 was three seconds faster than when standouts Brian Cole and Mike Perez hooked 
up and Cole won. Smith has also broken the course mark at Cloverdale's Asti Winery.

"I trained hard this past summer running at least 40 miles a week," said Smith who 10 
days ago won a Div. IV-V race at Mt. Sac in Walnut that included 170 entrants.

"He's just shown nice steady improvement," said dad David Smith, who has coached 
running at Willits for 19 years. Kenny began in local races at age eight.

Kenny employs his own style, which means never taking a lead until late. "I just try 
and keep the same pace the whole race," he said.

Last year Smith won a medal at North Coast Section and was 33rd in Div. IV at state. 
He's expected to do even better this year. His 16:02 mark at Stanford was a good one 
and attracted contacts from colleges such as Clairmont and Pepperdine. "Hearing from 
them just came out of the blue," Smith said. "It was nice."

-- Rich Rupprecht

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