Nicole Feest had success in cross country and is now starring in track.
Amidst the veteran leadership and dominance, the Oregon women’s track and field team has some new freshman in the ranks including Nicole Feest, Whitney Gum and Sara Schaaf.
Among the 10 baby Ducks entering the squad, Feest is considered the team’s top distance-running recruit for 2003. Feest was the top newcomer in cross country, scoring in three meets and running in six of seven races.
The Lombard, Ill., native found instant success on the trails as she won the Beaver Classic and finished 26th in the Willamette Invite.
“It’s prepared my physically and allowed my eyes to see what Division I is like,” Feest said of her cross country experiences.
Feest owns a personal best of 10 minutes, 59 seconds in the 3,200-meters, ran in her senior year. She is expected to focus primarily on the 5,000 while also running the 1,500.
“She’s really enthusiastic, aggressive and not afraid to run a lot of miles,” Oregon head coach Tom Heinonen said. “It’s been fun and she’s running well.”
Gum is Oregon’s top addition in the shot put and discus and is expected to add even more depth to the already-deep throwing squad.
The Billings, Mont., native was state champion her senior year
in 2002 in the shot put and discus and owns personal bests of 44
feet, 5 inches and 126-7 in the respective events.
Gum was a team captain in track and field, a National Honor Society member and earned valedictorian honors at graduation. Her experiences at Oregon have been exciting, yet also frustrating as she hasn’t thrown her high school marks thus far.
“I have got close with the throwers and its been great,” Gum said. “They are my mentors and also my friends. I wanted to come out and be stronger but it is a learning experience.”
Schaaf is expected to make an impact this year in the sprints as she redshirted the 2001-02 season recovering from a femur stress fracture at the end of the cross country season.
In her first year, Schaaf focused primarily in the distances and it has been a challenge for her to transfer to the shorter distances.
“Last year was completely on the other end of the spectrum,” Schaaf said. “It’s been difficult because I am now with the sprints but I am really enjoying myself.”
The Klamath Falls native is a former Oregon 4A state champion in the 800 and 400. Schaaf won the 800 in 2001 and the 400 in 2000 and owns personal bests of 2:12 and 55.73 in both events.
She did see some action late last season in the Oregon Invitational and Oregon Twilight placing 13th and sixth, respectively, in the 800.
Schaaf is expected to focus on the 400, 800 and 4×400 relay but could potentially move up and down the distance spectrum as needed.
Record books beware
In a squad that is returning all six of last year’s NCAA participants and three Pacific-10 Conference runners-up, the record books should continue to take a beating in 2003.
Oregon already has eight participating athletes who rank in the top-three on the Ducks all-time rankings in their respective events. Senior Carrie Zografos owns Oregon’s best time in the steeplechase at 10:42.0. She currently ranks third among returning Pac-10 athletes in the event.
The Ducks have a total of 18 athletes that rank in the top-10 of almost every event. With veteran leadership and new freshmen powerhouses, the records could continue to improve during the next two months.
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