Travis Neuman is going to be a sophomore at Summit high school and he’s one of the fastest cross country runners in the state. He is the younger brother of Kenyon and Gatlin Neuman, who were outstanding XC runners at Summit as well. Kenyon went on to have great success at the University of Colorado. Travis slowed down enough to answer a few questions for Central Oregon Athlete.

Central Oregon Athlete – How long have you been running competitively?
Travis Neuman – I have been running competitively since I was 8 or 9.

COA – How did you get into racing?
TN – The reason I got into racing or even thought about running was because my older brothers both did XC and were fairly good at it so through watching them I really wanted to do the same.

COA – What other sports do you enjoy?
TN – I enjoy doing XC Skiing, Tennis, Track and Field, Biking and Swimming. XC is the most fun and interesting I would say out of all of them.

COA – What are some of your hobbies other than sports?
TN – I really enjoy learning songs on the piano even though im not to great at it. Reading anything about history is really fun. I also play ping pong at lunch (not to sure if thats considered a sport) with some friends and I really enjoy that too. (editor’s note: Yes, ping pong is a sport!)

COA – Do you have any XC goals you can share with us for this year?
TN – My goals for each year are kinda similar. I really want to beat my brother Kenyon’s high school times and this XC season I think both our boys and girls could have a shot at state titles so both of those things would be great to accomplish.

COA – What’s it like being on such a big XC team?
TN – I think that the bigger the team the better because it just makes the trips and running soooooo much more fun when there are a lot of kids there. Dave Clark (Summit XC coach) does a really good job explaining everything about running and our workouts and everyone one still has a blast.

COA – What was the highlight from your freshman year of sports @ Summit?
TN – Every sports that I did last year was super fun but the best part out of all of it was probably when our XC team went to Boise, Idaho for the Nike Cross Regionals race. We just had a great time and some how we ran really well the next day.

COA – Do you have a favorite workout in Central Oregon?
TN – I probably have 2 favorite run/workouts in Central Oregon. The 13 mile Green Lakes Loop is fun and we drink out of a stream that has the best water EVER! The other one would probably be doing 1,000 repeats at Juniper Park.

So how are the youngest Neuman’s times stacking up against big brother Kenyon? So far so good!

KENYON
09 – 16:38
10 – 15:59
11 – 15:38
12 – 15:24

TRAVIS
09 – 16:29
10 – ?

Summer runs begin Tuesday July 6th @ 6pm – Smith Rock State Park, Thursday July 8th @ Sam Johnson Park (by the Tennis Courts).

Summit’s Kellie Schueler still has her senior season of track ahead of her and she’s already won more state titles than the majority of high schools. Seriously! The Stanford-bound runner has put up numbers, times and records that put her at a level that most high schools would be jealous of.
• 12 individual State track titles (going for 16)
• 3 team State track titles (going for 4)
• 2 team State cross county titles

Add to the above that coaches, teachers and students all think she is an amazing person, let alone athlete and you can see why she’s been featured on the pages of Sports Illustrated and has been named Gatorade’s athlete of the year for Oregon. Schueler was kind enough to answer a few questions for Central Oregon Athlete.

COA – How long have you lived in Bend?
KS – Since I was two years old.

COA – When did you start racing?
KS – I did the Little Foot Run starting in Kindergarten, but didn’t start racing at the Junior Olympics for track until I was 7 or 8 .

COA – What are some of your track goals this year?
KS – Finish the season without hurting myself, complete my goal of 16 state titles, be the first girl to win the 100, 200, 400, and 800 at the Oregon State meet.

COA – Do any of the boys at Summit ever challenge you to races?
KS – Yes, Pat Madden, who doesn’t stand a chance (most of the time).

COA – What has been the highlight of your running career so far?
KS – Winning a gold medal for the 4×400 at the Pan American Jr. Games last summer in Trinidad.

COA – Do you have any running heroes?
KS – Kara Goucher.

COA – What is your favorite workout in Central Oregon?
KS – 1000 repeats at Juniper.

COA – What do you like to do other than run?
KS – Sew, hike, attempt to surf, cook, learn, ride horses, adventure.

COA – Anything else to add?
KS – A thank you to anyone and everyone who i’ve competed against, thank you for supplying the competition that has helped me to develop as an athlete.

Bend’s Max King took 11th at the USATF Cross Country National Championships on Saturday in Spokane, Washington.
Danthan Ritzenhein of team Nike won the 12K race with a time of 34 minutes, 34 seconds. King clocked in @ 35:58.
Shalane Flanagan of Nike won the women’s 8K with a time of 25:10.
800-meter specialist Emily McMahon, a Mountain View graduate, was 46th in the women’s 8K (31:00).

GREAT PHOTOS OF THE EVENT BY MICHAEL SCOTT

State cross country proposal sparks reaction, prompts special conference call – By Doug Binder, special to The Oregonian

All-Time RHS Women’s 5-K Top-10 1. 10 Kris Thomasberg 18:11 2005 2. 12 Ginny Johnson 19:09 2000 3. 12 Kenzie Allen 19:26 2005 4. 9 Courtney Allen 19:42.1 1995 5. 10 Rita Aulie 19:51 2005 6. 10 Mackenzie Allen 20:13 2003 6. 11 Heather Clear 20:13 2005 8. 10 Betty Garcia 20:14 2005 9. 11 Sarah MacKenzie 20:27.6 2009 10. 11 Bonnie Pelham 20:28 2001.
From Redmond XC-TF fan page on Facebook.

Summit XC photo feature. – Robert Rosenberg, Dave Clark, Andy Kiyokawa/Dyestat