West Regional Day 1 Athlete Quotes
Jesse Williams (USC)- men's high jump winner
"The track seems really new. It’s real loose out there. On my first jump I slipped, so I decided to switch my spikes. and because of that they took me out of my order. That really just fired me up even more."
(On the NCAA Champs) "I’m very confident. 2.30 (meters) is my goal. I’ve seen myself on tape and I’ve been way over it (2.30). It’s just a matter of getting my timing down. Coming into this meet I was the number two jumper in the nation. Luckily I was able to go in there and make it happen.
Michael Robertson (Stanford)- men’s discus winner
(On his transfer from Southern Methodist) "Stanford seemed like the best choice at the time, and right now it’s proven to be."
(On pulling away in the late rounds) "I came in the sixth round and tried to get it right, and in the seventh it was even more right."
A.K. Ikwaukor, Oregon, 2nd place, 110 meter hurdles prelims heat two
"The second part of my race felt real strong."
"I was just hoping to have a clean race, happily a P.R. came out of it."
On the hot weather
"Personally, I’m looking for clouds right now."
"I’m just happy to make it out of prelims, it’s given me confidence for tomorrow."
Eric Mitchum, Oregon 1st place, 110 meter hurdles prelims heat two
"It felt pretty good, My start was kind of off but I’m happy with the result."
On biggest competition for tomorrow
"A.K. I guess."
(Mitchum also said UCLA)
On A.K.’s P.R.
"He’s been getting faster and faster. He’s doing good right now."
Sofie Abiltrup, Oregon 400, (Second place in second heat)
"I’m excited about tomorrow."
"I hope I can defend the fourth place I was ranked, and even climb up."
On UCLA’s Monique Henderson
"I really admire her, she’s a great runner. She’s so relaxed and so confident, it’s really what I like to be someday."
"I came out a little slow, but I felt like I had a kick in the last 150."
"I feel confident about tomorrow, I just need a little rest."
Matt Scherer, Oregon 1st, 400 meter dash, heat one
"I wanted to go out and run a season P.R."
"I just finally put a race together."
On Tomorrow
"There are a couple things I could of done a little different, but if I just fix a few things, I could go as low as 45.4."
Kedar Inico, Oregon 1st, 400 meters, heat two
"I wasn’t too worried about time. I was trying to place, and get to tomorrow."
"I wasn’t really feeling it today, but you still got to go out there and do it, I and was able to today."
"Today’s goal was just to make it through the day, and I’m happy."
Kate Soma, Washington, 1st, Women’s Pole Vault
"It was definitely nice to perform so well."
(The pole) " I don’t know why it broke because my coach said it was a good jump. Sometimes it just breaks anyway, but it’s good to get your confidence up and jump again."
(Weather) "We don’t practice outside. It was definitely hard. You just need to stay hydrated. I feel like I didn’t have as much energy as I could have, but once I got my adrenaline going I was fine."
"Pole vaulters are never happy. We always feel like we could have jumped higher. It would have been nice to get an outdoor PR, but I have a lot of meets left."
Gabriel Wallin Boise State, Winner Men’s Javelin
On Nationals and his close fault at the today’s event
"If I could hold that last throw...that is the kind of throw that will take to win it."
"Hopefully at nationals I can keep that throw."
"Physically, I’m so far ahead of last year."
Rhuben Williams, California, Winner Men’s Shot Put
"It feels really good to finally get a big win under my belt...this is my second farthest throw of the year."
Leonidas Watson, Oregon, Winner Men’s Long Jump (P.R.), (T-Fourth in UO history)
On his P.R. Jump
"I had all the board, all the wind, all the fans. It felt good."
"It’s like I had nothing left to spare?when that white flag came out, I was like ?yes.’"
On making nationals
"It feels good, I didn’t do it last year because I was hurt. This is a big day for me."
Sara Bei, Winner, 5,000 meters
"I’m excited, it feels good going into nationals."
"I’m really better and better each week...I feel like I’m just getting going now...usually at this point I feel like a break."
"It’s such a fun crowd, a great track and a great night to run."
Galen Rupp, Oregon, 5th, 5,000 meters
"It was a good experience. You don’t all win all the time."
On nationals
"It feels good...our region is probably the strongest in most of the distances."
On tough competition
"I gotta be ready for these in the future...in nationals you gotta be ready for anything."
"I just didn’t have it today."
"Obviously I would have liked to win, but you got to give credit to those guys."
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