2018 NCAA Men's and Women's Outdoor T&F Championships - Day Four
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
Women’s Triple Jump (3:40 p.m.)
Georgia senior Keturah Orji may have lost her American record to Tori Franklin last month, but her collegiate record remains intact after soaring 47 feet, 11 ѕ inches (14.62m) at the SEC Championships this year. She has won three straight NCAA outdoor titles – to go along with three indoor crowns – and she owns the top 12 marks in collegiate history. After winning the long jump on Thursday, Orji is poised to add another title her impressive resume.
Women’s 400 meters (4:32 p.m.)
USC senior Kendall Ellis is the reigning champion and set the collegiate indoor record (50.34) in March. She will be hard-pressed to stave off the challenge of Georgia freshman Lynna Irby, who clocked the second-fastest time in NCAA meet history with a 50.11 performance in Thursday’s semifinal. The meet, collegiate and Hayward Field records are all in jeopardy. Oregon’s Makenzie Dunmore is ready to pounce should either of the favorites falter.
Women’s 800 meters (4:44 p.m.)
This is Oregon’s best chance for an individual title as Sabrina Southerland, a graduate student transfer from Georgetown, looks to continue the Ducks’ recent dominance in this event. Southerland was a surprise winner at the NCAA Indoor meet, but she is the clear outdoor favorite with a PR of 2:00.72 set at the NCAA West Preliminary Round. The Ducks have claimed the past four NCAA individual titles in this event behind Raevyn Rogers (2015, 2016, 2017) and Laura Roesler (2014).
Women’s 400-meter hurdles (4:57 p.m.)
Kentucky freshman Sydney McLaughlin has already been dubbed the “next big thing” in American women’s track and field. And why not? The 2016 Olympian set the collegiate record in her signature event earlier this season at 52.75, a mark which is tied for 7th on the all-time U.S. list. McLaughlin is also a key member of Kentucky’s 4x400m relay. Her PR of 50.07 in the open 400m ranks third on the all-time collegiate list and she ran the 400m leg for Team USA’s world-record distance medley relay in 2017. Our advice? Sit back and enjoy!
Women’s 4×400-meter relay (5:51 p.m.)
At last year’s NCAA meet, this event provided one of the greatest memories in Hayward Field history as Oregon’s Raevyn Rogers held off USC’s Kendall Ellis to secure the first-ever women’s “Triple Crown.” While the cast of characters has changed a bit, we could be in for a repeat performance with NCAA podium spots likely to be decided. Oregon, Kentucky, USC, Florida, Purdue and LSU have all run under 3:30 this season.
ASU’s Ewen Wins Shot Put for Third NCAA Title
Maggie Ewen takes the national title in the shot put on Thursday, June 7. (Photo: Nick Lackides/TrackTown USA)
By Linden Moore / TrackTown USA
Maggie Ewen continues to add NCAA championships to her collegiate resume.
The Arizona State senior captured the third NCAA title of her collegiate career with a mark of 62 feet, 10 ѕ inches (19.17m) in the shot put at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Women’s Track & Field Championships before a crowd of 9,702 at Hayward Field on Thursday.
“It felt great,” Ewen said. “The hammer didn’t go the way we wanted it to, so to be able to come out and win the shot put made up for it.”
A 2017 finalist for The Bowerman, Ewen made her return to Hayward Field after taking sixth in the shot put in 2017.
However, this year’s result was different.
“Last year I had the really great hammer meet and sub-par kind of shot meet,” she said. “It was great to come out this year and take over the shot put right from the start.”
Ewen, the reigning NCAA champion and collegiate record-holder in the hammer throw, fouled on all three of her attempts in the hammer at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in late May.
Consequently, she lost a chance to defend her national title.
“It was definitely a bummer,” Ewen said. “That regional experience was definitely not fun, but I think it got me fired up a little bit more. I think it will help a lot with the other two events I am competing in.”
Without the hammer throw in her schedule, Ewen shifted her focus to preparing for the shot put and discus. While she acknowledges it would’ve been nice to defend her hammer title during her final collegiate season, she took it as an opportunity to increase her chances of winning the discus and shot put.
“It’s one of those double-edge swords,” she said. “I would have loved to have done it, but now I can invest that energy into two events instead of three and make these two go really well.
Ewen will compete for the national title in the discus on Saturday. While she’s excited about her result in the shot put, she remains focused on her next competition. For Ewen, it starts with keeping a calm mindset in the days leading up to her event.
“The more calm I can keep myself, the more positive thoughts and good feelings I can have, the better,” she said.
Ewen has made appearances at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in each of her four years at Arizona State.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have the experience of coming here all four years of my collegiate career,” she said. “That’s taught me how to say, ‘okay it’s a big important meet,’ but really it’s just another throw.”
In the 10,000-meters, Kansas junior Sharon Lokedi finished with a winning time of 32 minutes, 9.20 seconds to set a school and meet record.
“It was pure joy,” she said. “I didn’t expect that. I was so happy I couldn’t believe it.”
Lokedi was one of the few women who didn’t take the lead during the 25-lap race, and it wasn’t until the last 600m that she really pushed the pace. She faced a similar situation at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, so she was able to maintain her rhythm throughout her finishing kick.
“It felt good,” she said. “Regionals was at the same pace, so I knew it was going to be fast. I just stayed with them and relaxed.”
Kentucky junior Olivia Gruver successfully defended her NCAA title in the pole vault with a clearance of 14-11 (4.55m).
Gruver missed her first two attempts at her opening height of 13-7 ј (4.15m), but came through with a clutch make on her final jump. She was the only competitor to clear 14-11.
Stanford currently leads the team standings with 25 points at the end of Thursday’s competition, followed by Florida with 17 and Georgia at 14. The women’s competition concludes on Saturday.
2018 NCAA Men's and Women's Outdoor T&F Championships - Day Three
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
Men’s 4x100m relay (5:32 p.m.)
This is always one of the most exciting races of the entire meet, and it is likely to set the tone for the team championship race. Florida and Houston were the top qualifiers in Wednesday’s semifinal and they rank 1-2 in the team projections compiled by Track & Field News. The Gators, who are seeking a third straight NCAA men’s outdoor title, clocked the fastest time at 38.49, while the Cougars were a step behind at 38.53.
Men’s 1,500 meters (5:42 p.m.)
New Mexico junior Josh Kerr is the reigning NCAA champion and prohibitive favorite. Earlier this season, he broke the collegiate record with a time of 3:35.01 at the Bryan Clay Invitational. The old mark of 3:35.30 was set by Sydney Maree in 1981. Kerr is also a two-time NCAA Indoor mile champion. Oregon’s Sam Prakel and Mick Stanovsek will be looking for a boost from the hometown crowd.
Men’s 110-meter hurdles (6:12 p.m.)
Florida’s Grant Holloway is the defending champion and he stamped himself as one of the best collegians of all-time with a 13.15 clocking earlier this year. That mark stands second on the all-time list behind Renaldo Nehemiah’s 13.00 record set in 1979. Rueben Walters of Alabama and David Kendziera of Illinois placed second and third, respectively, at last year’s NCAA meet.
Men’s 400 meters (6:32 p.m.)
USC sophomore Michael Norman is undefeated this year in the 200m and 400m. He set a world record in winning the NCAA Indoor 400m title this year at 44.52, and comes into this meet with a personal best of 44.40. Auburn’s Nathon Allen, the collegiate outdoor leader at 44.28, leads a talented field of contenders, all of whom have personal bests under 45 seconds.
Men’s 400-meter hurdles (6:57 p.m.)
A quality field is led by USC sophomore Rai Benjamin, who placed second in this race last year as a UCLA Bruin. Benjamin clocked his PR of 47.98 at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, which stands fourth on the all-time collegiate list. Arkansas senior Kemar Mowatt, North Carolina senior Kenny Selmon and Illinois senior David Kendziera were all finalists in this event in 2017.
Georgia's Comenentia Claims NCAA Crowns in Hammer, Shot Put
Georgia superstar Denzel Comenentia added a national title in the shot put to his hammer throw crown (Photo: Theo Mechain/TrackTown USA)
By Maggie Vanoni / TrackTown USA
Denzel Comenentia had never won a national championship title.
Until Wednesday, when he won two on the opening day of competition at the 2018 NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships in front of 9,767 fans at Hayward Field.
Comenentia, a junior from Georgia, won the hammer throw and came back four hours later to capture the shot put. The sweep of the two events makes him only the third competitor to do so at the NCAAs, matching the accomplishments of Cal’s Jack Merchant (1922) and Auburn’s Cory Martin (2008).
