GENTLEMAN JACE SHAKING HANDS IS GETSKOW'S TRADEMARK.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - No matter how many times he has run for the Canyon High boys' cross country team the past four years, Jace Getskow has finished each race the same way. But the last thing the senior needs is a hand for that.

At the end of every race during his high school career, Getskow has waited at the back of the finishing chute - usually by himself and sometimes as long as 15 or 20 minutes - for each runner to come in.

As they do, Getskow will extend a hand to each one, offering congratulations for a good race. Few outside the Canyon program know about Getskow's trademark gesture, but he has shaken hands with thousands of runners during his life.

``Some people are surprised,'' Getskow said. ``Some people say thanks. I've had mothers come up to me and tell me it's really wonderful, the courtesy and the sportsmanship of it.''

Getskow will be back doing the same thing Saturday morning at the 56th annual Mt. San Antonio College Invitational. Don't worry: He won't shake hands with all 12,000-plus runners competing at the nation's largest meet.

But as Getskow learned last year, sometimes all you need to do to leave with a gold medal is stick out your hand to a stranger.

From a gesture that started in youth track - shaking hands with the runners in adjacent lanes - Getskow became one of three recipients of the CIF sports citizenship award at last November's state meet in Fresno.

Someone spotted what Getskow was doing and recommended him for the award to race officials. It came at the end of a disappointing day in which the Cowboys finished sixth as a team. But coach Dave DeLong couldn't have been prouder of Getskow.

The coach still marvels about it today. Former Canyon great Lauren Fleshman was the last runner from the school to make a point of shaking everyone's hand. That is, until Getskow joined the varsity four years ago.

``You're dead tired and you feel like all you want to do is die at the finish,'' DeLong said. ``He stands there for 20 minutes shaking everybody's hand. And being in first (place), he's shaking a lot of hands.''

Getskow said: ``It kind of became this thing where I would do it for everyone who finished. I feel like everyone deserves the respect for finishing a race.''

The handshakes should not take away anything, however, from Getskow's running. He is the No. 1 runner on a Canyon team ranked fourth in the Southern Section. Getskow also has won both Foothill League meets this year and is bidding to make trips to four consecutive state championships.

During his time at Canyon, Getskow has been a part of teams that won the 2002 state championship and were runners-up in 2001. His teams also never have lost a league meet. Maybe that explains why the hard part is getting anyone to say a bad word about Getskow.

``He definitely leads by example,'' DeLong said. ``He eats right. He sleeps right. He's always ready for every practice. He's probably one of the most coachable kids I've ever had. I'm going to miss him next year.''

Eleven years ago, Getskow followed his older brother, John, and his father, Jack, into the family sport of running. He was only 6 when Jack Getskow took both his sons to a youth meet in Carlsbad. Jace won the half-mile going away, surprising even his father.

After that, Jace was hooked on the sport. (``I found out I liked to win,'' he said.) Getskow went on to run several years in the Santa Clarita Warriors youth program, competing in two national championships, before making the Canyon varsity as a freshman.

No one at the school has duplicated the feat since. In his four years, Getskow has run on several strong teams, including the 2002 championship team with Luke Llamas and Jameson Mora, both now running at Cal State San Luis Obispo.

But Getskow's team will go down as one of the strongest.

``Year after year, it's been like, 'Hey there's no more Luke and Jamie,' '' Getskow said, later mentioning this year's losses of Ryan Morgan and Troy Werner. ``Now I'm a senior and we're not done yet.''

Getskow's father, meanwhile, isn't betting against Canyon contending for the Southern Section and state titles behind his son.

``In other sports they would say (Jace) is a gamer,'' Jack Getskow said. ``When he has to be, he'll be at his best.''

After graduating from Canyon this spring, Getskow hopes to run next year in college. He already has received letters of interest from several schools, including Cal State Northridge, San Jose State and Santa Clara.

Even after he leaves, however, plans are being made for someone to take his place greeting runners at the finish line. The underclassmen on the Canyon team already have resolved the issue, making a promise that needs no handshake to seal.

``I'll probably do it,'' sophomore Adam McDonald said. ``Somebody has to do it for him.''

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

After he finishes a cross country race, Jace Getskow offers a handshake to each runner who follows, a tradition his fellow Canyon High runners plan to continue after the senior graduates.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer