He has yet to run a 5,000 meters this outdoor season.
But hey, better late than never.
Oregon senior Steve Fein, who finished third at the Oregon Twilight mile last Saturday with his first-ever sub-4:00 mile, is one of the Ducks’ three wild cards in the 5,000, his marquee event.
He said he’s ready.
“Conference races are always a little different,” Fein said. “I think it’s going to come down to the last mile. I plan on being up there, and I think with the speed that I have right now, I have a legitimate shot.”
Fein capped off one of the most successful cross country seasons in recent Oregon history with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships last fall. Sinus complications prevented him from racing most of the outdoor season, but he said he has been training hard the past month.
“Obviously I had a lot of high goals coming into this season,” Fein said. “Unfortunately, I’ve had to alter those goals.”
Fein wants to capture an NCAA-qualifying mark in the 5,000. But if all else fails, his effort in the Twilight mile automatically qualified him for the 1,500 at the NCAA Championships.
“It takes a lot of pressure off of the Pac-10s,” Fein said. “Our major goal at the Twilight was just to get me back on the track and get my feet wet in a race before the Pac-10s. It was nice to come away with an NCAA qualifier.” -S.P.