From DyeStat.com

On an Eastern seaboard rife with distance talent, New Jersey's Doug Smith has been on the radar since he dropped an impressive 9:14 3200 as a ninth grader. Last year, during his sophomore cross country campaign, things went well until a disappointing performance at Foot Locker Northeast Regional amid high expectations left him wondering what had gone wrong. Re-focused for track, he made sure almost everything went right in the spring, reeling off a national soph leader of 9:04.52 in the 3200, then leading the Nike Outdoor Nationals 5k until the closing lap, when he finished second with one of the top sophomore times ever, in 14:40.76.

This year he's picked up where he left off last spring, shearing four seconds off a Craig Forys course record last weekend at the Paul Short Invitational with his 15:10 win over Germantown Friends sr Max Kaulbach. The racing ratchets up on October 13th, when this talented junior meets fellow New Jersey standout Brandon Jarrett (St. Benedict's sr) for a much-anticipated matchup in the 'A' Race at the Manhattan Invitational on the storied Van Cortlandt Park layout.

DyeStat assistant editor Dave Devine catches up with Doug at Gill St. Bernard's, and grinds out a few miles in the Garden State.