West Regional Day 2 Athlete Quotes
EUGENE - Included are quotes from West Regional Day 2 winners. Be sure to refresh the page periodically during the day, starting at 1 pm.
Ilona Rutjes, Arizona, Winner, Women’s Discus
"It was an OK day, and not bad considering the breezy and wet conditions. I started off with a safe throw, then got my best on my second one when I was able to keep my arm long. On my third I missed it a little in my form, and then had good technique on my last three but they ended up as sector fouls. I love this stadium and I wish they could have scheduled it earlier so we could have had a chance to throw in front of this awesome crowd."
Sharon Day, Cal Poly, Winner Women’s High Jump
"Yeah it felt pretty good, a little cold, it wasn’t my best, but I’m still happy about qualifying."
"I think all championship type meets are definitely good atmospheres and places to jump."
Alexis Weatherspoon, USC 4x100 Winning Team Anchor
On Preparation for Nationals
"Repetition, repetition, repetition. We train the same way for every team regardless of how superior we are to the teams. We train the same way, we come on the track with the same intensity."
"The pressure was on...it was a personal goal, we woke up this morning and put a little more into it."
Heidi Magill, Fr. BYU, Winner 1,500 meters
"No one wanted to take the lead, it worked out well for me...I’m kind of surprised I won actually, I knew that I could probably make it to nationals but there are a lot of fast girls here."
Don Sage, Sr. Stanford, 2nd place Men’s 1500
"Pac 10 runners are always ready to go. I’ve been working on my speed so I’m ready to run, I’m getting closer so in two weeks I can get there. "
Virginia Powell, Jr. USC, 1st place Women’s 100 Hurdles
"The fact that the 100 is after the hurdles doesn’t really affect my hurdle race, but I guess the day before having one less race to do helps my legs as far as fatigue."
"I was hoping to run faster and get down to the 12.7's at this meet, but like my coach said I guess I have to visit the 12.8's first. I never ran in the 8s, I went from 12.95 to 12.7, so hopefully at the NCAAs I’ll be in the 12.6s, maybe below."
Eric Mitchum, Oregon, Winner, 110 Hurdles
"Hopefully I’ll go extremely fast in the NCAA’s. ... "It feels great to be going to NCAA’s with A.K. (Ikwuakor - he’s my teammate in all, I’m so happy for him, too."
"It felt pretty good to start with, so I’m happy with it, with the bad start and all."
"The start, the speed, and everything-it has to be on. there’s always pressure, you can’t think that way, you just got to bring your race."
Kedar Inico, Oregon, Sr, 1st place, Men’s 400
"I did get a little behind (early), but I still knew I had it, because I had a lot saved. I took the race, so that’s good, but I wish my time was a little bit faster. That’s okay because it is all about getting to Sacramento, and that’s what I came to do."
Sofie Abiltrup, Oregon 4th Women’s 400
"I tried really hard in the first 200 and just tried to keep it going then the other girls came up on me, but I’m really happy with the time and really content with qualifying. ... (On her final meet at Hayward Field) "I’ve had a really good time here, and I really the love the Oregon crowd, I always feel like I get an extra kick from them cheering for me."Wes Felix, USC, 1st, Men’s 100
"I got out a little slow, but I clean it up after and it worked out again (he did the same thing at Pac-10s to edge favorite McSwain of WSU). I was pretty sick after Pac-10s, so I didn’t do a lot this week in practice. ... I’m still getting used to the regional concept since we didn’t have it when I was a freshman. You run so hard at Pac-10s, and you’re focusing on nationals, so here you are between, trying to run hard, but also save a little for NCAA’s. ... I love coming here and being a part of the tradition with Pre and everything. The air is so clean and the energy from the town is great."
Jon Rankin, UCLA, 2nd, Men’s 800, 1:48.20 (1:48.195)
"The meet record was a bonus (for the top six finishers), but you can’t go into that as a goal because that may take away from your focus and make you vulnerable. I honestly didn’t know he was there (Washington’s Ryan Brown, first, 1:48.20 (1:48.195)) even though I was checking around (with 50 to go). I thought everybody else was tying up, but that’s something I need to learn, never to underestimate anybody. Regardless, I felt relaxed and didn’t strain or have to fight it.
"The difference this year is I’ve grown up a lot and have much better communication with my coach. We’re working together a lot better, and I’m more mature and less stubborn. The turning part was indoor NCAA’s in the DMR last year. I didn’t run a very good opening leg, and that was a missed chance to prove that UCLA was establishing something in the distances."
