Most of Oregon’s big guns were 1,500 miles away, squaring off against the high-powered competition at the Drake Relays in Drake, Iowa.
So naturally, many of the Ducks who stayed to compete at Saturday’s Oregon Invitational didn’t draw a lot attention from the Hayward Field faithful. Howard Moore was there, but he didn’t run his signature 400 meters. Nat Johnson was there, but only because he was injured.
Ross Krempley was there too, carrying on a common theme that has developed over the last two track meets: Where there’s a Krempley, there’s a way.
Ross Krempley won the 800 meters in photo-finish fashion for the second time in as many meets, ousting Western Washington’s Devin Kemper. His time of 1 minute, 49.76 seconds was a new lifetime best by more than a second.
The noise level of 2,763 fans grew from a rumble to a roar as Krempley leaned in for the win. When the sophomore looked up and saw his time, he jumped in the air, pumping his fists in wild celebration.
“That was unbelievable,” Krempley said, still regaining his breath. “I’ve been waiting for a 1:49 my whole — forever. I don’t have any words for it. And then winning at the same time, just barely again, I can’t believe it.
“When I saw my time, I was dancin’. It was just … man. I can’t help it but just dance.”
Then, Krempley saw sprinting coach Tony Veney, and the two embraced on the side of the track as the crowd celebrated. Later, he said he came close to tears after his victory.
Krempley may someday look back on the last two weeks as a turning point in his collegiate track and field career.
“We really thought we were going to get a good run today,” Veney said. “He was fresh all week; he was very confident. In fact, Ross told me [on Friday], ‘Coach, I’m feelin’ pretty good.’ When he gets like that, it gets a little exciting for us.”
The middle-distance runner opted not to join the Ducks in his first year at the University. He trained on his own, opening the outdoor season with his previous 800-meter, personal-time of 1:50.83. His season that had room for more improvement was suddenly turned upside down when Krempley sustained a hamstring injury.
Long after his hamstring healed, things didn’t get better. Krempley never got a time lower than 1:51 in his freshman season with Oregon.
But now, last season probably seems like a long time ago.
“Last week gave me the confidence to just go,” Krempley said. “I haven’t felt it until last week, and then I was like, ‘You can do it, even if it’s going at a fast pace.’”
While Krempley wowed the Hayward crowd, the other Ducks were so-so at Drake. Jason Boness led Oregon finishers by finishing third in the high jump. However, he did so on a sup-Boness height of 6 feet, 11 inches.