LAKEWOOD — A clouded mind because he just finished the SATs hampered Lakewood senior Douglas Davis’ performance last weekend even though he placed 10th out of more than 1,000 runners.

Davis’ time in the Hole in the Wall meet at Lakewood High School Oct. 11 was 16:01.

Despite his high finish, Davis argued it wasn’t his best run.

The 5,000 meter trail was hammered by rain so it was muddy.

Last month, he placed fifth in the Stanford Invitational with a time of 15:28, which he said was a better performance.

“I was more relaxed in Stanford,” he said.

Though his most-recent meet wasn’t as great, Davis said he is on track to place in the top three in state. Last season he placed 17th.

“I didn’t have the best outing last year,” he said. “I should’ve finished in the top five.”

He attributes his relatively low placing to inexperience.

“I thought about how bad that day was and took what I could away from it so it won’t happen again,” he said. “I feel like I can compete with the runners this year, because I competed with them in track.”

Davis began running cross country when he was a seventh-grader; he wanted to follow in his brother, Preston Davis,’ footsteps.

Davis suffered from severs, an injury effecting the growth plate of the heel. He believes he sustained it from playing soccer and cross country as he hit his growth-spurt as a freshman.

“I got badly injured after my first year,” he said. “I wanted to keep at it and train.”

As he recovered from his injury, Davis devoted his efforts to distance running in track and cross country.

“I couldn’t be best at both soccer and cross country,” he said, adding he has gotten faster every year he’s focused on running.

Davis wants to continue cross country in college. One school that’s drawn him is Adams State University in Alamosa, Colo., for its high-altitude training.

But now as a senior, Davis hopes to use his experience to exemplify his hardships and help others.

“I really like to motivate the younger runners and carry on the tradition,” he said.