One of the nation’s top prep distance runners in years has enrolled at the University of Oregon and will begin attending classes today, according to Oregon’s current Director of Track and Field, Gary Gray.
Galen Rupp, a graduate of Central Catholic High School in Portland, is considered one of the best distance runners in the country in decades. Rupp broke the United States’
40-year-old prep 5,000-meter
record previously held by Gerry Lindgren, finishing in 13 minutes, 37.9 seconds. He also holds the
national prep records in the 2,000 and 3,000 meters.
“When I came to Eugene yesterday (Friday) and met with the members of the team, they made me feel welcome, and I felt they were really sincere,” Rupp said. “It’s long
been a dream of mine to run at Oregon, and I am really excited to
finally do so.”
Rupp also holds the nation’s fastest high school mark in the mile (4:01.8) from last year and will be expected to have an immediate impact in upcoming meets. Oregon’s volunteer distance coach Pat Tyson expects Rupp to take some pressure off Oregon’s returning All-America distance runners, Brett Holts and Eric Logsdon.
“I think it takes a little bit of pressure off them,” Tyson said. “When you add Galen to the game, we can be a little more conservative at the Pac-10 meet. When you want to attempt to win that meet, we might have had to double Logsdon for example. This lets me take a little of the pressure off of Eric and keep him healthy and more fresh for the NCAA meet. So Galen adds so much to the whole chemistry of the team.”
Last month, Rupp held the mark as the top U.S. finisher in the Junior Men’s IAAF World Cross Country Championships in St. Galmier, France, placing 20th as the only non-African runner among the top 31 finishers.
During his prep career, Rupp accumulated five state championships including state titles in
the 1,500 and 3,000 meters his senior season.
— Brian Smith