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FLRC Newsletter - September 2004 |
| IUTC: Andris Goncarovs Takes Fourth and Fifth at Junior Nationals | |
Congratulations to Andris Goncarovs on USATF Junior Olympics Eugene OR! Ithaca United's Andris Goncarovs returned from Eugene, Oregon, after attending the 38th annual USA Track and Field Junior Olympic National Finals July 27–August 1, 2004.
Goncarovs landed fourth place in the Midget boys (age 11–12) 3000-meter run with a time of 9:58 and fifth in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:39.39. The 3000-m time was a 19-second personal best and 14 seconds better than the all time USATF Region 2 Midget boys record. The race featured 30 top runners from 25 states. Only one of the Midget boys in the group had ever run under 10 minutes prior to Junior Olympics at Hayward.
The 1500-m race was one of the most exciting and tightest finishes of the week, where the top two finishers finished within 0.04 seconds of each other and the remaining third- through eighth-place medallists finished within a 1.1-second stretch.
The week-long event featured over 200 running and field events contested by over 5000 athletes in five age groups. It was held at the University of Oregon's Hayward field, known as America's track Mecca. It also the same stadium where Steve Prefontaine set several American distance track records in the early 1970s. Athletes from across the USA earned invitations to the event by competing in association and regional races earlier in July. Complete results can be found at: http://www.usatf.org; complete video coverage of the last three days of the Junior Olympics can be viewed at http://www.i2sports.com.
Andris had worked out a strategy with the help of Coach (me) and Tom Harsthorne for the 3000. Andris' last few races had been colored with wild-animal starts and then struggling to keep the pace for six more laps, which he never did successfully, always seeming to slow the last few splits. This time, it took all his will and attention to hold back for a full lap and a half, and then gradually increase. We used Tim Broes 5000 Olympic trials video as our visual trainer on holding back. He clipped off a 38/39 in the first lap, and then 40/41 for the next. Compared to the rest of the 20 runners in his speedy heat that went out in 33/34 and 36/38 for the 200s split. Slowly he worked his way form dead last to fifth and then later fourth. He was able to close in on Parker Stinson from AZ and just miss third by a couple of seconds. Andris kick was not powerful, but the pace was steady, his most even splits to date in a 3000. The eventual winners were two boys who recently emigrated from Ethiopia and Somalia, who ran a wild race with freaky surging throughout that no doubt helped them pull off the amazing times. The winner Ahmaed Musa dropped in a 9:39 and Roblet Muhudin, now from Colorado, 9:40. All four top finishers were pleased and surprised with their time—all PRs by big slices of time, and basked in the glory of standing-room only applause at Hayward Field. It was the race of the day and maybe even the week. It was front-page news in the Eugene Papers, as was the entire Junior Olympics all week long. Only one of the four boys had run sub-9 minutes prior to that race.
Surprisingly, Andris did not look overly tired or weak at the end. He knew he just ran a fine race with a big PR. His prior best was at the USATF Youth Athletics a month earlier at 10:17, in Baltimore.
In the 1500 meters, Coach and Andris felt it was best to stick with the plan and run slow at the start. Neither of us expected better than a 4:50. The 1500 replayed much like the 3000 with Muhudin and Musa trading the lead. This time Muhudin striding in first. The third through eighth places were all decided with in 1.1 seconds just behind Musa and Muhudin. It was breathtakingly close. Andris led the second pack for much of the last lap, but failed to lean at the line as two boys clipped by less than 0.4 and 0.2 seconds in front of him. Both of us were surprised at the time and placement. It was pure gravy if you know what I mean. Of course Andris let me know that I didn't remind him to lean, to which I said, "Well, you never had to before, bucko!"
Andris was able to make new friends with kids from New Hampshire, Portland, Seattle (a youth long jumper named Kai), a kid named Matty Johnson (lots taller than our Matty Johnson, but similar in expressions and looks) from Maryland who ran a few laps with Andris at the track in Coos Bay (Prefontaine High School track, a couple hours away from Eugene), and Laken (that's her real name) a Midget girl 3000-meter runner from Reno, NV.
The other item of interest was that the air was full of the odor of Douglas fir. Its a deep, resinous, almost smoky smell that you can't help but notice almost everywhere in and about Eugene. At Hayward Field the odor is very strong due to the fact that the seats and stadium structures are made from the wood. It made the stadium almost holy in feel.
On the side, we trekked to Coos Bay, yukked it up with locals in old pick up trucks about the good old days. One such fella, Charlie Woodhouse, a grandpa of eight, full beard, fully filling the seat of his 1973 Ford F-100, exclaimed the wild times of the town when Steve Prefontaine ran the streets. Coos Bay is no tame place still, with an active and vocal fishing fleet parked at the harbor, the mountains of logs and pulp chips fresh in from the hills, being loaded onto freighters bound for Japan, and of course the endless stream of tourists headed up stream for their beach houses. They grow cranberries and sheep in quantity there just outside the city, but we saw only a few fields with either.
Later in the week we trekked to Crater Lake, saw the old volcano, or what's left of it, had our 8000' snowball fight, and hauled it back to Eugene for yet another round of miniature golf, which appears to be yet another revenue stream for the city as golf courses are everywhere.
It's good to be back, and we hope to see you all at future IUTC and FLRC events. Many thanks to FLRC for its support of IUTC and our activities. IUTC Track and Field 2004 season comes to a close and prepares for a fruitful and fun 5K and Cross Country Fall Season.
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