“It feels amazing,” Comenentia said. “It came so unexpected. We had some great competitors and to get the double is amazing.”
To open the meet, Comenentia won the first NCAA title of the meet in the hammer. With a first-place and personal best throw of 250 feet, 8 inches (76.41 meters), he is the No. 10 all-time collegiate performer in the event, and gave the Bulldogs their first victory in the hammer since 2003.
“This was my goal,” Comenentia said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, it’s never easy, but it just feels like my day cannot be better.”
A few hours later, he rallied to claim the shot put title with a winning mark of 67-7 Ѕ (20.61m) – moving from sixth to first on his fifth throw.
After winning the hammer, Comenentia said the first thing he’d do was call his Mom with the good news. Little did they both know, he would be calling her again after the shot put.
“She was pretty happy,” he said. “She has been everything. My coach, my mentor, always somebody to support me when I’m down. She’s everything to me.”
Four other competitors earned NCAA titles on Wednesday.
South Dakota sophomore Chris Nilsen won the pole vault with a meet record of 19-1 Ѕ (5.83m). Nilsen broke the 1996 NCAA meet record of 19-1 (5.82m) set by Tennessee’s Lawrence Johnson in 1996.
“It’s something that I am very happy about and proud of,” said Nilsen, the proud father of four-month-old son, Roman Christopher Nilsen. “I am very happy to pull out the win, and to show that just because you are a parent in the NCAA doesn’t mean you stop. If anything, it motivates you.”
In the 10,000 meters, Michigan’s Ben Flanagan used a late surge to edge Alabama’s Vincent Kiprop for the victory with a personal best of 28:34.53. Flanagan couldn’t imagine a better way to end his collegiate career.
Ben Flanagan of Michigan grabs the 10K national title with a 56-second final lap. (Photo: Theo Mechain/TrackTown USA)
“Going into this race, I knew I had a shot, and I knew it was an outside shot,” Flanagan said. “This was the first time when I went into this race with all these All-Americans and I felt like fit in, and I wasn’t scared of anything today and I think that helped a lot.”
Mississippi State freshman Anderson Peters dominated the javelin with a meet record and personal best of 271-9 (82.82m) on this third attempt of the competition. The SEC freshman field athlete of the year won a bronze medal in the javelin for his native Grenada at the Commonwealth Games earlier this season.
In the long jump, Ohio State senior Zack Bazile came through with a personal best mark of 27-5 Ѕ (8.37m) to claim the Buckeyes’ first individual NCAA title since 1993.
The men’s competition will resume on Friday.
2018 NCAA Men's and Women's Outdoor T&F Championships - Day Two
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
Women’s Pole Vault (4:30 p.m.)
If you’re wondering what happened to Arkansas twin sisters Lexi and Tori Weeks, fear not. The Razorback duo placed second and sixth, respectively, at last year’s NCAA meet, and both return to Hayward Field after getting married last summer. Lexi Jacobus is the favorite this year, with Tori Hoggard projected to place third. Other top contenders include Virginia Tech’s Lisa Gunnarsson and Rachel Baxter, plus reigning champion Olivia Gruver of Kentucky.
Women’s Javelin (5:15 p.m.)
Three-time Pac-12 champion Mackenzie Little of Stanford is the collegiate leader with a PR of 192-4/58.62m. Florida’s Avione Allgood is a sixth-year senior who has missed three seasons due to injury. Texas senior Haley Crouser, a four-time Oregon high school state champion, caps off her college career on the same runway where it began in 2010. Oregon State’s Destiny Dawson, of Cottage Grove, is the Beavers’ third NCAA qualifier since the program’s revival in 2005.
Women’s Long Jump (5:30 p.m.)
[if !supportLists]· [endif]This is a key event for Georgia’s title aspirations. The trio of Kate Hall, Keturah Orji and Tara Davis went 1-2-3 at the NCAA indoor meet, leading the Bulldogs to their first-ever national team championship in track and field. Florida can also pile up points with two title contenders in Yanis David and Darrielle McQueen, while the hometown Ducks are looking for points from sophomore Rhesa Foster.
Women’s 400-meter hurdles semifinals (6:00 p.m.)
At the age of 18, Kentucky freshman Sydney McLaughlin has already competed in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2016 Rio Olympics; ran the 400m leg for Team USA’s world record-setting distance medley relay team; and established the collegiate record of 52.75 seconds in the 400m hurdles in only her third race as a collegian. She is expected to be a “one-and-done” athlete at the NCAA level, so don’t miss your opportunity to watch this talented young athlete compete at historic Hayward Field.
Women’s 10,000 meters (6:38 p.m.)
Missouri’s Karissa Schweizer made her 10K debut in March, and now she’s looking to win an unprecedented four individual national distance titles in the same year after sweeping the 3,000m and 5,000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She will also compete in the 5,000m on Saturday. Among the top challengers are Alice Wright of New Mexico, Sharon Lokedi of Kansas, reigning NCAA champion Charlotte Taylor of San Francisco, and former South Eugene standout Erin Clark of Colorado.
2018 NCAA Men's and Women's Outdoor T&F Championships - Day One
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
Men’s Hammer Throw (2 p.m.)
After placing second at NCAAs last year, Kansas sophomore Gleb Dudarev comes in as the favorite after improving his personal best by 12 feet this season (256-0/78.02m). Top challengers are Georgia junior Denzel Comenentia (250-3/76.28m) and Rutgers senior Rudy Winkler (242-3/73.84m), the 2016 Olympic Trials champion
Men’s Long Jump (6 p.m.)
Florida sophomore Grant Holloway placed second last year to his teammate, senior KeAndre Bates. Both of the Gators will be pushed by Oregon senior Damarcus Simpson. Holloway, the reigning NCAA 110m hurdles champion, and Simpson both have wind-aided jumps over 27 feet this year.
Men’s 10,000 meters (7:08 p.m.)
Alabama junior Vincent Kiprop swept NCAA Division II titles in the 5,000m and 10,000m last year. He duplicated that feat at the SEC Championships this season. BYU junior Rory Linkletter is the reigning NCAA runner-up and two of his teammates – junior Connor McMillan and junior Clayton Young – are also in the field.
Men’s Decathlon (12:30 p.m.)
Day one of the decathlon features four entrants with PRs over 8,000 points, but Kentucky senior Tim Duckworth is the favorite after posting a lifetime best of 8,145 points. Duckworth finished 19th last year after failing to record a mark in the long jump.
Men’s Pole Vault (5 p.m.)
Swirling winds at Hayward Field make this an unpredictable event. South Dakota sophomore Chris Nilsen has cleared 19-0/5.79m at four different meets this year. Akron junior Matt Ludwig is the reigning champion, while SE Louisiana Devin King is a top challenger, although he is reportedly recovering from a hand injury.
TrackTown Tuesday Honors Dellinger, Deal
By Maggie Vanoni / TrackTown USA
There was no better way to wrap up the 2018 TrackTown Tuesday series than to honor legendary Oregon coach Bill Dellinger in his TrackTown Tuesday debut.
Dellinger was accompanied by three of his former athletes – Rudy Chapa, Mary Slaney and Pat Tyson – and the show also paid tribute to hammer throw extraordinaire Lance Deal.
Dellinger, 84, was welcomed to the Hayward Field track in front of the West Grandstand with a standing ovation from the crowd of 350 people as Slaney helped guide him to his chair.
From left to right: Sasha Spencer-Atwood, Bill Dellinger, Rudy Chapa and Mary Slaney (Photo: Nick Lackides/TrackTown USA)
To start his segment, those in attendance were treated to a special viewing of Dellinger’s bronze medal 5,000-meter race at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. All three of Dellinger’s former athletes couldn’t help but smile as the video showed their former coach finishing third in his third Olympiad.
“Little did people know he was sick with a cold,” said Tyson, a UO distance runner (1971-73) and current head track and field coach at Gonzaga University.
Tyson, a former UO walk-on, shared the story of when Dellinger fought to keep him on the team after former Oregon coach Bill Bowerman wanted to cut athletes from the roster.
“He stood up for me and I’ll never forget that,” Tyson said. “I think that is why we’re friends today.”
Chapa, who won an NCAA title in the 5,000m in 1978 and set an American record in the 3,000m the following year, recalled Dellinger’s official recruiting visit to his hometown of Hammond, Ind. The three things that stood out to him about that visit were pushing Dellinger’s car out of the snow with his family; Dellinger trying to convince him the rain in Oregon wasn’t all that bad, and most important, how Dellinger not once said anything negative about any other program.
