Oregon State Meet - DAY THREE

OREGON STATE MEET
HAYWARD FIELD, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
DAY THREE – 19 MAY, 2007

With an outside shot at a top five finish, the Central Catholic men made their way to storied Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus for the final day of the Oregon State Meet. Four Ram men were scheduled to compete in three finals on this day, led by Friday’s 800m champ TAYLOR MORGAN ’08 in the 1500m. Joining him in the metric mile would be NICK TURNER ’07, while classmate CAM NORRIS ’07 had very high hopes in the discus. NATHAN LIGHTNER ’09, in his first state meet, had qualified for the final of the 400m on Friday and certainly was as qualified as any other to take home the title.

Morgan and Turner led things off for the Rams in what promised to be a very competitive 1500m. Morgan and 800m runner up Nathan Mathabane of Lincoln were entered, along with 3 of the top 4 finishers in Thursday’s 3000m. Further clouding the medal picture was Lake Oswego’s talented soph, Elijah Greer, who had opted to be fresh for this event. Greer won the prestigious Centennial Invite earlier in the season with a gutsy move 800m out, and many had picked him for the win here.

Early on this race resembled a World or Olympic finals race as the pace dawdled; at 300m Jesuit’s Brian Manning, the 3000m runner-up went to the front, splitting a pedestrian 68 at 400m. Morgan and Turner were positioned in mid pack at this point and looked strong. Through 700m in 1:56 the pace had certainly picked up with Morgan in mid pack and Turner struggling to hang on.

Turner’s season had started fantastically well with a pair of great runs in March at the Nike Indoor Nationals, but had stalled mid-season. His 4:06 effort at the MHC District Meet was certainly his finest hour, and, despite high hopes here, he simply didn’t have it on this day. Nonetheless, his contributions over the years to the Ram distance program cannot be underestimated; in his junior year – his first year of cross country – he shocked most observers with a sparkling 13th place effort in the State Meet, contributing mightily to the Rams’ dominating win on that day. In his senior year, after struggling much of the season, his late race surge was just enough to solidify the Rams’ second consecutive cross country championship. This spring his marks of 1:59.05 and 4:06.08 were solid, but not quite what he had hoped after some fine winter work, but his leadership been nothing short of exemplary, and the program is clearly better for Nick’s involvement.

Through 800m in 2:12 (Morgan and Turner at 2:13 & 2:14), the pack was still fairly tightly bunched with no one moving decisively. Finally, with about 550m to go, Greer, not unexpectedly, shot to the front and immediately strung out the field. Despite the fact that most in the race saw it coming, not one competitor was able to move with the Laker soph, including Morgan. Morgan passed 1200m in 3:16 – a 63 second third lap – and was already a solid 25m in arrears of the fast closing Greer. Greer’s last 400m of 57.5 gave him the win in 3:57.76, just ahead of Mathabane, who finished even better over the final 200m. Morgan, clearly suffering the effects of his spectacular 800m run the day before, faded to 7th in 4:04.10 while Turner was 12th in 4:12.15. This would be the Rams’ only disappointment on the day.

Despite their less-than-hoped-for results, Morgan, Turner, and the rest of the Ram faithful immediately turned their attention to the remaining CC athletes, Norris and Lightner. Norris began the disc as the 7th seed and immediately spun the platter 150’, putting the pressure on many of the competitors to follow. At the end of three throws, Cam was comfortably in third place, with the leader and runner up at 167’ and 158’. While the leader appeared out of reach, Cam dug in and fired a PR 155’4 on his fourth throw, narrowing the gap on the 2nd place thrower. His next two efforts at 146’ weren’t good enough to move up, but there was nothing but joy on Cam’s face, having improved greatly over last year’s 8th place finish, and beating numerous competitors seeded ahead of him. Cam’s popularity among his teammates and classmates was illustrated by the more than 20 students who formed – by far – the largest cheering section for any of the final throwers. Cam’s dedication to his craft has been spectacular over the last two years, and his medal winning performance was a testament to that hard work. He’ll move on to the University of Oregon next year, where throws coach Lance Deal, having watched Cam’s efforts here, has already planted the seed to convert young Mr. Norris to the hammer throw. With Cam’s work ethic, there is no doubt that he’ll be successful as a Duck, and he’ll be greatly missed on the field and in the halls at Central Catholic.

Just after Norris’ fourth round throw, super soph Lightner knelt in the blocks for his first ever state final. Nate drew lane two, just inside his MHC vanquisher Gresham’s Shaun Lambert. In retrospect, this was a great draw as it allowed him to see almost the entire field ahead of him throughout the race. Nathan got out well – as instructed by his coach, Askia Brown, and made up the stagger on Lambert coming out of the first turn. Down the backstretch he appeared to be at or near the lead, but the public address announcer did not notice the streaking soph. Through the turn Nate was clearly even – or slightly ahead – of Grant’s excellent sophomore Karl Acker, and they hit the straight virtually tied.

Down the stretch they moved as one with Lightner looking the better of the two (see photo above!). Over the last ten meters, Acker somehow found one last gear and edged Nate, 49.03 to 49.28. Regardless, it had been an absolutely fantastic effort – by both young men – and one which will likely be repeated numerous times over the course of the next couple of years. For this race, Lightner had taken the measure of numerous runners more highly acclaimed than himself, including Gresham’s Lambert (third in the photo above) – whom he had never beaten before this day.

Nate’s evolution as an elite 400m runner began on a lonely ride home during his freshman year from the Aloha Relays. Even as he had run exceedingly well in the short sprints, his coach mentioned that he might have even greater success as a long sprinter. The thoughtful freshman mulled it over throughout the season and began, in the summer, a grueling training program – devised by Coach Brown – that took him through the fall and winter (where he showed a hint of what was to come with a great indoor 400m [52.56a] at the University of Washington), and ultimately to the second step on the medal stand on this day. He and Coach Brown and Coach Hashim Hall have worked very hard to reach this point – and there can be no doubting that even more greatness awaits this young man. He plans to continue racing this summer in both the sprints and hurdles.

As a team, the Ram men had only one setback; four of the five athletes who traveled to Eugene earned medals, with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th place finishes (Morgan earned two medals). All tolled, it was good enough for 30 points and a seventh place team finish at the Oregon State Meet, marking the fifth consecutive year that the Rams have cracked the top 10 (5th in 2006, 10th in 2005, 7th in 2004, 9th in 2003).

Despite the graduation of Norris, Turner, and Laney, CC returns 20 of this year’s points with both Morgan and Lightner looking to get even more in 2008!

Hope to see you somewhere along the way.

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!

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!