Ashland OR Junior Evan Holland Rising Up Fast With Sub-15 at LCC

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Evan Holland knows as well as anyone what sub-15 minutes means at the Lane Community College course in Eugene.

Only a select few have run under 15 minutes on the 5,000-meter course that is the home to the Oregon state championships. Galen Rupp and Matthew Maton, the course-record holder (14:45), both did it as juniors. They were both top-three finishers at Foot Locker.

Holland, a junior, ran 14:59 on Saturday at the Northwest Classic. The course used is slightly different than the layout for state, but it’s reasonably close.

RESULTS | RACE VIDEO

“I set out with the goal in mind of breaking 15 (minutes),” Holland said. “It was my first time in high school, ever, coming down the homestretch with 14s on the clock.”

Holland has been making steady progress since picking up the sport in the eighth grade.

“I never really thought of myself as a really good runner (growing up),” Holland said. “My dad was a marathoner in his late 30s.”

Holland, who also goes by “E.J.,” won Oregon’s Middle School Meet of Champions 3,000 meters in the eighth grade (9:10.73). His interest picked up from there.

“I came into high school and that was when my parents and I decided that I could do really well in high school and it could (possibly) carry over into college,” he said. “Even then, I was still just (competitive) for my class. But gradually it’s happened, I’ve trained well and been injury-free, and (the growth) has accelerated.”

Holland ran 8:46.54 for 3,000 meters as a freshman.

As a sophomore, in the fall, he waged a memorable battle with Crater’s Andy Monroe in the Class 5A boys cross country final. Monroe, nursing an injury, willed himself to the line ahead of the young Holland – both timed in 15:19 – and the two runners tumbled over one another at the finish line.

Monroe, a two-time NXN qualifier, sacrificed his post-season in order to hold off Holland on an injured foot.

For Holland, the memory is a source of motivation.

“I always think about it,” he said. “It was such a fun race and a crazy finish. Andy’s falling apart. And we fall over each other at the finish line. I thought about that when I got onto the track (Saturday). He’s not going to beat me this time.”

Another big race on Holland’s learning curve came in the spring at the Oregon Relays. The fast-starting sophomore bit off more than he could chew against Valor Christian CO sophomore Cole Sprout, who sped to a national sophomore class record 8:13.85.

Holland ran 8:33.81 for second place, and found out where he measured up nationally.

“I think it was extremely important,” Ashland’s distance coach, Hans Voskes, said. “I can’t say (the outcome) was a surprise, but it was a ‘Wow’ moment, positively and negatively. I'm a firm believer, at some point, it's to your benefit if you get your butt kicked a little bit.”

Holland returned to Hayward Field for the state meet and ran 8:26.44 to win his first state title. He also won the 1,500 in 3:55.61.

This fall, Holland is maturing into one of the best runners in the country. He has grown to about 6 feet 2 and runs with a bouncy, easy gait.

“He has the physical and attitudinal components (to be great),” Voskes said. “He’s been consistently getting better over a period of time. It’s not a roller-coaster ride. He’s been smartly focused throughout the year.”

Holland’s mileage going into the 11th grade is still pretty light, in the 40s. Voskes plans to take a conservative approach so that Holland can continue to grow and improve in college.

“One of the things about E.J., he’s an athlete,” Voskes said. “He has interests in other sports. He brings that component to distance running.”

Holland traveled with his family to Europe over the summer. First there was a visit to see family in England, and Holland entered a local citizens road race, the Mossley 10K. Holland won by a minute, in 34:13.

Then the family spent some time touring France and he got some additional training done there.

It was a good time to be away from Ashland, where wildfires raging in Northern California and Southern Oregon created smoky conditions throughout much of August. Holland prepared for cross country season by running on the indoor track at Southern Oregon University, on a treadmill, or sometimes outdoors with a mask.

“All of it blows in here from the north and south,” Voskes said. “A half hour before practice we check to see the (air quality) count. If it's near 100 or above we don't run outside.”  

The weather turned for the better in time to start the season.

At The Invitational at Marist High in Eugene, Holland navigated a 5,000-meter course with tricky, sharp turns in 15:30.3. He won by 58 seconds.

On Saturday at LCC, Holland went out in 4:37 for the first mile. He dropped all of his challengers and ran more than half a race motivated by staying on pace to beat the clock.

“I went around the ponds and it was dead silent,” he said. “Usually, that’s where a lot of people slow down. I tried to book it around the ponds, and when I came back around to (the other side) I said, ‘You got this, you got this, you can break 15. Keep going!’”

Holland’s time of 14:59.2 compares favorably to some of Oregon’s all-time best, but he knows that he’ll need to prove it by running that fast again at the state meet.

Saturday’s result has him encouraged.

“Freshman year, I ran eight seconds slower at Northwest Classic than I did at state,” he said.