State Meet - DAY TWO

OREGON STATE MEET
HAYWARD FIELD, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
DAY TWO – 18 MAY, 2007

On the second day of the Oregon State Track & Field Championships, the Ram men again performed with great competitive zeal and success, despite having only two competitors on the day. Under sunny skies and amidst swirling winds, NATHAN LIGHTNER ’09 made his State Meet debut in the 400m while TAYLOR MORGAN ’08 ran in his 2nd consecutive 800m final.

Lightner, running in lane 5 just outside the state’s #2 ranked quarter-miler, Dusty Parrish of Grants Pass, got out well and led much of the race. Parrish pulled even down the homestretch and narrowly edged Nate at the line, 50.32 – 50.35. Both qualified easily for Saturday’s final. The top two qualifiers from the other heat were Grant’s super soph Karl Acker and Lightner’s MHC foe Shaun Lambert; Lambert’s Gresham teammate Peter DeBois also moved on, giving the MHC three of the eight finalists. With all of the qualifiers between 49.71 and 50.84, the final looks to be a very competitive affair.

Lightner will be looking on Saturday (2:25pm) to capture Central’s first 400m crown since Pat Shipley’s school record run of 48.06 in 1993; furthermore, he would become only CC’s second soph to take home a state title, following the legendary Byron Howell’s 100m/200m double in 1978. Regardless of Nate’s finish on Saturday, his qualifying for the final has been truly a case of simple hard work; after a strong freshman year in the 100m and 200m, Nate dedicated himself to becoming a state-level competitor in the 400m and 300mh, working diligently throughout the off-seasons (summer, fall, winter), and his work has clearly paid off. The great news for Ram fans is that he’ll be back for two more years!

About an hour and a half after Lightner’s run, Morgan settled into lane 4, having run the top qualifying mark on Thursday. Given his runner up status a year ago – and Oregon sophomore class record 1:52.33 – he was clearly the favorite here despite a season that had certainly not gone according to plan. He missed some weeks of training and a few meets, including the season’s biggest invite, Centennial, with an assortment of ailments, leading many to doubt his fitness. He had split 1:55.5 and 1:54.4 on relay duty, but few seemed to acknowledge those marks; the 1:54.4 would be the state’s leading mark entering this day. Those that favored others here – or simply weren’t sure what Taylor would bring – simply don’t know this young man and his absolute fire for competition. For the past year, despite the difficult spring, Taylor has felt that this state title in the 800m was his for the taking; rather, he was the rightful heir to this title, and anyone who wanted it would have to suffer greatly to wring it from his hands.

At the gun Taylor quickly made up the stagger on Lincoln’s tremendous sophomore Nathan Mathabane, whom most felt would be Taylor’s chief competitor. As the field broke for the rail beyond the first turn it became apparent that none felt compelled to lead the race. Past 200m in a quick 25.7, Taylor was followed closely by Ryan McLaughlin of Milwaukie, Mathabane, and the remaining five runners. Into the homestretch our man opened up a slight lead as Mathabane assumed the second spot; Morgan passed 400m in a quick 53.9, four meters ahead. By 600m, reached in a very quick 1:22.0 (28.1 for that 200m), the cushion had grown to 15m and Taylor looked to be well on his way to his Oregon State title (his first was earned in xc in the fall). Down the homestretch Mathabane held on but could not close as Morgan crossed the line in 1:52.64, his best this season by almost two seconds.

Morgan took a few minutes to speak with the media, hug his mom and his girlfriend, and then quickly went for his warmdown – in preparation for Saturday’s 1500m final. He’ll be attempting to be the first large school athlete to win both the 1500m and 800m since Crook County’s Jon Ryan in 1994; to be fair, this is the first time in Oregon State Meet history that these events have been held on separate days.

The 1500m final looks to be a very competitive event with sophomores Mathabane and Elijah Greer of Lake Oswego – both well known in age group circles – coming in with the state’s top marks. Also in the mix should be the 3000m champ and runner up, Bryce Burgess of Franklin and Jesuit’s Brian Manning. Manning’s teammate Sam Larson and our own NICK TURNER ’07 also are looking at high finishes in one of Saturday’s marquee events. Turner had a fine winter of running and appears ready now to take his place amongst Oregon’s elite runners in Saturday’s final. Over the years our Ram distance men have shown an uncanny ability to run their best races at the most opportune times of the season; both Laney and Morgan have shown Nick that that tradition continues, and he certainly should reap the confidence of their performances.

Those that questioned Morgan’s fitness prior to the 800m have little reason to doubt him now, but many may wonder how he’ll handle the back to back finals. Odds are he’ll be fine, having run the same double three weeks earlier with a 1:54.4 relay carry at Jesuit on a Friday evening, followed by a 4:03 1500m victory the next day in which he lead the final – very windy – 1100m and closed in 60 seconds for the win over St. Helen’s fine distance man, Kevin Elder. Regardless of that preparation – or any time missed previously – this young man lives to race, and there is no doubt in the Ram camp that he’ll come prepared to race on Saturday afternoon (1:20pm).

Also representing the Rams on Saturday will be CAM NORRIS ’07; Cam is seeded 7th in the discus after finishing 8th a year ago, but those who saw him throw at the MHC District Meet know that he is certainly capable of a much higher finish. His 149’10 was thrown with a strong tailwind, and those in the know estimate that he is clearly ready for a throw well beyond the 160 foot mark. Cam began his preparation for this meet the day after last year’s state meet, and he is absolutely ready for a big day on Saturday. The discus begins at 1:15pm with Norris in the 2nd flight (along with all of the other major contenders).

Hope to see you at the meet!