“It was a very easy thing to choose Oregon,” Chapa said. “It was Oregon, and it was Dellinger and they wanted me.”
Slaney, the double gold medalist at the 1983 World Championships, moved to Eugene to be coached by Dellinger late in her career – thanks to Steve Prefontaine’s numerous suggestions to do so – and only regrets not doing so sooner.
“He treated me like a human being and not as an athlete,” she said. “It was so refreshing when I started working with Bill.”
No matter the memory, the team or the year each of the athletes were coached by Dellinger, they all agreed that he was a man born to coach.
“It’s part of his DNA,” Tyson said.
If not for Dellinger, they all agreed, they would not be the runners, or people they are today.
“He expected people to come to the University of Oregon and become adults,” Chapa said. “That served so many of us so well beyond running. If you believed in the program and you did what you were supposed to do, you not only ran well but you set yourself up for life.”
The show’s finale honored Deal for his commitment to the sport, the hammer throw and Hayward Field. Deal will retire from his current position of Director of Track and Field venues and Program Support after the UO plays host to its sixth-straight NCAA Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Championships.
Sasha Spencer-Atwood & Lance Deal (Photo: Minhna Le/TrackTown USA)
Even though he did not compete collegiately for Oregon, Deal left his mark both on the field and in the community.
For the past 10 years, his legacy has stood tall at Hayward Field in the shapes of the throwing cage for hammer and discus throwers – a cage he built himself for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.
“That is my home,” he said pointing out from the track to the cage.
Deal described his move from Montana to Oregon in March of 1985 as the “best decision” he has ever made.
After a successful tenure as Oregon’s throws coach, and several years of overseeing track events at Hayward Field, Deal will retire to his career as a licensed massage therapist and building hammer cages.
Throughout all of his hammer competitions, his 1996 Olympic silver medal, and all his time on staff at Oregon, the one person he dedicated his success to was his wife, Nancy.
“I meant Nancy two months after I moved here and that was 35 years ago … that honeymoon is still going on,” Deal said as he presented her with flowers and led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to her.
Deal was also presented with a memorable plaque dedicated to his commitment to the hammer throw and Hayward Field.
Jager Places Third in Steeplechase at Pre Classic
By Linden Moore / TrackTown USA
When Evan Jager entered his final race at historic Hayward Field in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2018 Prefontaine Classic, he came relaxed and free of expectations.
“I was focused on staying relaxed and tried not to think about anything all race,” Jager said.
Jager, the American record-holder in the steeplechase at 8:00.45, finished third with a time of 8:11.71, only two-thousandths of a second behind runner-up Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya. Despite the result, Jager felt positive about his outcome.
“I felt pretty good,” he said. “I felt like I was in a great rhythm. I knew the race wasn’t going to go too fast. I just wanted to sit in behind Conseslus and let him push the pace and do the work.”
Still, Jager believes he could have been more aggressive in the race, especially when Kenya’s Ben Kigen, the eventual winner in 8:09.07, started pushing down the backstretch.
“Kigen made a hard push in the back stretch and I probably could’ve been a little more aggressive the last 300 but I saw Conseslus in front of me and I wanted to use him,” Jager said. “I was hoping he was going to make the move to stay with (Kigen), but he didn’t so I think I just hesitated. I could’ve made a bigger move, but I really wanted to focus on having a fast last 200.”
With the outdoor season just getting under way, Jager and his competitors are far from peak form. However, he was encouraged to see Kipruto become a leader in the event.
“It’s still so early in the year I know Conseslus isn’t at his peak right now, I know I’m not at my peak right now,” Jager said. “There are two other major players that weren’t (at Pre), maybe he just had a day but maybe he’s going to be the next guy.”
Jager’s only other outdoor appearance this season came at the Brian Clay Invitational in mid-April where he won the 5,000m. Moving forward, Jager said he is still focused on breaking the 8-minute barrier in the steeplechase. His PR of 8:00.45 stands as the American record.
One aspect that continues to reflect his efforts as he continues to improve is his fitness level. While he acknowledges he still has more to work on, Jager’s comfortable with his current situation.
“I think it’s pretty good,” Jager said of his fitness level. “My training has been going really well; we’ve been up at altitude for the last month haven’t had any hiccups. I feel strong and pretty fast running.”
When asked if he has considered competing in other events, Jager said he’s focused on running a sub-8 race before anything else.
“I think sub-8 is the biggest goal this year,” he said. “If we get that done I could step back and open up the door for more options.”
Jager knows all too well that he has to watch his pace in order to reach that goal. In his case, that meant going at a comfortable pace at the Pre Classic so he could remain healthy for the rest of the season.
“I don’t want to do anything stupid and cost myself the win by trying to solo 8 flat,” he said. “It’s hard to do that. I’d rather save it for the Diamond League.”
Next up for Jager is the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines (June 21-24), followed by the Diamond League meeting in Monaco on July 20.
Rogers Returns to Hayward Field For First Pre Classic
By Linden Moore / TrackTown USA
When Raevyn Rogers stood at the starting line during the 2018 Prefontaine Classic, she felt a sense of calm come through her mind. In only her second outdoor meet as a professional athlete, Rogers absorbed the atmosphere at historic Hayward Field, one of the places that helped shape her accomplished collegiate track and field career.
However, this time she found herself racing against some of the world’s best 800-meter runners.
Rogers finished seventh in the women’s 800m at Pre with a time of 1 minute, 59.36 seconds, six spots behind South Africa’s Caster Semenya, who clocked a world-leading time of 1:55.92.
“My biggest thing was I wanted to have a clean race and I wanted to execute my plan,” Rogers said. “I just wanted peace of mind and be able to do the best that I could and that’s why I’m proud about.”
As someone who is self-admittedly uneasy about running in the middle of the pack, Rogers posted a 2 second improvement from her race at the recent Adidas Boost Boston Games.
“Once I saw that I was really close to everyone, I was excited because for a while I’ve been scared to get in the mix of things,” Rogers said. “But with this, I was able to do the best that I could, finish close and still go sub-2.”
Rogers competed in her first professional outdoor race at the Oregon Twilight Meet on May 4 where she ran the 400m and set a meet record at 52.06.
Rogers, of course, is no stranger to Eugene as she competed as part of the UO women’s track and field team for the past three years. Today, she still considers Eugene her primary residence and continues to practice daily at Hayward Field.
“I think the best thing about (Pre) was that it was in Eugene,” Rogers said. “To still be at home, to still live this day as if it was a normal day really helped me be calmer than I usually am.”
At times, the transition from college to professional running has been a steep learning curve, but Rogers has found comfort in knowing her surroundings, and she has used that to her advantage. Being able to practice on the same track that also holds large meets allows her to strengthen her muscle memory during practice, which translates well to her races.
“The transition has been so inclusive with Hayward because I practice here,” Rogers said. “Not only did I run Twilight, and we won the triple crown here, this is my daily area where I’m actually practicing the things I’m trying to work on in races. To be able to really muscle memory know the areas I’ve been practicing hard at and kicking it into gear has showed how I was little bit more confident when I was running on the track.”
Rogers’ performance on the track is only part of her future. After competing in Jamaica on June 9, she will return to Eugene for graduation ceremonies – she will graduate from the University of Oregon with a double major in Spanish and Art.
Being a UO student-athlete presented its challenges, and sometimes Rogers wouldn’t feel like she was in the right place. However, her faith continued to anchor her as she took steps to excel in both academics and athletics.
“It’s been overwhelming, I’m not gonna even lie,” she said. “The whole process has been overwhelming, and I have times where I don’t feel as though I’m in the right place, but I always come back to my faith. I pray about things, pray for a peace of mind.”
And that has her excited for the future.
UO Jumpers, OTC Elite Athletes Headline TrackTown Tuesday
The OTC Elite 800m women joined us at the Downtown Athletic Club on May 1. (Photo: Theo Mechain / TrackTownUSA)
By Linden Moore / TrackTown USA
TrackTown Tuesday welcomed a series of accomplished guests in front of an audience of 150 at the Downtown Athletic Club on May 1.
The show featured Prefontaine Classic Meet Director Tom Jordan, five members of the University of Oregon jumps crew, and Oregon Track Club Elite athletes Francine Niyonsaba, Shea Collinsworth and Hanna Green. Those in attendance were given an insiders’ glimpse into the upcoming Prefontaine Classic, and a preview of the competition that will be showcased at the Oregon Twilight meet on May 4.
