When Zoe Buckman arrived in Eugene last spring, she was coming off a long outdoor track season in Australia and jumped right into the American outdoor season.
The Australian season started in October and finished with the Australian national championships in March, leaving her little time to adjust before her first meet as a Duck, the Pepsi Invitational in early April. She qualified for the NCAA Championships, but never felt like she got in the swing of things.
“It was just a matter of holding on, along with trying to adjust,” she said. “I got a taste for the U.S. track scene but I wasn’t all there physically.”
Now settled in, she’s looking to bounce back.
“I’m feeling a lot fresher, both mentally and physically,” she said.
Buckman, a veteran of two World Junior Championships, had never been to the United States before enrolling at Oregon. She said the extent of her familiarity with Oregon had been meeting Rebekah Noble at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing.
However, Buckman’s coach in Australia, Dennis Goodwin, had been in touch with Oregon head coach Vin Lananna.
“(Goodwin) had been communicating with us and I didn’t know a lot about her and after we finished doing the e-mail thing we talked on the phone and I could tell she was bright, she was very enthusiastic and excited about coming to see new things,” Lananna said.
One of the new things she experienced was a cross country season. Having never run a cross country race before, she started the season not really knowing what to expect.
“I think cross country definitely grew on me. At the start I didn’t really know what I was doing. I just kind of went along with it. Throughout the season I found myself getting into the longer distances and surprising myself and just getting more confident with each race.”
At the NCAA Championships in November, she helped the Ducks to a second-place finish, placing 39th overall. Buckman said she thinks the team can be even better next year.
“We’re such a young team and we were pretty inexperienced going into it,” she said. “I’d definitely give us a chance.”
Buckman also competed in her first indoor track season this year, qualifying for the NCAA Championships as a member of the distance medley relay team.
“It took me a while to adjust to the track itself,” she said of the shorter oval. “I couldn’t get a good gauge of the pace at first.”
This outdoor season, Buckman will focus on the 800m and 1,500m, but Lananna thinks her future is in the longer distance.
“I don’t know about 5,000, but I think she’s suited for the 1,500, but right now we’re gonna stick with the 400s and the 800s get her to master that event first, but down the line it might be a 1,500 for her,” he said.
Buckman agreed, saying it would probably be her best shot at going to the Olympics.
“At this point in my career I definitely want to focus on the 800, but I think eventually if I’m to make the Olympics one day, my chances will probably be higher for the 1,500,” she said.
She has already qualified for the regional meet in both events and is hoping to capitalize on her fitness level.
“I feel stronger than I’ve ever been in the U.S. so I’m really looking forward to just keeping on with it,” she said.
At the Oregon Relays this weekend, Buckman will run the 400m and the 4×400 to work on speed, before moving back up to the 800m next weekend.
With a year at Oregon working with the Duck coaches now under her belt, she feels comfortable with where she is physically.
“Now that we’ve had time to work together more, it’s definitely benefited my fitness,” she said. “I feel ready to go.”
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