Oregon State Track - DAY ONE

OREGON STATE MEET
HAYWARD FIELD, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
DAY ONE – 17 MAY, 2007

Contrary to previous incarnations of the Oregon State Championships in Eugene, the weather was absolutely beautiful for Day One, with finals being contested in a number of field events and the 3000m run, along with numerous semi-final races. The Ram men had just two competitors today, DAVID LANEY ’07 and TAYLOR MORGAN ’08, but both competed at a very high level.

Laney got the day started for the Rams in the final of the 3000m. His pauper-to-prince story has been well documented, and many not familiar with Mr. Laney might have expected him to simply be “happy to be here”. On the contrary, 12 of the 14 entrants in the 3km had qualifying marks between 8:56 and 9:06 with Laney’s 9:05 putting him smack-dab in the thick of the medal race. Given David’s tremendous improvement and the qualifications of his competitors, a top four finish – and low 8:50’s effort – certainly appeared reasonable on this day. At the gun he settled nicely on the rail about 10th as the pack – but for one straggler – ran a surprisingly controlled 71 second opening lap. Rattling off very conservative 72’s through the mile, David certainly seemed relaxed before moving up to third, anticipating a move by any of the favorites. As the 13 man group passed 1800m, he was ready to make a race of things but wisely held off as the pack ran into the wind down the backstretch. Entering the homestretch with 900m to go, the words of the public address announcer were a dream come true for anyone familiar with Laney’s work over the last 3 ½ years, “David Laney of Central Catholic High School takes the lead!” Our boy, David Laney, was leading the finals of the 3000m at the State Meet.

Again, many might have thought he’d be satisfied at that point, but Laney has shown over the years that he has big dreams – and his dream here wasn’t just to lead, but to do some serious damage. As Laney surged, many of the contenders fell back, and with 500m to go he had only the company of Jesuit’s Brian Manning and Franklin’s Bryce Burgess; they were 3rd & 5th at last fall’s state xc championships and were clearly the favorites on the starting line. Amongst those Laney dropped was the harrier season’s runner up, Sean Coleman of Canby. At the bell David’s league rival Leo Castillo of Hood River Valley had re-joined the party, and the quartet moved quickly down the backstretch, covering the penultimate furlong in just over 31 seconds. Alas, our man had little left over the final 200m as Burgess covered the last half lap in a shade more than 29 seconds for the win. Manning was 2nd, Castillo 3rd, and, despite a grand effort down the homestretch, David was nipped at the line by a hard-charging Coleman for 4th place. Regardless, Laney’s effort was incredible as he had blown the race apart when many of the more well-known runners could not or would not follow his increase in pace. Given his inability to crack the Rams’ top seven last fall in cross country, a 5th place state meet finish here – in a PR 8:55.96 – was a testament to his dedication, work ethic, and incredibly positive attitude. He never gave up his dream of being a player at the state level – not just merely good, but a true factor in the most important meets – even as he had not broken 10 minutes entering his junior year. His is a story that will be told time and time again – with great pride, admiration, and appreciation – for years to come.

Laney’s splits taken at the finish line:

35.3, 1:47.2, 2:59.0, 4:11.3, 5:24.0, 6:36.0, 7:46.5, 8:55.7
35.3, 1:11.9, 1:11.8, 1:12.2, 1:12.7, 1:12.0, 1:10.5, 1:09.2

After a few hugs and photos and smiles while admiring his fifth place hardware, Laney looked at his coach – with a straight face – and said, “What’s my workout for Saturday?”

Later in the afternoon, Morgan showed for his semi-final in the 800m, simply looking to qualify for Friday’s final. As a frosh two years ago he had run 1:56.25 and not made the final, so he was prepared here to run a brisk effort if needed. The other six in his heat, apparently aware of Taylor’s qualifications (2nd here a year ago in an Oregon soph class record 1:52.33), deferred to him throughout the race, and he easily qualified for the final in 1:58.92. Certainly the final will be more competitive, and Taylor exudes an easy, quiet confidence as he prepares to go after his 2nd state title (he won the xc championship back in November), while knowing that there are a number of athletes capable of giving him a run for his money.

Amazingly, Morgan – through no fault of his own – almost missed his race. He was completely warmed up on the turf field adjacent to the track while his coach talked to him about all kinds of things he already knew when it became apparent that his heat was stepping on the track; he already had on his hip numbers and spikes so he made it on the track in a reasonable time, but there were a couple of heart-stopping moments as we realized his heat was already out there. For a short time, I felt as though I might be to Taylor as Stan Wright was to Rey Robinson and Eddie Hart at the ’72 Games.

Friday finds, again, just two Ram men competing with NATHAN LIGHTNER ’09 in the semi-finals of the 400m at 2:45pm while Morgan will toe the line at 3:55 in the 800m final.

Saturday’s schedule has four Central men on the docket with CAM NORRIS ’07 leading things off at 1:15 in the discus. Cam looks to improve (greatly!) on his 8th place finish a year ago. Soon after, NICK TURNER ’07 and Morgan will represent the Rams in the 1500m at 1:20pm. Lightner’s final in the 400m goes off at 2:25pm to end our weekend. With a little luck, there could be a top five team finish for these Rams on this day!

Hope to see you at the meet!