The UO contingent included three reigning Pac-12 champions in senior Damarcus Simpson (long jump), junior Chaquinn Cook (triple jump) and sophomore Rhesa Foster (long jump) plus rising stars junior Ben Milligan (high jump) and junior Tristan James (long jump, triple jump).
The jumpers of Oregon talked about their goals going into Championship season. (Photo: Theo Mechain/TrackTown USA)
Cook set the school record in the triple jump by more than a foot with a leap of 45 feet, 7 inches (13.89m) at the Mt. SAC Relays in April. The former Benson High and Portland State star told the crowd that she was surprised at the mark.
“I didn’t see it coming,” Cook said. “But I knew I was getting stronger and my times were getting faster. Once I did the jump, by my second phase, I was already up on the pit. When I took my last phase, my landing wasn’t that great, but I ended up jumping 13.89m. It didn’t feel that big, but it felt good to have an improvement.”
James talked about his transition back to TrackTown USA after originally attending college in Oklahoma. An Oregon native and Lane Community College transfer, he described the feeling of debuting as a member of the Oregon track and field program.
“It took me going 2,000 miles across the country to Oklahoma to realize that I belong in TrackTown USA,” James said. “I was a little nervous because I did represent the O, and every time that I put it on, I want to be the best that I can be.”
The show also featured three 800m runners from Oregon Track Club Elite in Niyonsaba, Collinsworth and Green.
Niyonsaba, in her third season with OTC Elite, is a two-time World Indoor gold medalist. She also won silver medals at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and the 2017 World Championships in London. Besides being one of the world’s best 800m runners, she is also involved with UNICEF in her home country of Burundi. Niyonsaba gives back in many ways, including organizing track and field competitions for youngsters.
Olympic silver medalist Francine Niyonsaba charmed the crowd. (Photo: Theo Mechain/TrackTown USA)
“I believe in supporting Burundi,” she said. “I want to inspire them to start a better future. It’s a big pride for my country.”
Green and Collinsworth are two of the newest members of OTC Elite. Green, a graduate in interior design from Virginia Tech, talked about the intricate balance between athletics and her portfolio.
“All through college, it was a good thing to have going back and forth,” she said. “I wouldn’t think about interior design as much when I was on the track, and I wouldn’t think about running when I was in school.”
Collinsworth spoke about her decision to come to TrackTown USA to run professionally.
“There were three reasons,” she said. “The reputation of the team and its athletes, Coach Rowland with his reputation, and TrackTown USA. This is the city to be in if you want to run.”
Niyonsaba is expected to compete in the 400m at the Oregon Twilight meet on Friday, while Green is entered in the 1,500m and Collinsworth will pace the 800m.
Jordan, who is in his 35th year as meet director of the Pre Classic, said he was looking forward to an American record attempt in the men’s two-mile, plus both men’s and women’s pole vault competitions. The meet will be held May 25-26 at Hayward Field.
Tom Jordan, meet director of the Pre Classic, previewed the 2018 event. (Photo: Theo Mechain/TrackTown USA)
“I think we’re going to have the best fields ever,” Jordan said. “Top-to-bottom the fields are the best we’ve ever had.”
TrackTown Tuesday returns for its last show of the season on June 5 at Hayward Field.
Video by: Nicholas Lackides
Alexi Pappas: Olympic Runner Shares Pre-Race Tips For Eugene Marathon
(Photo: Josh Phillips/TrackTown USA)
By Alexi Pappas / TrackTown USA
With the glory of the 122nd Boston Marathon behind us, many of you might be thinking about running a marathon yourselves. Or, with the 12th Eugene Marathon just around the corner, hopefully many of you reading this article are just days away from toeing the line in Tracktown, USA! What the Eugene-Springfield community has to offer in the world of marathon running is very special – whether you’re from the area or not, the Eugene Marathon is an amazing way to celebrate the place where running was born. This is where I feel I grew up as an Olympic runner, and where so people find their “place” as a runner.
I haven’t run a marathon myself yet but I have run countless major road races, paced the Chicago Marathon twice, run a leg in a marathon relay, and I’ve also had the honor of riding in the lead car at the New York Marathon and being the ceremonial starter at a few more. So, whether your big race day is coming up in Eugene (April 28-29) or is sometime on the horizon, I wanted to share some invaluable pre-race tips that I’ve picked up along my career ahead of your big day.
1) Know your plan for race morning ahead of time. If you plan to use the shuttles or bag-check or if you purchased race-day packet pickup, make sure you know where those things are before race day! On race day, you want to conserve all your willpower and energy for the actual event – you don’t want to worry about where to park or where the shuttle pickup is or any other details like that. Remember that there will be dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people just like you all showing up to the starting line – give yourself ample time and anticipate logistical challenges ahead of time. Troubleshooting logistics ahead of time is just as important as any run or workout you can do leading up to the race.
2) Preview the course. Some marathons, including the Eugene Marathon, host “preview runs” ahead of race day. But even if the event doesn’t have any official previews, I still recommend driving the course or at least carefully studying the map as much as possible. It’s important to see the twist and turns and small rises and dips of the course! I do this before every road race, taking careful notes, and then I visualize the night before so that I know what to expect. I find that this helps me control what I can control during the race – having the knowledge to expect certain turns, hills, and aid stations leaves mental space for the unexpected and things we can’t control.
3) Practice your fluid intake during your long runs so that when you see the fluids offered along the course, your body will be familiar with taking in fluids and you’ll be familiar with the practice of drinking while running. Since the Eugene Marathon is right around the corner, take the time this week to practice drinking during your early week runs – even if it’s a short run, it’s so great to understand the way it feels to grab a cup of water or electrolytes and familiarize your body and hands with this process! When I watched the NYC Marathon from the lead car, I could tell which athletes were practiced “drinkers” and which were not.
4) Control what you CAN control, which is everything except the weather. Familiarize yourself with the course, with your routine on race day morning, lay out what you’re going to wear the night before, something tried and true. I have certain routines I never stray from: for example, my prerace meal. During all other times in the year I am very adventurous with my eating, but before a race I rely on the same meal every time. My go-to is some combination of chicken, bread, almond butter, avocado, and sweet potatoes.
5) Find a mantra: I like to tell myself to “stay” during every single race I run. I find that deciding on a mantra ahead of my race helps me return to something positive during moments in the race where I might not feel so great. Finding a mantra may sound silly, but on the chaos of race day, I find that it calms me down and lifts me up. I repeat my mantra on the start line before the gun goes off, so that it’s the last “gift” I give myself before the race begins.
6) Be thoughtful about your friends and families ahead of time. Make arrangements with family and friends at least two days in advance so that the day before you’re just relaxed and enjoying your rest day. It’s best to avoid wrangling with where your loved ones are going to be cheering from when you’re trying to focus on the race. Of course, it is an amazing feeling when you do see a loved one along the course! It can feel as wonderful as a sip of well-needed electrolytes. So find out where they will be cheering well ahead of the race.
7) Remember that it hurts for everyone. This is something I think about especially during longer races, where everyone encounters rough patches at some point – I used to think maybe I was the only one hurting, but then I realized racing hurts for everyone. This was both comforting and motivating. When you realize everyone is pushing through a challenge together, it distracts you from your own pain and also pushes you to continue alongside your peers.
8) Soak it in. Relish in the community of fellow runners. One of the things I love about road races is the gift of the environment around me – always changing, always interested. Especially during the Eugene Marathon, there will be so many sights to take in: the trees, the unique houses, the diehard running fans who keep the spirit of TrackTown USA alive and thriving.
9) From time to time, think about the finish line in Historic Hayward Field, and think about your contribution to its unique history. You’re a part of something special, and you’re also adding to something special when you cross that finish line. I have always heard that a marathon is a celebration of fitness and goals, and I love that. I love thinking about a race as something you’ve decided to commit to and earned. I will always remember watching my dad cross the finish line of his first (and only) marathon – I hope one day I will fully understand why he was crying!
10) And when you’re finished: respect your achievement. You’ve just completed a marathon!! Make sure to relish in what you’ve accomplished. This means going out and enjoying the rest of what the Eugene-Springfield community has to offer. After my track races at Hayward Field, I like to go out for pizza or a burger. And then I rest. Make sure to recover properly before diving back into training for the next one!
Jon Hendershott: 1946 - 2018
Photo: Hurdles First
11 April 2018
We woke up this morning to the sad news of the passing of noted sports journalist Jon Hendershott.
