A year ago, Galen Rupp was the leader of a trio of Oregonians
qualifying for the Foot Locker national finals in San Diego. Some
observors gave him a chance to knock off Chris Solinsky. Instead,
however, the finals were an inglorious day for Rupp. He fell victim
to asthmatic breathing problems and hyperventilation 300 meters
from the finish, staggered and fell, and
did not finish.
This year, Rupp appears headed for redemption at San Diego. After
last year's disappointment, he came back with a great season on
the track culminating in stellar showings in international
competition in six days in July. On July 13, Rupp got a PR 8:10.42
finishing 7th in the World Youth Championships at Sherbrooke Canada.
Five days later he won the 5000 at the Pan American Junior Championships
at Barbados in 14:20.29.
These could be precursors of the future international
and possibly Olympic performances that are Rupp's goal. He is
trained by Alberto Salazar, who held one world and six US records
in his prime, won the New York Marathon three times, set meet
records at both the New York and Boston marathons, and qualified
for the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. In a recent story in The Oregonian
newspaper, Salazar said of Rupp, "He is so much more talented
than I was."
Rupp's talent showed on Oct 11 at Tualatin Park in Beaverton OR
when he humbled a strong field in 15:07. With allowance for the
course being 77 meters long, Rupp joined Christian Wagner of Indiana
and Ryan Deak of Colorado as the only runners to run a sub-15 minute
5k so far this season.
Rupp's past performances:
2003 cross country
15:07 5077m 1 @ Jim Danner Inv OR 10/10/2003
2003 outdoor
B-5000 14:20.29 7/18/2003, Pan Am Juniors, #1
B-3000 8:10.42 7/13/2003, World Youth Ch. CAN, # 7
B-1500 3:53.57 7/6/2003, YAC YM/YW NY, # 1
B-5000 14:28.00 6/22/2003, USA Jr Nationals, #2
B-2Mile 9:04.36 6/14/2003, AOC Raleigh NC, # 7
B-3000 8:14.36 5/31/2003, 4A State Meet OR, # 1
B-1500 3:53.58 5/31/2003, 4A State Meet OR, # 2
B-3000 8:14 5/3/2003, Oregon Twilight OR, # 3
B-1500 3:56.53 4/26/2003, Centennial Inv OR, # 1
2003 indoor
B-2Mile 9:00.89 3/16/2003, Nike Indoor
Champ. MD, # 3
B-3000 8:12.3 3/8/2003, UW Last Chance WA, # 11 2002 cross country
DNF FootLocker finals CA 12/14/2002
15:41 5k 6 @ FootLocker WE seeded CA 12/7/2002
14:56 5k 1 @ State Meet OR 11/2/2002
15:16 5k 1 @ Mt Hood District OR 10/23/2002
15:24 5k 1 @ Mt Hood Conf OR 10/9/2002
15:31 5k 1 @ Northwest Classic OR 9/28/2002
USA Junior Nationals 2003 - Rupp
was a strong second in the 5000 to U. Colorado freshman Billy
Nelson
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Nike Indoor Championships
2003 -
Rupp took the lead on lap 12 of the 2-mile, but ended up
3rd behind Solinsky and Steve Hassen.
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After a stunning sixth-place finish at the Foot Locker Nationals
as a freshman three years ago, Murrieta Valley's Liza Pasciuto
had found it difficult to maintain elite status. Misfortune struck
especially hard during her sophomore year, when horrific bad luck
led to a short series of bad races . Fortunes took a clear turn
for the better last year when she led the Nighthawks to the Division
I state team title. Nowadays, Pasciuto is beginning to revisit
the caliber of successes which characterized the start of her prep
career -- and she credits Dr. Joe Vigil with her regained success.
"He basically told me 'You really can't do anything until
you believe in yourself'. I've really started to believe in myself
and now it's all paying off," said Pasciuto, referring to
the advice from the famed distance coach and physiology guru. "My
workouts have progressed well this year, but my times are way better
than even I was expecting."
Big race-victory margins at the Bronco, Woodbridge (just missing
Lauren Fleshman's course record), Stanford and Inland Empire meets
have stamped Pasciuto as the premier runner within the gargantuan
Southern Section of California thus far, with Pasciuto now eyeing
a return trip to nationals. Her scheduled showdown against several
of the West Coast's best at the upcoming Mt. SAC Invitational should
offer a good barometer to where she's at.
Additionally, Pasciuto has hit the recruiting trail,
where she tells DyeStat she has trimmed her wish list down to
four schools: Arizona State, Washington, Colorado and UCLA. "I
really had to trim the list, but I didn't want to head back East,
so that helped shorten it. I'm still visiting, so we'll see what's
the best fit!"
[Rich Gonzalez, editor of DyeStatCal]
Pasciuto's past performances:
2003 cross country
17:11 3m 1 @ Inland Empire Challenge CA 10/11/2003
18:01 3.1m 1 @ Stanford Inv Div 1 CA 9/27/2003
16:38 3m 1 @ Woodbridge Inv CA 9/20/2003
17:41 3.1m 1 @ Bronco Inv CA 9/13/2003
2003 indoor
G-Mile 5:06.12 3/16/2003, Nike Indoor Champ. MD, # 11
2002 cross country
19:00 5k 21 @ FootLocker WE seeded CA 12/7/2002
18:05 5k 2 @ State Div 1 CA 11/30/2002
17:38 2.92 1 @ SS Div 1 CA 11/23/2002
18:21 5k 1 @ Southwestern Lg CA 11/7/2002
17:38 2.92m 2 @ Mt. SAC race 49 CA 10/26/2002
17:31 3.0m 1 @ Woodbridge Inv CA 9/21/2002
17:57 3.1m 1 @ Bronco Inv CA 9/14/2002
Nike Indoor
Championships 2003 - Pasciuto was among the leaders
in the mile much of the race before fading to 11th. |
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