When Luke Puskedra came to Oregon track and field in the fall of 2008, his future didn’t fit neatly into a form chart. The gangly distance runner surely had a pedigree; Puskedra had claimed Utah 3A State Track Championships at 1,600 and 3,200 meters as a prep sophomore, junior and senior. To top it off, he won consecutive state titles in cross country.
Those accolades — along with a series of impressive showings in various invitationals — vaulted Puskedra into the national consciousness, in spite of the forces that designate elite track and field athletes as back-page fodder.
If Puskedra’s name was buzzing in Utah, it reached a fever pitch in Eugene.
In 2008, the Salt Lake City native was named the NCAA’s top freshman in cross country and the Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year. Additionally, he was one of only two freshmen nationally to earn All-America honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
“I think everybody’s eyes opened,” Oregon associate athletic director Vin Lananna says. “Everybody was just mesmerized by his ability as a freshman to be competitive in every race.”
Outsiders began to ponder Puskedra’s eventual place in history. After all, his freshman season overlapped with the final days of fifth-year senior and Oregon great Galen Rupp. During Rupp’s collegiate career, he became the first person ever to win six NCAA distance races during the same calendar year when he captured the 2008 NCAA Cross Country crown, the 2009 NCAA Indoor 3,000-meter, 5,000-meter and distance-medley titles as well as the 2009 NCAA Outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
One could only wonder: Was a comparably dominant stretch in the cards for Puskedra?
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Considering Puskedra’s prodigious achievements on the ellipse — and Oregon’s track record of ferocious distance zealots – it’s expected that the towering, 6-foot-4 senior would display an extroverted and aggressive demeanor.
Stereotype dismissed.
“When he’s running,” Lananna says, “he seems like the least likely person to get an entire West Grandstand screaming his name.”
That’s not to say that Puskedra can’t make a statement; he just elects to let his feet do the legwork.
“Luke’s a lead-by-example type of guy,” says sophomore Ben DeJarnette, who trains with him year-round. “He’s not into talking a big game. But he’s the hardest worker I’ve ever been around. He’s the guy who’s up in the morning on the bike, and you see him running — even though he’s the highest mileage guy on the team.”
Lananna concurs before adding his own twist.
“I think that if I were to describe Luke, I would say that he’s relatively quiet, but that he is a powerful leader,” he says. “What he doesn’t say is often more powerful than what he does say.”
The cliche of the “silent leader” has permeated every corner of the sporting landscape. But in track and field, the individual nature of competition and constant grind of training mean speaking without words is often the most effective form of communication.
“Even though he’s a quiet guy, he’s someone that guys go to talk to because he’s done it,” DeJarnette says. “He’s had the results, he’s had the success. He’s someone that everyone trusts. He’ll give advice, and he’ll give encouragement. Luke’s a kind of big brother for a lot of guys on the team, myself included.”
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Over decades, Oregon has distinguished its program with an approach that can be explained in a single word: innovation.
The learning curve began to steepen when Bill Bowerman@@checked@@ was named Oregon head coach in 1949. He incorporated principles from his days as a major in the U.S. Army into much of the training. He also bucked trends of the era by using film as a major teaching technique and developing tailored workout routines for individual athletes.
Progress quickened with Bowerman’s obsession to detail and his need to reduce the weight of his athletes’ apparel, which helped inspire his co-creation of Nike. Suddenly, the days of jittery sprints with heavy leather shoes were over; jogging and lightweight footwear became the new craze.
Though those major technological leaps now lie far in the past, the spirit that fueled them is well and alive at Hayward Field. Lananna, who has led the program since 2005, has been a big part of that revival and fully understands its significance.
“I think at Oregon, if we do things that are only in the box, we will have squandered what track and field means to this community,” he says.
And so this past winter, when Puskedra had a hankering to switch up his off-season workouts, not a single feather was ruffled.
“I was fortunate enough to have the coaches go a different direction, and I was able to do a half marathon in January,” Puskedra says. “It’s not very conventional, but I thought it fit into the training. Having coaches that are flexible like that is a big blessing.”
Lananna’s adaptability is evinced in his indifference.
“He came up with the idea of doing this half marathon,” he says, “and we did it.”
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Though innovation has been the longtime backbone of Oregon’s program, there is another lineage spanning the eras: strong distance running.
From the legendary feats of Steve Prefontaine@@checked@@ to the brief ascent of Rupp, the Ducks’ history is abreast with brilliant performances. Former Olympic Bronze Medalist Bill Dellinger@@checked@@ and marathon maven Alberto Salazar@@checked@@ are just two more examples of revolutionary figures who helped shape the distance culture of TrackTown USA.
On the one hand, the days of yore confirm Oregon offers everything a young distance runner desires: motivation, experience and proof that achievement is on the horizon.
On the other, it offers little consolation for shortcomings.
“It’s very hard when you’re coming into a program and you’re ‘the next’ whatever,” Lananna says.
To make matters worse, the program’s heritage means distance events assume an undeniable symbolic significance.
“I think Luke has embraced that, he’s enjoyed it, and he’s been competitive in every event he’s been in,” he says. “Part of the reason Luke came to Oregon was because of our tradition.”
So with lofty expectations set, how has Puskedra stacked up to the ideal? According to Lananna, favorably.
“He’s been a great representative of that symbolic, hard, tough blue-collar distance running that typifies what Oregon is,” he says.
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So, with Puskedra entering the home stretch of his final season of collegiate competition, what can we say about his contributions to the program? Simply put, he has nipped at the heels of legends while becoming a dominant force — and arguably the most consistent performer on the team.
Overall, he has racked up 10 All-American honors. He’s a three-time Pac-10 scorer and NCAA Outdoor qualifier at 10,000 meters. He also earned selections in the 10,000 for the 2009 and 2011 USA Track & Field Championships.
This fall, Puskedra joined some of the greatest runners in Oregon history with his sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships.@@sixth place? what, is this a group of mediocrity?@@ He became just the third Duck to win four cross country All-America honors, joining Prefontaine and Terry Williams. He also became just the fourth Duck to post three top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, joining Prefontaine, Salazar and Rupp.
Of course, Puskedra still has to write the final chapter of his career at the NCAA Championships this weekend in Des Moines, Iowa. Rest assured, he won’t waste your time with a wordy prediction.
“I’m just trying to help out the program any way I can,” he says. “Don’t really talk about it — be more about it.”