For more than a half-century, Jon worked tirelessly to tell the stories of track and field, this sport we love that benefits tremendously from those who give it a voice. He was a regular fixture at Hayward Field, covering meets in rain or sunshine, regardless of the scale of competition. He even volunteered his talent to TrackTown USA when he helped craft the language honoring the Heritage Athletes at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
Jon’s positivity, passion and kindness were felt by everyone lucky enough to have shared time with him. To read more about the life of this great man, we encourage you to read the following articles:
https://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/category-news/3435-jon-hendershott
https://www.iaaf.org/news/iaaf-news/jon-hendershott-obituary
https://onceuponatimeinthevest.blogspot.si/2016/06/v6-n-42-john-hendershott-hommage-from.html
UO Indoor Champions, Nike Pioneers Headline TrackTown Tuesday
The TrackTown USA community celebrated the 2018 NCAA indoor titles of the DMR women and Sabrina Southerland at the Downtown Athletic Club on April 3. (Photo: Theo Mechain / TrackTownUSA)
By Linden Moore / TrackTown USA
EUGENE, Ore. – TrackTown Tuesday welcomed a slate of accomplished guests for its April show before a crowd of 150 fans at the Downtown Athletic Club. Those in attendance were treated to appearances from UO Running Club member Justin Gallegos, Nike pioneers Jeff Johnson and Nelson Farris, and five Oregon athletes who won national titles at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The Ducks included 800-meter champion Sabrina Southerland and the triumphant Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team of Jessica Hull (1,200m), Venessa D’Arpino (400m), Susan Ejore (800m) and Lilli Burdon (1,600m).
Oregon’s DMR finished with the fourth-fastest time in collegiate history at 10 minutes, 51.99 seconds. Even though the Ducks weren’t projected to win, they claimed the first women’s DMR championship in program history by .03 seconds over Stanford thanks to a strong final leg by Burdon.
“I made it a little bit dramatic, but everyone did their job well and I was in a good position,” Burdon said. “I pushed the pace and thankfully I closed well. I think we all believed in each other.”
Southerland, a senior graduate transfer from Georgetown, won the NCAA indoor 800m title with a personal best time of 2:01.55. The surprising victory came after failing to make the NCAA Indoor 800m final in three previous trips with the Hoyas.
From left to right: Sasha Spencer Atwood, Susan Ejore, Lilli Burdon, Jessica Hull, Venessa D’Arpino & Sabrina Southerland (Photo: Theo Mechain / TrackTown USA)
“It was a liberating experience,” Southerland said. “I was going to nationals every year at Georgetown but never made it to the finals so even just making it to the final this past indoor season was ‘OK I’m in it now I can do this.’ I feel like I’m in a better place now.”
The day after the DMR, Hull notched another NCAA honor with a third-place finish in the women’s 3K at 9:01.96.
“All season long I focused on building momentum; I didn’t even think about the 3K until after (the DMR),” Hull said. “They told us to soak in the DMR because a national championship doesn’t come around every day, so I enjoyed the moment that night and raced the next morning.”
Fans also heard from UO Running Club member Justin Gallegos. A sophomore from California, Gallegos has cerebral palsy. He is working toward breaking two hours at the upcoming Eugene Half Marathon.
Gallegos is also an ambassador with the Nike FlyEase project, which is dedicated to improving the accessibility of running shoes.
Justin Gallegos discusses his upcoming half marathon goals. (Photo: Theo Mechain / TrackTown USA)
“It’s been an experience seeing all the new prototypes, possibilities and impact that this shoe can make,” Gallegos said. “The bigger picture is to design a shoe that provides easy access and is for everyone. What I want to do is put this shoe out there to the public and let it be known.”
Gallegos also expressed his gratitude to John Truax, who helped launch a fund-raising campaign for Gallegos to attend Oregon.
“We’re forever grateful that John stepped in and offered to help fund raise and because of that I’ve been involved with Nike Running and the FlyEase project” he said.
Two of Nike’s original employees, Jeff Johnson and Nelson Ferris, closed the show. They reminisced about the early days of Blue Ribbon Sports, which eventually became Nike, now one of the world’s top companies and most recognized brand names.
Jeff Johnson & Nelson Farris talk about stories from Nike’s early days. (Photo: Theo Mechain / TrackTown USA)
They talked about Nike’s commitment to putting athletes first and one of their earliest success stories at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
“We did a great job of communicating who we were, an athletic company serving athletes,” Farris said. “It’s not about the product, it’s about the athletes.”
Johnson, who was Nike’s first official employee, spoke about the importance of trust among the various department heads at the often raucous “buttface” meetings in the formative days of the company.
“What it was in retrospect was no one had any job titles; no one at that table, including Phil Knight,” he said. “It was an exercise of total trust in each other. That was our tribe, we were teammates.”
TrackTown Tuesday will return on May 1.
RIP Stewart Togher: ‘The Best Hammer Coach in the World, Bar None’
(Photo Credit: GoDucks.com)
By Curtis Anderson / TrackTown USA
EUGENE, Ore. – Stewart Togher, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the hammer throw and a longtime throws coach at the University of Oregon, passed away at the age of 80 on March 28 after a long battle with leukemia.
Togher, a former Scottish weightlifting champion, came to the U.S. in the early 1980s to be a part of the Olympic development program for American hammer throwers.
He served as the U.S. national hammer coach for 10 years, and spent 15 seasons as the UO throws coach from 1983 to 1997. Four of the top five men’s hammer throwers on the Ducks’ all-time list were tutored by Togher, including NCAA champions Ken Flax and Scott McGee.
Born in Portobello, Scotland, Togher also mentored athletes from Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Australia and Japan. He coached athletes at each Olympic Games from 1976 to 2004. One of his pupils, Japan’s Koji Murofushi, won the gold medal in the hammer throw at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
“The guy was brilliant,” said Lance Deal, a longtime Togher disciple and silver medalist in the hammer throw at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. “He was the best hammer coach in the world … bar none.”
Deal first met Togher in 1985. It was Togher’s third season at Oregon, and the raw but talented left-handed discus thrower from Montana State showed up at Hayward Field at the behest of his collegiate coach.
The idea was to spend a couple of weeks in Eugene being tutored by the hammer guru.
After working out under the watchful eye of Togher for just a few days, Deal threw a personal best of 207 feet, good enough to qualify for the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. At the end of two weeks, he was consistently throwing the hammer over 220 feet.
At that point, the gruff Scotsman approached Deal with one question: “Are you staying, laddie?”
The answer was an emphatic “yes,” and the coach-athlete relationship which blossomed over the next 18 years produced a string of historic achievements which still stand today.
“If it wasn’t for Stewart, I wouldn’t be here,” Deal said. “I wouldn’t be this guy.”
A four-time Olympian, Deal was the first American to medal in the hammer throw since Hal Connolly won gold in 1956. Deal went on to earn 21 national titles during his professional career: nine in the hammer throw and 12 in the indoor weight throw. He still holds the American record (270-9/82.54m) in the hammer throw and the world record (84-10/25.87m) in the indoor weight.
Deal, who once described Togher’s relationship with the hammer as a “magnificent obsession,” had this to say about his former coach when he was inducted into the USATF National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2014.
“Stewart had a huge impact on my life as both an athlete and a person,” Deal said. “The guy doesn’t sleep. He sits up and thinks about things, and I was real fortunate that he sat up and thought about the hammer as it related to me for a long, long time.”
Togher, whose coaching prowess spread worldwide, never did stop thinking about the hammer throw.
Eight years ago, he purchased a secluded 13-acre parcel of pristine countryside overlooking the McKenzie River Valley. He transformed the land into a “hammer thrower’s paradise,” complete with a cement throwing circle and steel cage at the bottom of a gently sloping hill. From inside the cage, the thrower’s target was a 100-foot tall cedar tree.
The distance from the circle to the tree was measured at precisely 86 meters – the world record.
“I can’t believe I didn’t do this earlier,” Togher said at the time. “This is perfect. There’s no wind. There can be a storm blowing over the top of the hill and it doesn’t even move the net. You can hear your feet here. You can hear yourself work.”
The hammer sanctuary, located a few miles south of Springfield, was described as “a slice of heaven” by Jake Freeman, one of the American hammer throwers who visited the facility as often as possible. It was one of many innovations which Togher brought to the sport throughout his career.
“I go to Stewart to perfect my technique,” Freeman told The Register-Guard in 2010. “A lot of coaches don’t have the eyes like he does to know if you’re an inch off. He knows everything and he’s strict enough to make you do it right.”
