All the elite track programs wanted Rachel Yurkovich.
UCLA, the 2004 NCAA champion, Tennessee and all Ivy League schools expressed interest. Overall, more than 75 different schools sent letters of interest.
The highly-sought javelinthrower decided on the in-stateoption and chose Oregon. Yurkovich has proceeded to climb Oregon’s record books.Already, she’s moved intosecond place all-time at Oregon with a throw of 179-10. Yurkovich and a small group of Oregon athletes will compete this weekend in the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif.
The versatile Yurkovich filledan open scholarship for the volleyball team in the fall and experienced a 12-18 season, 1-17 in the Pacific-10 Conference. She played in only five of 30 matches and had five kills on the season.
Yurkovich makes it clear javelin is her focus, but acknowledges the mental impact volleyball had.
“People looked at me thinking I would be a really good volleyball player and that I wasn’t even playing,” Yurkovich said. “That was hard for me for people to see that.
“It was nice to think, ‘I’mgoing to come out here and do something and show I’m not here just because I’m Rachel Yurkovich.’”
Yurkovich, under former Olympian Lance Deal, started using weights and focusing on technical details. Deal previously worked with Oregon graduate and All-American javelin thrower Sarah Malone, who, like Yurkovich, is also a Newberg High graduate.
Yurkovich committed to Oregon in November 2004 and Deal’s presence eased any concerns she had about the new coaching staff, Yurkovich said.
Yurkovich’s boyfriend, Alex Wolff, also committed to Oregon and is a javelin thrower for the men’s team.
A two-time 4A state javelin champion, Yurkovich started her ascension toward her personal best of 179-10 with a throw of 176-5 in the Team XO Invitational. That throw set a national high school record, eclipsing the old record by 23 inches.
The freshman sits second on Oregon’s all-time list and is within striking distance of Malone’s record of 186-10.
“I don’t see it as beating her, but being right with her and being with the best,” Yurkovich said.
What is the ultimate goal? The Beijing Olympics are in 2008, and Eugene is set to host the Olympic Trials.
“Olympics is a huge goal and whether I get there, we’ll see,” Yurkovich said.
Yurkovich never saw herself going past high school volleyball, but accepted Oregon coach Jim Moore’s offer, and looking back she is glad she did.
“I’m glad that I got to experience it,” Yurkovich said. “Otherwise, I would have always thought, can I go to the next level?”
But she quickly realized her true strength lies in the javelin and relied on Deal, her teammates and Wolff to get through a challenging experience.
“It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever been through,” Yurkovich said. “Confidence level – just going from being the hot shot at Newberg High School to not playing and not believing in yourself – was so hard.
“I’m definitely a stronger person from it.”
In a way, Yurkovich learned more about life, she said.
“It’s good to go through those types of things and learn your lessons and what you’re capable of mentally and physically, but it wasn’t for me,” Yurkovich said.
Moore and Yurkovich discussed her future at the end of the volleyball season. They came to an understanding that javelin was her future and she should focus on it, namely her aspirations of being an Olympic athlete.
“I just want to make sure this first time that she gets to the Olympics, she’s ready to be there – that her focus is to win,” Moore said.
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