With last week’s successful outing at the Oregon Invitational under its belt, the Oregon men’s track team splits into three traveling groups this weekend and heads out across the country.
Freshman distance runner Andrew Wheating, a Vermont native, goes back east this weekend to compete in the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.
Wheating ran his fastest 1,500m of the season last weekend when he clocked a 3:45.17 at the Oregon Invitational and says he’s hoping to have another good outing in Philadelphia as one quarter of the four-man distance medley relay team that the Ducks hope to field.
The distance medley relay consists of a 1,200m first leg, followed by the 400m, the 800m and finally, the mile.
“There’s a good chance I’ll be running the 800m,” said Wheating, who favors the 800m over the mile because it’s shorter, and gives him a chance to bust out his kick – an unusual quality, given his rangy 6-foot-5-inch frame.
“I like the fact that it’s only two laps. When it comes down to the last 200m, I’m the kinda guy who likes to bite the bullet and just take off,” Wheating said. The other three men on the distance medley relay team are Mike McGrath, Chad Barlow and A.J. Acosta.
While Wheating and his team of distance runners tackle the Penn Relays, most of the Oregon sprinters and throwers will head down to Berkeley, Calif. for the California Collegiate Challenge.
Marcus Dillon, who ran an unofficial season-best 46.4 seconds in his leg of the Ducks’ 4x400m relay last weekend, is hoping to see a significant drop in his times in the coming weeks.
“I wanna drop (time) down. I’m gonna drop down personally,” Dillon said. “It’s time to drop down and run like you see it in the 4x400m.
Dillon will compete in the 200m, the 400m and the 4x100m relay this weekend. But regardless of how much time he manages to shave off this weekend, he says he’s saving his best performances for the end of the season.
“I normally run good times and run fast and do big things when it gets down to big meets,” Dillon said. “When it really counts. It could be Pac-10s, or regionals. The pressure takes my mind off how I’m gonna run.”
Finally, Galen Rupp is planning to ride the high from his dramatic 5,000m victory over NCAA champion Chris Solinsky last weekend all the way to the Cardinal Invitational in Stanford, Calif.
This weekend Rupp will take on the 10,000m race instead of the 5,000m. He hopes to meet the Olympic ‘A’ Standard of 27:50.00.
“I feel really good and confident going in,” Rupp said. “The race last Friday definitely helps out. Anytime you can beat an NCAA champion, it’s a great confidence boost.
“But my training all year has been geared more towards the 10k than the 5k, so I’m looking forward to that.”
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