For his part, Deal fondly recalled Togher’s reaction the first time he threw over 80 meters, a long-stated goal and a measuring stick of world-class talent. It was a piece of wisdom he has never forgotten.
“After I threw 80 meters for the first time, (Stewart) told me, ‘OK, now it’s time to throw well. Stop worrying about throwing far, now throw well’” Deal said.
“And that carried me through.”
There will be a Memorial Gathering at Gatehouse Pizza in Pleasant Hill on Sunday, April 15 from 1:30-4 p.m. in Togher’s honor. His longtime companion, Kathy Campbell; their two daughters, Carly and Heather; and his brother, Justin, will be in attendance. The public is invited.
Said Deal: “Guiness will be served.”
Alexi Pappas: What a Summer Olympian Learned From Winter Olympic Athletes
(Photo: Alexi Pappas)
By Alexi Pappas / TrackTown USA
When I competed in my first Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the summer of 2016, it was exactly that: a first. I had only competed in an international competition twice in my life before, and never on a stage as big as the Olympics.
In Rio, I was razor focused on my 10,000-meter track race. I wanted to run a personal best and break a national record. I wanted to finish in the top half of the best in the world. Thanks to my focus and my training, I accomplished all of these goals.
My days were structured. In the days leading up to my Olympic race, I did the exact same thing each day: slept in, woke up, ate, trained, went to the gym to stretch, ice bathed, ate, napped, trained again, ate again, and slept. I noticed and amused in the whole experience, but I tried not to get too involved in anything social – so, yes, I loved seeing athletes celebrating in the Athlete Village pool outside my building each night, but I closed the curtains before 10 p.m. so I could sleep.
In Rio, I was more of an observer. In Korea – as a member of the new Olympic Artist in Residence program – I became outgoing. For my film, I asked athletes to be themselves in short, improvised scenes with either myself or my co-star, Nick Kroll. What this meant is that I met and spent quality time with so many different athletes! For one scene, I wandered into the Athlete Village game room and sat next to a “skeleton” athlete from Jamaica.
He explained to me (my character) all about how in skeleton (riding a small sled down a frozen track while lying face down), you use a steering technique that is much like the children’s song, “head, shoulders, knees, and toes,” – meaning, steer with your head first, and only use the toes for emergency. I loved learning directly from athletes about techniques like this, because it allowed me to appreciate the challenges and goals of each sport. I’m not quite brave enough to throw myself down an ice track head first, but I do appreciate that all Olympic athletes can relate to one another.
I also met a snowboard halfpipe athlete from Ireland, who told me he hopes to become a pilot once he’s done competing as an Olympian because it’s the best way for him to continue “flying.” My heart melted in the good way as I learned that all of us Olympians do what we do because we love how it makes us feel. In running, I love how I am using my whole mind and body to propel myself forward. I like how simple running is. I like how I can improve by putting in time and effort.
My most memorable conversation was with Team USA gold medalist Jamie Anderson, who has an interaction with my character in the free hair salon available to athletes in the Village. We talk about success, but we also talk about failure – and there’s where it got interesting. My character Penelope (and me in real life) is always so curious about how someone like Jamie approaches rejection and failure. She’s experienced it, of course, but that’s not always the most outward-facing side of a gold medalist. I look forward to sharing her perspective with the world through my films, a perspective I found to be refreshing and positive. Jamie is truly an example of positivity, resilience, and also groundedness – she encourages my character Penelope to enjoy the Games. They are, after all, a once (or maybe twice!) in a lifetime experience.
I spoke with a freestyle mogul skier, Morgan Schild, about the differences between a sport where judges determine the winners and sports like running and cross-country skiing where the athletes are directly competing against each other. Morgan told me that her competitors feel like they’re all on one big team against the judges, and whether they win or lose isn’t entirely up to them. Running, of course, is completely different. I knew that there were judge-based sports in Rio, but I never got the opportunity to really hang out with any synchronized swimmers or divers – I was too focused on my own competition!
My character in this film – I play Penelope, a cross-country skier – was inspired by a few real-life cross country athletes: namely, my college friend, Erika Flowers, and 2018 gold medalist Jessie Diggins. My character wears glitter just like Jessie! I spent time researching and chatting with cross-country ski friends to learn about their sport so that I could portray my character Penelope from a place of truth. It is so important to me that people like Erika and Jessie are proud of what I put on screen.
I now have a much deeper appreciation for the Olympics than ever before. I wouldn’t have thought that was possible after my experience competing in Rio, but now that I’ve had a chance to peek “behind the curtain” and learn more about the countless moving pieces that come together to create the Games, I am even more acutely aware of the immense passion, creativity and dedication that goes into each Olympics. As an artist, I felt lucky to truthfully capture the experience of competing and being at an Olympic Games, and feel that this project will make my fellow athletes very proud.
Alexi Pappas: On Going to the Olympics as an Artist
(Photo: Alexi Pappas)
By Alexi Pappas / TrackTown USA
This February, I went to the Olympics in South Korea – not as an athlete, but as an artist. I was selected for the new Olympic Artist In Residence program, an effort by the IOC to reconnect athletics with the arts. Historically, the Olympics have had a strong tie to the arts and this Artist in Residence program, which started in Rio 2016, reignited this once strong tie.
As an athlete and artist, it has always been of the upmost importance that my athletics and my arts stand on their own—that is, I wanted to qualify and compete in the Olympics on the merits of my athletic ability, and I also wanted to make an award-winning movie that traveled to festivals and was distributed worldwide. I feel strongly that these worlds enhance each other, but they should never lean too strongly on one another. When I received the invitation to the Olympic Artist in Residence project, I saw it as a moment where my two worlds fully intertwined: I was on their radar because of my performance in Rio, and I actually got the call because my film was good enough to catch the eye of IOC President Thomas Bach.
For my project, I traveled to PyeongChang with my partner Jeremy to write, direct, and star in a series of short films. It’s been nearly two years since my own Olympic experience where I broke a national record in the 10,000 meters for Team Greece, and I still feel like I have yet to fully express how being an Olympian felt to me. I realize that every Olympian’s experience is wholly unique, but I also think there is a joint emotional experience that every Olympic athlete can relate to—this is what I wanted to express through my films in PyeongChang.
Why make a film? When I sit in a movie theater I feel like I am experiencing something personal and individual, but also completely together with a group of people. That’s how the Olympics felt, too – all of us athletes were there to compete against each other and win medals, but we were also going through a shared experience together. Film felt like the perfect corollary to my Olympic experience.
Like my movie Tracktown, filmed right here in Eugene, my goal was to make a film that athletes will want to show their children to say: “this is what it felt like to actually be there.” I remember the moment 2012 Olympian Bridget Franek said these exact words to me after watching Tracktown, and how much that meant to me. I also remember when Nick Symmonds told me that he related to Tracktown’s protagonist Plumb — he was one of the very first people to read our script, and his kind words gave me confidence that the story really was able to speak to a shared athletic experience.
Tracktown was unique because it was a fictional film that spoke to my true experiences as an elite athlete and Olympic hopeful. When it comes to the Olympics, fictional film is different from watching television coverage or documentary programs on the Olympics. With fiction, we can “zoom in” on specific moments – especially moments between competitions – and capture emotions and experiences that might get overlooked on TV or in a documentary.
With this philosophy in mind, Jeremy and I set out to make a series of short fictional films capturing the Olympic Values through narrative storytelling. We also released behind-the-scenes “making of” videos on the Olympics Instagram account while we were filming.
Even though I was making a fictional film, it was still important to me as an athlete to tell a story that could have really happened and does reflect the true experience there. My character is a cross-country skier named Penelope, who competes in her first Olympics, and the actor/comedian Nick Kroll plays a volunteer dentist named Ezra—the two have adventures together and apart. In Rio, I really did meet a doctor and struck up a friendship with him! We also featured other real Olympians playing versions of themselves, such as American medalists Jamie Anderson and Gus Kenworthy.
It feels like my background as an athlete and a filmmaker came together at this intersection, and in a way that I couldn’t have dreamed up myself. My goal is to express what I felt as an Olympian. I feel grateful that the Olympic Committee believes in me as an athlete and artist – I am even more inspired to continue my work as a filmmaker and also my training for the 2020 Olympics!
Patrignelli Inspires Health, Confidence at TrackTown Fitness
“You can relate to everybody no matter what their ability,” Megan Patrignelli said. (Photo: TrackTown USA)
By Linden Moore / TrackTown USA
EUGENE, Ore. – It’s a chilly Sunday morning in February as Megan Patrignelli prepares for her weekly workout at Hayward Field. The air is crisp and clouds loom overhead, yet Patrignelli seizes the early wake-up call to work out with more than 100 recreational walkers, joggers and runners from the Eugene-Springfield area.
