High schoolers miss marks but offer sneak preview.

Byline: Bob Rodman The Register-Guard

You've got to hand it to those high school players. When they land on center stage, they take advantage of it.

Mike McGrath, a senior at Lincoln High in Portland, and Galen Rupp, a junior at Central Catholic in the Rose City, found the spotlight during the rain- and wind-swept Oregon Twilight track and field meet at storied Hayward Field on Saturday.

McGrath, who has signed a national letter of intent with Oregon, entered the Bill McChesney Jr. Memorial Mile with one eye on a sub-4-minute performance and record high school run and the other on a bid to join the mile field at the Prefontaine Classic, an IAAF Grand Prix meet on May 24 at Hayward.

He missed on the the sub-4 and the record but was impressive enough to earn a ticket to one of the sport's biggest shows.

McGrath finished second in the race in 4:05.28, the third-fastest prep mile in state history. He surpassed the late Steve Prefontaine (fourth at 4:06.0 in 1969) and trails former South Eugene runners Dirk Lakeman (4:04.9 in 1977) and Mark Feig (4:05.1 in 1971).

Nick Symmonds of Willamette University, a former Idaho state prep champion, won the mile in 4:03.85, overtaking McGrath, who had led with 300 meters left.

"I ran a perfectly good race," said McGrath, who owns the nation's fastest prep 800 after a 1:48.64 performance a week ago. "I just took off a little early because I wanted to get the time. "That guy (Symmonds) raced well to beat me."

Tom Jordan, the Prefontaine Classic meet director, said Saturday night he would issue invitations to McGrath as well as Steve Magness, a high school senior from Houston, Texas, who has run 4:02.78, the fastest prep mile this season.

"We want to put part of America's middle distance running future out there on the track," said Jordan, also saying that world, Hayward and Pre meet mile record-holder Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco will not compete in the Bowerman Mile later this month because of injury and his focus on the 5,000 world record.

McGrath's hand time of 3:47.5 for the 1,500 ranks him second on the state's all-time prep list behind Aloha's Alan Foster, who ran 3:47.06 in 1988.

In the 3,000, Rupp took aim at Prefontaine's all-time state prep record of 8:08.0, which has stood since 1969 when Pre was at Marshfield High.

Coached by Olympian and former Oregon star Alberto Salazar, Rupp, too, missed the mark, finishing third in 8:14.00.

But it was the third-fastest time in state high school history behind Pre and former Canby and current UO distance runner Eric Logsdon (8:10.66 in 2000).

"I was thinking about Pre's record and I was hoping to run a little faster," said Rupp, who ran a 3,000 indoors in 8:12 earlier this year. "But I'm happy. I'm only 16 years old."

Jason Hartmann, an Oregon junior preparing for the Pac-10 Conference championships May 17-18 at USC in Los Angeles, won the 3,000 in 8:02.39. Nike's Ray Hughes was second in 8:03.25.

"It felt good to get out there and compete in front of the fans," said Hartmann, who ran for the first time at Hayward this season and impressed the crowd of 3,301 as he "fine-tuned" for the the 10,000 at the Pac-10 meet.

"I needed to get the rust off. I'm ready to go," said Hartmann, who ranks fifth on the UO all-time 10,000 list with his personal record of 28:46.76.

There were other Ducks who weathered the storm.

Jordan Kent, an Oregon freshman, sped to a PR in the 200 with a winning time of 21.09, qualifying for both the Pac-10 meet and the NCAA West Regional.

"I was surprised I got a PR, but I took the turn hard and the momentum took me through the straightaway," Kent said.

Ryan Flaherty, another UO freshman, got a little help from former Duck half-miler Simon Kimata, and dashed to a PR in the 800, winning in 1:49.65 and easily qualifying for the Pac-10 and regional meets.

"I owe you something," Flaherty told Kimata. "Because of him, we went out in 52 (seconds), and it made all the difference."

Oregon coach Martin Smith, allowing for the conditions, said the Ducks - and a future Duck - had a nice day.

"We had some good performances," Smith said. "It's obvious Mike McGrath is a wonderfully talented young man. He ran a savvy race and he went for it, which tells you of the quality he will bring to the program."

CAPTION(S):

Nick Symmonds (left) of Willamette University leads a pack including prep athlete Mike McGrath of Portland's Lincoln High School in the mile.