As Bradley Croker rounded the track at Pete Susick Stadium, spectators might have believed he was the second coming of Steve Prefontaine.

Sporting a mustache, sideburns and shaggy, dark hair, the sinewy and thin Croker loped across the finish line in 31 minutes and 27 seconds, the first place time by about two minutes.

He certainly traveled long distances in order to compete in the 30th-annual Prefontaine Memorial Run on Saturday morning. At 29 years old, Croker hails from Canberra, Australia, and flew into the United States five days before the race.

Croker said he planned to attend a friend’s wedding in California in three weeks, and he thought since he would be in the area, he would stop by Coos Bay to run in Prefontaine’s race.

“It’s amazing to be in his hometown,” Croker said. “It’s definitely a career highlight.”

Croker has been running for 10 years, and runs cross country on a national level in Australia, placing seventh in his latest national race. He runs about 80 miles every week. Despite his strong victory and running credentials, Croker said the course was tough, and he was a little intimidated when he checked the route out before the race.

“When I drove (the course) I was very nervous,” Croker said. “It’s uphill or it’s downhill. There’s no flat.”

But Croker did his research, and thought he had a chance, given the winning times from past races. He only hoped he could pull off the victory and make his trip to America even more worthwhile.

“I thought I had a shot of winning,” Croker said. “I really hoped I could.

“It makes the trip so much better.”

Not everyone had to travel far for the race. North Bend High School junior Matt Walker finished first out of the Bulldogs’ boys cross country team in 38:30.

“That’s a great time for me,” he said of his third time racing the 10K.

Prefontaine’s annual races have influenced Walker’s life since an early age, he said.

“I think I did the kids’ Pre in second grade,” Walker said. “I’m just racing to have fun.”

Marshfield senior Rise Campbell finished first for the Pirates girls cross country team in 51:57, and didn’t even know her own finish time.

“I was just going out to have fun,” Campbell said of her first time running the course.

She said the hills were tough, but once you got to the top and could coast downhill, “it’s awesome.”

Even though most of the high school runners agreed this race was just for their own enjoyment, participating cross country teams used the event as a chance to compete.

The Marshfield boys placed second among 18 complete high-school teams with 72 points, behind Roseburg with 37 points.

Marshfield’s Markus Boesl was the top high school boy from the South Coast, finishing in 37:14. Pacific’s Wren Carter finished third among girls overall and top for local women in 43:48.

Roseburg also won the girls team title with 44 points, while Bandon placed second with 82 points.

Roseburg brought many talented runners, and boasted the first place woman runner, Jill Pettibone, who finished 37th overall with a time of 38:29.

Pettibone was one of two runners to set new age-group records Saturday, topping her own mark from 2007 in the 40-44 age group.

The other runner to break an age-group mark was 9-year-old Sailor Hutton of Bandon, who finished in 49:20 to top the old mark for girls by just over two minutes. Hutton ran the race with her grandfather, Tom Brown, one of just a few people who has participated in all 30 races.

A few Cascade Christian boys came to the race, with three of them intent on having fun.

Seniors Jared Nichols and Bradley Arkens, as well as sophomore Hudson Eustace, stood out in hot pink — with small, girls shorts, sunglasses and paint on their chests and backs.

Their reason for wearing pink?

“We have school spirit,” Arkens said, laughing.

“We thought everyone would look at us like we’re freaks, but we had a lot of fun,” said Eustace, who finished first out of the three in 25th place overall.

All three of them finished in less than 40 minutes, and they were pleased with their times.

“It’s my first time,” Eustace said. “So I’m happy with it.”

With so many runners just out to enjoy the competition and pay homage to Prefontaine, Croker offered a reason why he’s still popular this many years after his death, and why this race annually brings people from all over the world, no matter their age.

“I think it’s his determination and love of running, his never give up attitude,” Croker said.

“This is a big part of it,” he said, gesturing to the crowd. “Coos Bay and the University of Oregon kept him up on a pedestal ... or else the legend of Pre would have died down.”