Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Hull Kicking Off 2019 Season
01/25/19 | Track and Field, @GoDucksMoseley
Oregon's senior distance star begins her 2019 track season Friday as a member of The Bowerman's preseason watch list.
The enduring image of Jessica Hull's career with the UO women's track and field program – so far – is her victory last spring in the 1,500 meters of the NCAA Outdoor championships at Hayward Field.
Hull kicked to victory over the last 300 meters, and crossed the finish line with a look of wide-eyed disbelief on her face. In her post-race interview, Hull used terms like "excited," "blown away" and even "shocked."
The UO senior experienced a similar range of emotions earlier this month, when the 2019 watch list for The Bowerman was released. There among the 10 nominees for the award previously won by Oregon legends like Jenna Prandini, Laura Roesler and Raevyn Rogers was the name of Hull – much to her surprise.
"The names that have been on it in the past, to be put alongside them," Hull said recently, "I was kind of just like, 'Why am I on there?' "
Oregon's fans and the UO distance program know well why Hull was accorded that recognition. A two-time NCAA champion and three-time all-American, the native of Australia is about to embark on a 2019 track and field season that has the potential to ink her name up and down the UO history books.
Hull will make her season debut Friday, running the 1,200-meter opening leg of the distance-medley relay at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. Hull helped the Ducks win the 2018 NCAA Indoor title in that event, and she was also an indoor all-American at 3,000 meters, the same double she intends to attempt at this year's NCAA Indoor championships hosted this March in Birmingham, Ala.
But first, Hull will "rip the band-aid off this weekend," kicking off her competitive season with a DMR leg Friday and the mile on Saturday.
"It's always painful; whether you're fit or not, it's a shock to the system," Hull said. "That's a fun part."
Hull's legs will be heavy following a cross country season that ended with third-place finishes at the NCAA Championships, both for the UO women's team and Hull as an individual. She's also pushing through some tough recent weeks of training for the track season.
And Hull also will be running Friday for the first time with the weight of expectations stemming from The Bowerman honor. Hull is on the watch list with such luminaries as Boise State distance star Allie Ostrander and two returning semifinalists, pole vaulter Olivia Gruver of Washington and sprinter Lynna Irby of Georgia.
"It was really humbling and really, really exciting," Hull said. "Hopefully I run well this season and see what we can do with it."
UO head coach Robert Johnson doesn't doubt Hull's ability to manage any new pressure that might stem from The Bowerman nomination.
"No matter how good she is, she's still the same girl we recruited from day one, that comes to work and enjoys and appreciates what she does," Johnson said.
Hull may still be the easygoing spirit who arrived at Oregon as a freshman. But she said new UO women's distance coach Helen Lehman-Winters has helped her become even more focused as a senior.
"What I'm working on right now is being where I am, staying in my day and staying in my process," Hull said. "Helen's influence on that has been really, really helpful.
"Obviously you've gotta get excited by what's going on around you. But staying very in check with what you're doing through the day, through the process – hopefully that yields the exciting thing toward the end."
For Hull, part of the process of preparing for the 2019 season meant sitting out Oregon's initial rust-buster of the season, two weeks ago at Washington. She'll have to hit the ground running this weekend at Arkansas, one of just a handful of chances to get qualifying marks for the postseason.
Hull and Susan Ejore are the two returning members of the DMR team that won Oregon's first NCAA title in the event last year, in the No. 2 time in school history, 10:51.99. Individually, Hull also ran the No. 2 time in UO history for 3,000 meters, 8:58.50, and she set the school record over a mile, 4:31.76.
The first step by Oregon's latest Bowerman candidate toward raising the bar even higher comes Friday in Arkansas.
"It's hard to watch your teammates go and compete without you," Hull said of missing the season opener at UW. "So I'm excited to be there this weekend and just start getting through the process again – go back to the basics of race day and fine-tune a few things, and just get some momentum hopefully going. …
"I'm expecting it to be really, really hard. But I'm ready to embrace that. Hopefully get the most out of myself just to see where I'm at, and hopefully it starts to feel a bit better each time.
