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FAIRBANKS — Trevor Dunbar began his senior season at Kodiak High School with the mere goal of qualifying for the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships.

However, after a series of standout performances, Dunbar — who recently announced he’ll attend the University of Portland — emerged from relative obscurity to become one of the elite prep runners in America. He’s also generated quite a following, becoming a sensation of sorts on YouTube and the most popular running Web sites in the country.

“Naw, I never thought it would go this well,” Dunbar said by phone Sunday of his self-described dream season. “From the beginning of my career, I always set goals for myself. I’ve been really lucky and grateful that I’ve been able to overachieve by quite a bit.”

Overachieving is putting it modestly. Last fall, Dunbar broke Miguel Gomez’s long-standing course record at Kodiak’s Abercrombie State Park. He followed that with a third straight individual Alaska Class 4A championship, an accomplishment made all the sweeter because the Bears also three-peated as a team.

Then Dunbar began his mission at major Outside meets, winning the 5-kilometer Adidas Classic in Portland in a national-prep best 14 minutes, 48 seconds. Shortly thereafter, he claimed the prestigious Mount SAC Cross Country Invitational in oppressive heat Oct. 25 in Walnut, Calif.

At the Foot Locker West Regional, Dunbar finished third while leaving something in the tank for Foot Locker Nationals on Dec. 13, where his runner-up mark of 15:22 was bested only by Ethiopian Solomon Haile. 

A year earlier, Dunbar placed 52nd at the West Regional and did not come close to qualifying for the 40-runner Foot Locker Nationals.

“The process started out with really great training and being healthy during the summer,” Dunbar said. “I was really motivated that this is my senior year so make the most of it. ... It was just a fun journey the whole way.”

Dunbar’s successes turned him into a highly coveted recruit, and he made official visits to Portland, Northern Arizona and Oklahoma State, along with an unofficial trip to the University of Oregon.

Surely some observers were surprised by his pick of the Portland Pilots, who despite their seventh-place standing at the 2008 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships are not as heralded as the other three.

“What set it apart was just the small atmosphere of the university and the campus,” explained Dunbar, who grew up in Kodiak (population 6,000-plus), where the running teams sometimes travel by ferry to attend meets. “It just felt more comfortable (at Portland) to be able to balance the rigorous academic stress and the pressure I put on myself as a runner.”

Trevor is impressed by coach Rob Conner, who a quarter-century ago was a Portland teammate of his father, Marcus Dunbar. 

Marcus, an Alaska running legend who coaches Kodiak’s cross country and track teams, spent 2 1/2 years at Portland from 1983-85. That’s also where he met Kathleen, who was an All-American runner before becoming Trevor’s mother. 

“(Trevor) could have picked anyone. Definitely he made a good choice,” Marcus said, adding that Portland “has some sentimental value.”

But so did the University of Oregon, which Marcus attended from 1985-87 after leaving Portland. Last summer, Trevor watched the U.S. Olympic Track Trials at storied Hayward Field and attended a running camp in Eugene.

“It was definitely (tempting) because they’ve had such a great reputation,” Trevor said of considering the Ducks. “It’s hard to say no to the two-time national champs.”

Instead, Trevor verbally committed to Portland on Dec. 30 and plans to sign a National Letter of Intent in February.

Meanwhile, Trevor still has more prep titles to pursue. His final Alaska meet will be in Fairbanks this spring at the state track championships.

Dunbar, who took a rare few days off from training after having four wisdom teeth removed last week, already has the oval on his mind.

“I’m eager to start training again and get ready for track,” he said.

It was on the Kodiak track that Dunbar’s popularity exploded in November, after friends shoveled a lane so he could conduct a 3,200-meter time trial as a tune-up for Foot Locker Nationals. Despite steadily falling snow, Trevor blitzed eight laps of the track in 9 minutes, 1.4 seconds. Afterward on camera, he thanked those involved for the “team effort.”

Had Dunbar run 9:01 at the Alaska state championships, the time would have obliterated the existing 3,200-meter state record (set in 2008 by Jake Parisien over Dunbar) by almost 10 seconds. Don Clary’s 2-mile record (3,219 meters) of 9:04.4 from 1975 is close, however.

Dunbar’s feat was videotaped and posted on YouTube, where to date it has received almost 18,000 views. Subsequent articles and reader comment threads about Dunbar have graced prominent spots on LetsRun, Dyestat and Flotrack Web sites.

Trevor is aware of the attention, but not exactly scouring the Internet to read about himself.

“It was kind of cool at first seeing all these people talking about you,” Dunbar said. “Maybe I could have a positive influence on some of these people as they pursue their goals in running.”

Trevor lists his personal records as 1:56 for 800 meters, 4:15 for 1600, 9:06 for 3200 and 14:52 for 5 kilometers. Those numbers will surely continue to drop.

“He welcomes the competition. He never dodges it,” said Marcus, whose cross country state prep record was eclipsed by his son last fall. “He’s always wants to race the best guys. He’s got no fear of higher-level competition. That’s why I’m excited (about his college career).”

Contact staff writer Matias Saari at 459-7591.