The crowd gathers in the East Grandstand to hear the morning’s training regimen laid out by 2016 U.S. Olympic Coach Vin Lananna. This is the beginning of TrackTown Fitness, where Patrignelli volunteers her Sunday mornings to help community members achieve their fitness goals.
“You can relate to everybody no matter what their ability,” Patrignelli said.
The Sunday morning sessions are just a small portion of Patrignelli’s passion for fitness that extends far beyond the track. While running is the base on which she builds her foundation, she has found ways to leverage it through different outlets as a platform to promote confident, healthy lifestyles for young children and adults.
When she’s not lacing up her own shoes for morning training runs, she dedicates her afternoons to immersing herself in the community. Her involvement spans across multiple organizations – in particular the Oregon Special Olympics. Despite her busy schedule, what motivates her are the people she interacts with each day.
“Everything I do on the side gives me extra energy because I’m passionate, so it doesn’t feel like I have to go do something,” she said.
The Special Olympics has been Patrignelli’s passion for the past couple of years. She works year-round for the organization as a coach in soccer, weight-lifting and track and field, doing her best to develop her athletes both on and off the field. Like many coaches, she focuses on communicating effective strategies for each person. Some days can be difficult, such as the time when one of her athletes wanted to lift a heavier weight than they were ready for. That’s when Patrignelli reminds them that sports are a process. She’s excited to coach at the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle this summer.
“Getting to know people is the biggest thing,” she said. “Once you’re there, they learn who you are and it’s an athlete-coach relationship. I’m excited to see them grow.”
What most people don’t know is that Patrignelli had to grow into her infectious personality.
Growing up in New York, she battled social anxiety throughout her childhood to the extent that she was intimidated to interact with her teammates. Close to her family, she didn’t consider moving almost 2,800 miles across the country to the University of Oregon until late in high school. When she did land in Eugene, she found it just as difficult to socialize with her collegiate teammates.
“I’m a really shy person; I dealt with social anxiety in college and it took a long time for me to become friends with my teammates,” Patrignelli said.
Her four years at Oregon were filled with steady improvement on the track.
(Photo: GoDucks.com)
Her first breakthrough came as a junior in 2013 at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, where she snagged the 12th and final qualifying spot for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10 minutes, 9 seconds.
On paper, the odds didn’t stack in her favor.
Patrignelli was not among the favorites to advance, and the women’s steeplechase at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Austin, Texas, was delayed until 12:30 a.m. due to inclement weather, which forced the athletes to warm up in the hallway of a nearby building.
Normally, those would not be ideal conditions, but Patrignelli made the best of what she was given, overcoming a rough patch in which she was struggling with a negative mindset and a fear of racing.
“It was a really imperfect build-up and somehow I just got out on the line and did it,” she said. “It was a proud moment after a couple years of not feeling like myself.”
The achievement of reaching the NCAA Championships for the first time was a satisfying end to a year when she became a more vocal leader.
“I knew that I was able to be myself again running because everything was wrong, and I still did it,” she said. “I felt like I embraced who I was, and it translated on and off the track.”
In essence, a new version of Patrignelli was born.
Her personality has blossomed since that year as she began to take on leadership roles with Team Run Eugene, a local semi-professional running group focused on community interaction.
This is also when she, unlike her one-on-one coaching interactions with the Special Olympics, recently found confidence in addressing large groups of people during practice and being a vocal leader among her teammates.
“She’s gone from the person who loves to be supportive to the one who can talk in front of a group,” said Ian Dobson, who has been Patrignelli’s coach since 2015.
“I’m super proud of her for that because she’s put herself in uncomfortable positions and figured out how to make it a good thing.”
Dobson also sees it mutually beneficial to combine performance and personality.
(Photo: Team Run Eugene)
“It’s rewarding because it definitely reinforces the connection between performance and engagement,” Dobson said. “Megan’s very genuine about it so the relationships go beyond ‘hey how are you doing’ – she actually wants to know.”
At TrackTown Fitness each Sunday, Patrignelli is also charged with bringing the group back together after they finish their workout for the team cheer. As the group shouts in unison, her personality shines through and the echo harkens back to her own personal journey.
Olympic Silver Medalist Highlights TrackTown Tuesday
By Maggie Vanoni / TrackTown USA
EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon Track Club Elite’s Nijel Amos, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist in the 800 meters, made his TrackTown Tuesday debut before a crowd of 150 at the Downtown Athletic Club on March 6.
Amos, appearing alongside OTC Elite teammates Harun Abda and Tom Farrell, closed the show, which also featured a step back in time with an appearance by four of legendary Oregon coach Bill Bowerman’s sub-4-minute milers, plus a glimpse into the future from four young Duck throwers.
Nijel Amos of the Oregon Track Club Elite said one of his goals this season is to break the 800m world record. (Photo: Theo Mechain/TrackTown USA)
Joining OTC Elite just last year, Amos is the fourth-fastest all-time performer in the 800m with a personal best of 1 minute, 41.73 seconds. The native of Botswana clocked that time in winning a silver medal as a teenager at the 2012 London Olympics – the first Olympic medal ever won by an athlete from Botswana.
“Coming (to Eugene) now, from a region where running was just a sport, to a place where running is a lifestyle,” Amos said. “It just gives you so much motivation when it comes to being a better athlete and being a better person.”
Abda, a member of OTC Elite since 2014, earned six Big Ten titles and 13 all-American awards during his time as a Gopher at the University of Minnesota. After graduating, there was no doubt he wanted to move west to Eugene to begin his professional career.
“If you know anything about track and field, you want to be in Eugene,” Abda said. “Hayward Field will always be my favorite track.”
Farrell, like Amos, is also from outside the U.S. He grew up in Great Britain and attended Oklahoma State University, where he set four top-10 all-time marks in the distance events. He competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics and was a finalist at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in the 5,000m.
He has his eyes set on competing at Oregon21 – the 2021 IAAF World Championships at Hayward Field.
“With this being home, and just being able to hopefully compete on a track that we train on all the time is the ultimate goal,” Farrell said.
Under Bowerman, 10 runners broke the 4-minute mile barrier training on that same track.
Out of the four that shared the stage on Tuesday, Archie San Romani Jr. did it first in 1964 as a senior. Wade Bell and Roscoe Divine both broke the barrier at the 1966 Oregon Twilight meet. Dave Wilborn joined the sub-4 club as a junior in 1967 at 3:56.2, which stood as the school record at the time.
Archie San Romani Jr., Roscoe Divine, Wade Bell & Dave Wilborn (left to right) discuss what it was like being coached by Bill Bowerman. (Photo: Theo Mechain/TrackTown USA)
Seeing Romani set the pace at Oregon helped push the other three runners into joining the UO team and strive for the same goal on the track.
“Archie got me started running when I was a sophomore in high school,” Divine said. “I was a basketball player and a football player, then I met Archie, and Archie is a very good salesman. I went home and told my basketball coach I was quitting, and that I was now a runner.”
In high school, Bell remembers seeing a picture of Romani leading a pack of runners off the Bowerman turn at Hayward Field. Romani would finish the mile race under four minutes and the photo’s moment would forever spark a determination in Bell to do the same.
Jokingly, the crowd booed when Wilborn mentioned he had briefly considered going to Oregon State. Yet, it was the tradition of Bowerman, former UO coach Bill Dellinger and Romani that convinced him to become a Duck.
For Romani, it was Bowerman himself that convinced him to come to Oregon.
“When you meet Bill Bowerman, and he looks you in the eye and makes a few comments to you, you say to yourself, ‘That’s the guy I want to be my coach,’” Romani said followed by an uproar of applause from the crowd.
The men concluded that even though their days at Oregon are long in the past, they will always have the Oregon and Bowerman-based runner mentality in everything that they do.
“When I was 59, I decided to become a cyclist,” Wilborn said. “Even at that age, I still wanted to compete and race against people. And I think all that is carried over from my years as a runner at the University of Oregon.”
Current UO throwers Maddie Rabing, Sydnee Walker, Max Lydum and John Nizich understand that mentality.
For the three Oregon natives – Rabing, Lydum and Nizich – they first experienced the Hayward Field hype at the Oregon High School State Championships.
“(The high school state meet) is such a great illustration of the tremendous organizational capacity of what we got going on here,” Lydum said of competing in the shot put at the state meet for Central High School.