Hull kicked to victory over the last 300 meters, and crossed the finish line with a look of wide-eyed disbelief on her face. In her post-race interview, Hull used terms like "excited," "blown away" and even "shocked."
The UO senior experienced a similar range of emotions earlier this month, when the 2019 watch list for The Bowerman was released. There among the 10 nominees for the award previously won by Oregon legends like Jenna Prandini, Laura Roesler and Raevyn Rogers was the name of Hull – much to her surprise.
"The names that have been on it in the past, to be put alongside them," Hull said recently, "I was kind of just like, 'Why am I on there?' "
Oregon's fans and the UO distance program know well why Hull was accorded that recognition. A two-time NCAA champion and three-time all-American, the native of Australia is about to embark on a 2019 track and field season that has the potential to ink her name up and down the UO history books.
Hull will make her season debut Friday, running the 1,200-meter opening leg of the distance-medley relay at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. Hull helped the Ducks win the 2018 NCAA Indoor title in that event, and she was also an indoor all-American at 3,000 meters, the same double she intends to attempt at this year's NCAA Indoor championships hosted this March in Birmingham, Ala.
But first, Hull will "rip the band-aid off this weekend," kicking off her competitive season with a DMR leg Friday and the mile on Saturday.
"It's always painful; whether you're fit or not, it's a shock to the system," Hull said. "That's a fun part."
Hull's legs will be heavy following a cross country season that ended with third-place finishes at the NCAA Championships, both for the UO women's team and Hull as an individual. She's also pushing through some tough recent weeks of training for the track season.
And Hull also will be running Friday for the first time with the weight of expectations stemming from The Bowerman honor. Hull is on the watch list with such luminaries as Boise State distance star Allie Ostrander and two returning semifinalists, pole vaulter Olivia Gruver of Washington and sprinter Lynna Irby of Georgia.
"It was really humbling and really, really exciting," Hull said. "Hopefully I run well this season and see what we can do with it."
UO head coach Robert Johnson doesn't doubt Hull's ability to manage any new pressure that might stem from The Bowerman nomination.
"No matter how good she is, she's still the same girl we recruited from day one, that comes to work and enjoys and appreciates what she does," Johnson said.
Hull may still be the easygoing spirit who arrived at Oregon as a freshman. But she said new UO women's distance coach Helen Lehman-Winters has helped her become even more focused as a senior.
"What I'm working on right now is being where I am, staying in my day and staying in my process," Hull said. "Helen's influence on that has been really, really helpful.
"Obviously you've gotta get excited by what's going on around you. But staying very in check with what you're doing through the day, through the process – hopefully that yields the exciting thing toward the end."
For Hull, part of the process of preparing for the 2019 season meant sitting out Oregon's initial rust-buster of the season, two weeks ago at Washington. She'll have to hit the ground running this weekend at Arkansas, one of just a handful of chances to get qualifying marks for the postseason.
Hull and Susan Ejore are the two returning members of the DMR team that won Oregon's first NCAA title in the event last year, in the No. 2 time in school history, 10:51.99. Individually, Hull also ran the No. 2 time in UO history for 3,000 meters, 8:58.50, and she set the school record over a mile, 4:31.76.
The first step by Oregon's latest Bowerman candidate toward raising the bar even higher comes Friday in Arkansas.
"It's hard to watch your teammates go and compete without you," Hull said of missing the season opener at UW. "So I'm excited to be there this weekend and just start getting through the process again – go back to the basics of race day and fine-tune a few things, and just get some momentum hopefully going. …
"I'm expecting it to be really, really hard. But I'm ready to embrace that. Hopefully get the most out of myself just to see where I'm at, and hopefully it starts to feel a bit better each time.
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