No jinx found here

It’s a new cross-country season, but Laguna Beach’s Matt Neev is running right on course.

The sophomore has continued on the same pace he was at last year, when he burst onto the racing scene in a big way. On Saturday, Neev came up with a personal record time of 15 minutes 24 seconds and earned a second-place finish in the boys’ competition at the Laguna Hills Invitational, an event he won last year as a freshman.

“It felt good to compete again,” he said. “Coach (Dave Brobeck) told us to run a comfortable race, and I did. I felt pretty good out there because I’ve trained well for this season.”

A year ago, Neev was new to cross-country competition. Two years ago, note was taken of his running ability by Thurston Middle School physical education teacher Steve Lalim, who is in his first year this fall as head coach of the Laguna girls’ cross-country team.

“I originally heard about him from Steve,” Brobeck said of learning about Neev’s natural talent. “Messages on my voice mail started like this, ‘You are not going to believe what Matt Neev ran in the mile today.’ ”

Neev set the Thurston School record in the mile.

“I knew he was going to be really good,” Brobeck said. “With freshmen boys, though, it usually takes years before they mature as distance runners and can really improve the varsity team. Matt’s impact was immediate.

“Last year I nicknamed him ‘The Cub.’ No one was allowed to harm The Cub. It has since become a running team joke. The kid was built stronger than anyone on the team as a freshman.”

As it turned out, Neev, The Cub, had claws.

“He simply just moved up our team ladder each race,” Brobeck said of Neev’s freshman campaign. “It was astounding when he won league finals. No one could believe that a freshman won league. The roar as he finished was electric.”

Yes, Neev went on to capture the Orange Coast League boys’ individual title. He went on to a 20th-place finish at the CIF State Division IV meet in Fresno and capped a memorable freshman season by being named third-team All-CIF Division IV.

“Last year’s accomplishments were nothing short of amazing,” Brobeck said. “Freshman boys don’t do this. But I think it’s already in the rearview mirror. We’re looking ahead.

“He’s just getting started. It’s hard to know what his ceiling is going to be. He’s a lot of fun to watch run.”

Neev said he really didn’t have any expectations for that freshman year.

“I don’t think I really had any idea of how I was going to run,” he said. “I just listened to what my coaches had to tell me and I just went for it. I was just trying to help out my team. I was brand new to cross-country, but I was enjoying it.

“It turned out to be a really great year for our team. I was surprised to win league, but it was a great feeling.”

Neev has taken over this year as Laguna’s No. 1 runner on a team stocked with top-notch runners.

“He is without a doubt our No. 1 runner this year,” Brobeck said, adding, “but there is a deep and highly-talented crew on his heals, though.

“He is motivated and very hard working. He wants to do more, always. I named him a sophomore team captain and I hope to see him take charge of his teammates.”

Neev said he was “shooting” to hit the low 16-minute mark Saturday at the Laguna Hills Invitational. He said the personal best of 15:24 was much better than he had envisioned.

He finished second in a group of more than 200 runners in the boys’ race.

Just as he had done his freshman year, Neev already is exceeding his expectations. But, he knows it’s a long season ahead.

“Personally, I don’t really have any individual goals set yet this year,” said Neev who is currently in Hawaii with some of his teammates to run in the Iolani Invitational on Saturday in Honolulu. “I think I’ll have a better perspective of those goals by the middle of the season.

“For now, I’m just doing what I can to help our team be successful. That’s what matters.”

MIKE SCIACCA covers sports. He can be reached at (949) 494-4321 or by e-mail at [email protected].