Andrew Wheating does not despise Robby Andrews.
In fact, I’d be surprised if Wheating had any mortal enemies. Or if he’s ever held a grudge. But Oregon’s agile, gentle giant cannot escape the fact that he is 0 for 2 against the freshman from Virginia, and that irks him at times.
Wheating told reporters last week that after the NCAA indoor final of the 800 meters ­— in which Andrews nipped the senior from Norwich, Vt., at the line to win the individual national title — he received an e-mail from Andrews’ mother, Mary, thanking him for letting Robby win. Then, the two met up as anchor legs of their school’s 4×800-meter relay teams at the Penn Relays on April 24.
“Dude, your mom is so nice,” Wheating recalls saying to Andrews as the race began.
“She loves you,” Andrews replied.
Then Andrews — who received the baton before Wheating — took off for a 1-minute 47.78-seconds 800-meter leg to claim the race. Wheating, whose 800-meter leg also was 1:47.78, could not kick ahead of a surging Andrews but did pass Ryan Foster of Penn State to give the Ducks a runner-up finish. Message boards everywhere went ballistic.
“Coming off of Penn Relays, I was kind of getting those bad thoughts in my head like, oh man, maybe my kick is starting to wear out. Maybe I’m starting to peak out already,” Wheating said.
Wheating will never be construed as arrogant or cocky, but last week he had a chip to brush off his shoulder. The Oregon Relays provided the perfect setting to reclaim the battle for his psyche — home crowd, clear weather, a high-stakes 1,500-meter race — and Wheating put himself to the test Friday night.
As New Mexico’s Lee Emanuel seemingly overtook the rabbit’s duties in the 1,500 meters, Wheating sat back. And back. And back some more, until he was nearly dead last out of the 11 competitors. On the bell lap, slowly but surely, he made his move. With 200 meters, Wheating kicked, hitting his magical gear and making a hard charge at Emanuel.
“It’s the same issue I had at Penn,” he said. “At Penn, Penn State went out and I took the bait. I saw (Emanuel) going out and I’m like, ‘Oh man, do I go? Do I wait? Do I go?’
“I told myself, be patient. He’ll come back.”
And he did. Wheating overtook Will Leer of Oregon Track Club Elite and Emanuel to win the race in a personal-best 3:37.83, a meet record and the fourth-best mark in school history.
Wheating also sits atop the NCAA list this season for 1,500 meters. Not bad for an 800-meter guy looking to double up.
On Saturday afternoon, Wheating came back ready for the 800 meters and essentially repeated his 1,500-meter race plan, right down to the kick, overtaking teammate Travis Thompson to win in 1:47.71. That time is the third-fastest by a collegian this season.
In between races, Wheating’s plan was simple: Don’t overthink what you have to do. That meant keeping a clear head.
“The Internet can be your best friend or your worst enemy,” Wheating said after his 800-meter race. “So I stayed away from all those running Web sites and all those videos, and I wanted to know my splits but I was like, I’ll study another time. Tonight I’ll do my research and not worry about it.”
The reigning NCAA outdoor champion at the 800 meters has found his happy place again. When Wheating races with a clear mind and nothing to lose, mind your stopwatches.
“The big key is not to panic. I just stayed patient, stayed calm, made sure I had a strong (final) 100 (meters),” he said after the 800 meter. “And that’s the way it worked.”
Like clockwork.
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