Eastern track runner Jake Stout capped off the 3K individual race last Saturday against his Eastern Kentucky University opponent with the kind of jubilant finish you typically only see unfold on the silver screen.

After trailing his competitor up until the last lap of the race, Stout finished the competition in grand fashion by crossing the finish line an eyelash ahead of his opponent, requiring a second glimpse courtesy of Eastern’s photo finish cameras. Stout was announced the winner after the video tape showed his foot crossed the line first.

But don’t think after his exhilarating victory the sophomore history major’s ego ballooned.

“I expected myself to win,” the Lockport native and this week’s Top Cat said. “During the race, I had some doubts whether I could catch up, but when I put on the final kick I realized it was possible again. I still have really high expectations for myself and lofty goals I’m hoping to get accomplished.”

Those of which include breaking the steeple chase track record.

“Ever since last year I have had my eye on it,” Stout said.

And although Stout insisted he had high expectations going into the men’s track team’s grueling weekend of meets, which began Friday with the distance medley relay followed by the mile and 3K races Saturday, he admits the victory easily ranks among the top three memorable moments in his track career.

“I stepped across the track and just collapsed. It was crazy,” he said. “It was pretty surreal when they announced (I won). To get him at the line like that was just crazy.”

Despite the extra rigorous workouts and the stepped up weight lifting regimen he has subjected himself to this year, Stout still attributes much of his success on the track to his teammates and head coach John McInerney.

“The guys on the team have been great influences,” he said. “We are a tight group, and I love coach Mac; he is the greatest coach I have ever had,” he said. “I would not be as competitive without him. He has helped me out a lot during the last couple of years.”

The team’s commitment to each other and the extent to which they have meshed also has been key to their successes on the track, Stout said.

Stout also credits his parents, who have been mainstays at each of his indoor meets this season with the exception of just one. They travel to Charleston from their current home in Normal to watch him run.

Throughout the season he said some former Eastern teammates also have served as a major support system.

“Some of them will come by, like Josh Vance. I also talk to Kyle O’Brien through e-mail once in a while,” Stout said.

Perhaps the most elated man after Stout’s victorious race Saturday was McInerney. He said Stout’s jaw-dropping finish was one of the best he has seen in the 25 years he has coached for Eastern.

“It surprised the daylights out of me,” he said. ” …. Eastern Kentucky thought it was a done deal. He was 40 meters down with one lap to go and no one expected it. That made it pretty neat. I didn’t think he had a shot until there were 50 meters left. At the end I thought holy cow!”

Even knowing Stout and his work ethic, McInerney, who said he would have been pleased even if Stout had earned second place in the 3K race, was more than impressed with the resilience Stout exemplified by coming from behind and defeating his opponent.

“He is a tough, hard-nosed competitor,” he said. “The results will take care of itself if you are looking to compete all the time. That type of thinking goes a long way.”