Dunlap moves up quickly
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Does Matt Dunlap ever stop moving?
In the fall he's fast-stepping it over the rugged terrain during the cross country running season. As soon as the snow flies, he's sliding the slippery trails during the cross country skiing season. And when spring arrives he's back running, this time circling the oval runways during spring track. Last summer, he got his fill of both sports by attending a cross country running camp in Vermont and a cross country skiing camp in Austria.
It's a rare thing for Matt Dunlap not to be working up a sweat. He's always on the go, exerting maximum energy in some of sport's more grueling events.
"I love to push myself, see how fast I can go," said the Mt. Blue High School junior.
Dunlap never ran faster cross country races than this fall. In only his second season in the sport, he won the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference and Eastern Regional championship races. He followed that with a runner-up finish in the the Class A race and then a 22nd in the New England championships.
Dunlap also finished fourth at the Great Glenn (N.H.) Invitational, a meet which drew some of the top high school competitors from New England early in the season. Dunlap was by far the fastest runner in the area this fall and for that reason is this year's Morning Sentinel Boy Cross Country Runner of the Year. It is the second straight year that Dunlap has won the award.
"Matt's time in the New Englands (16 minutes, 29 seconds) was the fastest ever by a Mt. Blue runner," said Mt. Blue coach Kelley Cullenberg.
Dunlap was certainly at his best for the New England meet, run at Riverside Golf Course in Portland. He got off to a terrific start, actually leading the 234-runner field for the first half-mile, before settling into a impressive 5:18 mile pace and finishing in the top 25. It was a huge improvement from the year before when Dunlap got lost in the crowd and struggled to finish 80th on a flat course in Rhode Island.
Despite running a school-record time in his final high school race of the season, Dunlap thinks he can do better.
"New Englands was my best race, but I didn't hit my goal," said Dunlap, an All-American in cross country skiing as well as cross country running. "I wanted to go under 16 minutes. Next year I'll shoot for that."
After giving up soccer to run cross country for the first time last year, Dunlap is the first to admit he's still learning what works best for him on the running trails. Right now that seems to be getting out to an early lead and then increasing his advantage up and down the hills.
If he can develop a stronger finishing kick, Dunlap will have a better chance of beating South Portland High School sophomore Eric Giddings next year, according to Cullenberg. Giddings beat Dunlap by 22 seconds in the state race and by 24 seconds in the New England race.
"Matt has come a long way in a short amount of time," said Cullenberg. "He increased his mileage in the summer (as many as 50 miles some weeks) and because of that was in good shape coming in. Now, he needs to work on his kick and who knows how much faster he can go."
Dunlap, who never stops looking ahead, already has that goal mapped out.
"I want to go under 16 minutes, I wanted to do that this year but didn't get there," he said. "Next year. I'll go for it next year."
Joe Halpern — 621-5636 jhalpern@centralmaine.com