Rabing, a 2016 graduate from Lakeridge High School, felt it even more when she finally got to put on the Oregon uniform.
“It’s a different experience when you are actually wearing the Oregon uniform and you’re directly competing for Oregon,” Rabing said. “I really think the community here around track, just makes it a really great atmosphere. Everyone is cheering for everyone, it doesn’t matter if they know you or not.”
Walker, a freshman from Roswell, Georgia, is new to the community, but she has already earned the No. 6 ranking on Oregon’s all-time top-10 list in the indoor weight throw. Now, she’s learning how to transfer that energy into the upcoming outdoor season.
Oregon throwers May Lydum, Sydnee Walker, John Nizich, and Maddie Rabing (left to right) talked about their goals for the upcoming season. (Photo: Theo Mechain/TrackTown USA)
“(I’m) trying to take that energy that I learned from indoors and set the PRs from there and try to move that into outdoors,” Walker said. “I’m looking forward to putting on the Oregon uniform again and getting some big numbers in the hammer.”
The next TrackTown Tuesday will be held on April 3rd at the Downtown Athletic Center at 7 p.m.
Video by: Nicholas Lackides
Melissa Stockwell: A Paralympic Type of Daring
By Maggie Vanoni / TrackTown USA
Melissa Stockwell had been stationed in Baghdad, Iraq for three weeks. She was 24 years old, living out her dream of serving in the United States Army.
However, on April 13, 2004, a roadside bomb resulted in her losing her left leg.
For Stockwell, it didn’t take long until she got back on her foot and reclaimed her life through becoming a Paralympic athlete.
“While my story has some tragedy behind it,” Stockwell began. “My story is not a tragic one. It’s an example of tragedy turned into triumph and it’s an example that we all have the power to choose our own paths in life, whatever obstacles come our way.”
On Tuesday night, February 20, 2018, Stockwell spoke at the University of Oregon’s Be Series in front of a crowd of over 100 people. She told her story, from losing her leg to becoming a Paralympian, as a part of the Be Daring edition of the series.
Video by: Nicholas Lackides/TrackTown USA
In attendance were the UO triathlon club, local veterans and students, along with representatives from TrackTown USA and the UO Accessibility Education Center.
As a child, the image of holding the U.S. flag on the medal podium fueled Stockwell’s desire to be an Olympic gymnast. She soon realized what she really had a passion for was not gymnastics, but the idea of representing her country.
“On the floor mat before every gymnastics meet,” Stockwell said. “I would stand there with my hand over my heart and I would imagine myself getting that perfect 10 in that American flag.”
Enlisting in the Army during her early college years, Stockwell was quick to learn and became a Second Lieutenant after graduating from the University of Colorado in 2002.
When her story approached that fateful April day, the crowd grew silent as she recounted the moment her Humvee was struck with a bomb.
“There was this defining boom, the loudest sound I have ever heard,” Stockwell said. “I reached down, took my seat belt off and looked over and down. I knew something wasn’t right. There was a lot of blood … At the time, I had no idea the extent of the injury, I had no idea my leg was gone.”
Stockwell leavened that shocking moment by sharing stories of her recovery at Walter Reed Medical Center, including memories of meeting Tom Hanks and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
While being fit for a prosthetic leg, Stockwell medically retired from the Army—she is the first female solider to ever lose a limb in active combat—and was awarded The Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
Adjusting to her new life, she rediscovered her passion for sports. Back in the U.S., she spent time relearning how to ski and swim, now with one leg, in order to chase that childhood dream of making an Olympic podium.
At the Beijing Paralympics, in April 2008, Stockwell, the first Iraqi War Veteran to ever qualify for the Games, competed in three swimming events. Even though she walked away without a medal, she was given the honor of carrying the American flag for Team USA during the closing ceremony.
“I think in life we all have moments we wish we could relive, over and over again,” Stockwell said. “For me this was one of them. Carrying an object that I am so passionate about into a sold-out stadium and just not believing where my life had brought me.”
The next time she returned to the Paralympic stage, it would be for more than just her talent in the pool – Stockwell soon fell in love with triathlon. She showed pictures of all three different prosthetic legs she uses during a triathlon race; one for running, one for swimming and one for biking.
On Sept. 11, 2016, at the Rio Paralympics, Stockwell finally earned her spot on the podium in the paratriathlon’s Paralympic debut. She proudly displayed the American flag while accepting her bronze medal as part of the U.S. sweep of that event.
“It brought me back to my time at Walter Reed, where I told myself I was going to live my life for those that gave the ultimate sacrifice,” Stockwell said. “I woke up that morning, put on my USA uniform and I knew that race was about so much more than myself.”
After hearing her story, the crowd no longer saw a disabled Stockwell on stage. They saw a three-time World Champion, a two-time USA Triathlon’s Female Paratriathlete Of the Year, a Paralympic bronze medalist, a Purple Heart recipient, a veteran and a mother of two.
“The beauty in life is we have the power to choose where we want our life to go, so choose to make your story a good one,” Stockwell said.
TrackTown Tuesday Honors Andrew Wheating
By Linden Moore / TrackTown USA
EUGENE, Ore. – Track and field fans were treated to a special edition of TrackTown Tuesday on Feb. 6 when a crowd of 200 gathered at the Downtown Athletic Club to honor a slate of distinguished guests.
For many, the night will be remembered as a farewell celebration for two-time Olympian and five-time NCAA champion Andrew Wheating, the former University of Oregon standout who recently announced his retirement from the sport.
Wheating was greeted with a standing ovation as he reminisced about his storied four-year career in Eugene. As a UO student-athlete, he set school records in the mile, indoor 800 meters and distance medley relay, and competed alongside fellow Duck teammates and future Olympians such as Ashton Eaton, Galen Rupp and Matthew Centrowitz.
“I remember the first workout, I was put in a group that was supposed to run 5 minutes, 20 second mile paces,” he laughed. “The next day I could barely walk.”
However, all good things must come to an end.
Andrew Wheating thanked the crowd for their support throughout his years in Eugene. Wheating retired from track & field on Jan. 4, 2018. (Photo: Theo Mechain / TrackTownUSA)
Wheating spoke in depth about his decision to close the professional running chapter of his life, when he determined that the next race in which he got hurt would be his last. The decisive race came after he was injured during the 2017 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. At that point, he made the choice to focus his energy in other areas.
“I didn’t feel like the racer I once was, and things weren’t clicking,” Wheating said.
“I wanted to win for my team and bring home a championship. Suddenly that drifted away.”
Throughout the evening, Wheating thanked the community that supported him during his career. His retirement sparked an outpouring of social media messages and personal stories, all of which he took to heart.
“It’s not fun to do something great by yourself and in this town especially, I wouldn’t have been anything without the people I see in front of me,” he said. “I can’t thank you enough for carrying me for as far as you guys have.”
Wheating never imagined the legacy he’d leave behind. As someone who experienced everything from the NCAA Championships to the Olympic Games, he always put those around him before himself.
“Legacy never seemed to be something to shoot for. Giving back has always seemed like a bigger and more rewarding experience,” he said.
The middle distance men of Oregon. Left to right: Blake Haney, Sam Prakel, and Mick Stanovsek (Photo: Theo Mechain / TrackTownUSA)
The crowd also heard from three of Oregon’s top middle distance runners, senior Sam Prakel, senior Blake Haney and redshirt sophomore Mick Stanovsek. All three sit in the UO all-time top 10 list for the indoor mile and each has broken the 4-minute mile barrier.
“Those moments with your teammates are really hard to beat,” Haney said. “That’s something you can’t match.”
Stanovsek, a walk-on, spoke about his journey onto the UO track team following his freshman year, and his rigorous training schedule that has prepared him to leave his mark on a program he once only dreamed of joining.
“I’d do it a hundred times over again if it means having teammates like these,” Stanovsek said.
The TrackTown Tuesday show opened with an appearance from University of Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullens, who talked about the remarkable balance that the athletic department aims to provide for its student-athletes.
“We’ve proven here that you can have a great academic experience, can engage in our community, and we can win plenty of National Championships, too,” Mullens said.
Mullens is no stranger to National Championships, including the historic Triple Crown won by the UO women last year. He also acknowledged that the program’s widespread prestige has put the Ducks ahead of other programs.
“We are the envy of our peers,” Mullens said.
TrackTown Tuesday will return on March 6.
University of Oregon Athletic Director spoke to the importance of the overall student-athlete experience. (Photo: Theo Mechain / TrackTownUSA)