By Beth Bragg
Published: April 9th, 2011 11:32 PM
Trevor Dunbar's flirtation with a sub-four-minute mile continues -- as does the Alaska track world's adoration of Trevor Dunbar.
Dunbar, 19, ran the second-fastest mile of his still-young career in front of a screaming crowd Saturday at The Dome, but he wasn't quite fast enough to crack one of sport's most respected barriers, making four laps around the indoor track in 4 minutes, 2.88 seconds.
"We gotta bring him back," meet official Shane Metcalf said to Dunbar's dad after checking the time on his stopwatch after the race.
A return appearance by Dunbar at the Big C Relays -- a two-day high school meet that for the second straight year showcased an invitational mile designed to help the Kodiak star taking a run at a sub-four-minute-mile -- is guaranteed to fill the inflatable Dome with something more than circulating air.
Hundreds of fans crowded the outside lanes of the final straightaway and hundreds more watched from the infield and the balcony Saturday. They started cheering during the introductions, even before Dunbar's name was announced, and they filled the cavernous arena with roars every time he flew down the straightaway.
They were rooting for one of Alaska's brightest young stars -- and for history. A sub-four-minute-mile has never been run in Alaska, or by an Alaskan. The fastest anyone has come is Dunbar's dad, Marcus, the Kodiak coach and a former national champion in the indoor mile whose personal record is 4:00.58.
Dunbar intends to beat his dad's mark by dipping below the four-minute mark.
"It's a matter of time," he said afterward. "I've always thought that I could do it, but this year I'm possessing all the tools to make serious tries at it."
A sophomore at the University of Portland, Dunbar is already a top college runner with international racing experience. At last spring's Big C Relays, he made his first true bid at a sub-4:00 and ran 4:05.77, placing second to UAA's Alfred Kangogo, who won in 4:05.36.
Last May, Dunbar flirted seriously with track's most famous benchmark, clocking 4:01.31 in the Oregon Twilight Mile, his personal best.
Saturday, running with two Portland teammates who served as rabbits and dropped out after three laps, Dunbar ran split-times of 59.2, 61.1, 61.9 and -- on the final lap when he ran alone -- 60.8 to miss the magic number by less than three seconds.
"4:02, 4:01 -- it's still over four minutes," Dunbar said. "Each time you come close, you want to do it even more."
Portland coach Rob Conner won a recruiting war when he signed Dunbar out of high school and his recruiting prize hasn't disappointed. Two weeks ago, Dunbar won the 1,500 meters at the Stanford Invitational.
"He has surprised me at every turn," Conner said. "He wants to perform at the highest level every time, and sometimes those guys are difficult to coach because they're never satisfied."
Sure enough, Saturday's effort on the track left Dunbar wanting more -- although he was clearly happy to be around so many familiar faces and humbled to be on the receiving end of so much adulation.
As he jogged to the starting line, Dunbar looked relaxed as he slapped hands with dozens of fans lined up on the track. In truth, he felt nervous.
"I almost want to say there was extra pressure, because all eyes were on me," he said. "It was such a great introduction."
Portland runners Chase Caulkins and Cody Wells were introduced first. "And from Kodiak, Alaska ..." the announcer said next, igniting cheers that made the rest of the introduction hard to hear.
"It was just electric before the race," Conner said. "I literally started to get tears when I heard the roar. It made me nervous.
"He's disappointed, because he wanted to do it, but to expect a guy to do a sub-4 in a time trial -- and for him to take the challenge -- is pretty remarkable."
Doug Herron, an Anchorage coach whose 1985 state-record 800 meter time of 1:49.2remains one of the most brilliant performances in Alaska track history, thinks Dunbar's 4:02.88 is pretty remarkable too.
"I don't think we have any girls 4x400 relay teams who can do that," he said. "It's fun to watch a guy racing a mile and making it look fast."