Considering it was just his second meet as a professional and his first decathlon in over a year, Oregon Track Club Elite’s Ashton Eaton proved to be the star of the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at Hayward Field this past weekend.
Eaton began Thursday’s competition with a dominant win in the 100-meter dash, and from then on he remained ahead of the pack. Eaton continued to pile up victories in the long jump (25-feet, 7 3/4 inches), high jump (6-8 3/4), 400m (46.35), 110m hurdles (13.52), and pole vault (16-6 3/4), to score 8,729 points and earn his first U.S. title.
His scoring total put Eaton at No. 5 on the all-time U.S. decathlon list behind Olympians Dan O’Brien, Bryan Clay, Trey Hardee and Dan Pappas.@@http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2011/06/ashton_eaton_runs_away_with_th.html@@
“I didn’t expect to score that high,” Eaton said. “Honestly, none of my marks was that outstanding. It was all just consistency, which is really the decathlon.”
Eaton’s biggest competition heading into the USA’s was expected to be the reigning 2008 Olympic gold medal winner, Clay, but after taking a nasty fall in the 110m hurdles, Clay withdrew from the competition with a calf injury. Clay said he would petition to be added to Team USA for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea@@http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gr3JYakltFxQDW4d9Sh0SHxfYbgg?docId=CNG.2574297d827caea924d9693b72c04e4e.361@@ in September, since he already met the World’s “A” qualifying standard earlier this year.
For Eaton, who won three NCAA decathlon titles during his time at Oregon, the atmosphere in front of 10,057 fans on Friday made all the difference.
“If we had done this somewhere else, I don’t think it would have been as good,” Eaton said. “It was a good boost to be at Hayward, of course.”
Eaton will certainly be among the favorites to win the world’s decathlon after such a commanding performance this weekend, and the Bend, Ore., native clearly knows what’s at stake.
“What’s my goal in Korea?” Eaton said. “To win. To get the gold medal.”
Eaton won’t be the only athlete with Oregon ties competing later this summer. Oregon senior-to-be Matthew Centrowitz was equally impressive in the senior men’s 1,500m on Saturday afternoon.
Centrowitz held off a highly competitive field that featured the likes of Bernard Lagat and Andrew Wheating, among others, before putting together a final kick on the home stretch to seal the victory in 3:47.63.
Oregon senior A.J. Acosta finished 11th in that race at 3:50.02.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” Centrowitz said. “Competing against the caliber of athletes like those guys, guys I’ve looked up to like Lagat, this means everything.”
OTC Elite’s Wheating will also be making the trip to South Korea in September despite finishing fourth on Saturday. Wheating dove across the finish line in an all-out effort, but it wasn’t until Lagat (the runner-up) told him after the race that he intends to run only the 5,000m at the World Championships, which left the door open for Wheating to move into the third and final spot on the U.S. roster.
“Not how I wanted it to happen, but I’m happy I’m going and I’ll be there,” Wheating said. “Sweet relief, but frustration too. Nobody likes to be fourth, but it has to be somebody.”
Elsewhere on the Oregon roster, freshman Parker Stinson made a big splash in the junior distance races. The Austin, Texas, native won the junior 10,000m on Friday morning, then came back to place second in the 5,000m Saturday evening.
The former event has gone to Stinson for three consecutive years after winning the last two junior titles during his prep career at Cedar Park High School.
Fellow freshman Mike Berry capped an outstanding first season with a fifth-place finish in the senior men’s 400m. Berry clocked at time of 45.22, while Florida’s Tony McQuay took the individual title in 44.68.@@http://www.flotrack.org/speaker/6452-Tony-McQuay@@
Though he didn’t make Team USA, Berry was humbled by his experience.
“It was a long season, but I feel strong. I gave it my best in each round,” Berry said. “Placing top five in the nation is great. I always dreamed of racing with Jeremy Wariner and Greg Nixon.
“I’m proud of myself and blessed to be out here and get top five.”
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