"(Future events) That’s the fun part. I have some flexibility, and who knows I might one day be a 3K or 5K runner."
Brandon Johnson, UCLA, 1st place Men’s 400 Hurdles
"I just went out pretty hard and maintained on the back stretch. When I got on the second turn, I just tried to get a good position and win."
"I think the headwind is a factor, and it showed in the times. But I think it is something you can get over, though."
(On teammate Jonathan Williams) "Jonathan is a fighter. At the Pac-10s he told me he was going to beat me if he got the inside this weekend. It was just about who wanted it the most. He’s a strong fighter."
Aneta Lemiesz, BYU, Winner 800 meters
"I don’t really like leading, but this time I was like ?whatever’ I have to risk." "I was really focused on the race, and I was telling myself to be relaxed, not to be nervous and confident."
Christine Spence, UNLV, Winner Women 400 Meter Hurdles
"My focus today was to qualify. Yesterday I had a tweaked muscle so my performance was up in the air today. But now I have two weeks to prepare and get better."
On her hopes for Sacramento-
"The main thing is for my time to drop. With the help of my coaches and my teammates my time will drop. It’s not a hope, it’s a fact."
Monique Henderson, Sr. UCLA, Winner 200, 400 Meter Dashes
"I think all sprinters prefer warmer weather. Yesterday would have been ideal for the finals today, but it’s Oregon so we kind of expected it to cool off."
On national competition
"I think right now I’m fourth or fifth ranked in the 200 and 400 I’m number one, but there are some great girls in other regions."
Janice Davis, So. Stanford, Winner 100 Meter Dash
On preparation for a race
"It depends on when I wake up in the morning, honestly it depends on how my warm up goes."
On winning today after recent soreness in her knee
"It’s because my knee wasn’t hurting, I was just happy to run without pain."
Tommy Skipper, So., Oregon, Pole Vault (No Height)
"It was a bad day for everybody. The headwinds were really strong, and it makes you move your approach up, and you have to still try and stay relaxed. I felt really good in the warm-ups (when the wind was different). I had a really good attempt on my first try, so I had confidence even after that. This season, I have no regrets. I worked as hard as I could this year, and I didn’t take anything for granted. I just have to keep working hard and get ready for the next meet, whenever that is."
Sarah Malone, Sr. Oregon, 1st Place, Women’s Javelin
"I kind of pulled my groin a little bit in warm-ups, I was a little worried about that and thinking way too much about it. Lance came up to me going on my fifth throw, and he said ?These are your last two throws at Hayward, smile.’ That’s what he said, ?Smile.’ That’s what I did, and I just took it all in. And it just came out perfect."
"I think I was just relaxed, I just let go. I know how to throw, so I just let my body do what it needed to do, went from there and everything worked out fine."
On knowing she won: "You never really let go of that competitive edge. It takes some of the pressure off, and I took some of the pressure off myself. After I talked to Lance at the preliminaries, he said, ?Have fun and enjoy it, this is your last home meet as a Duck.’ To be able to give that to the crowd here at Hayward was just amazing."
"Your good throws, you don’t feel, so it’s hard to analyze them. It just was a perfect throw, I didn’t have to work at it. When it left my hand, I knew it was good. I just watched it sail. It was great to see it go that far."
"There was a picture of me in the paper last year, and my friend works at xerox so she blew it up to poster size. I wrote a to-do list on it and this is one more thing I get to check off. NCAA Championship is still sitting there, and to become an Olympian. Those are the last two I’m waiting to scratch off, and those are what I’m looking forward to doing."
Paul Etter, Oregon, Hammer, 3rd place
"I had a really good last two weeks of practice so I felt pretty good coming in. I had finally made a big correction in my technique, and found that if I kept my arm and relaxed, I was much more consistent. My back had been bothering me for a while this season, but the trainers have been working really hard, and we’ve found some stretches that have helped a lot the last few weeks. It was great to be out here with all my friends and family here to support me, especially since the hammer is often somewhere else at a different venue. (About NCAAs) Last year I got in by the skin of my teeth with a mark that won’t normally qualify, so I’m happier to go in with a better mark today, and with more confidence."
Ryan Brown, Washington, 800, 1st Place
"When I saw (Jon) Rankin (UCLA, leader on the homestretch) raise his finger (#1 sign) at the end, that got me a little excited, so I tried to get ?em. I thought going in that I had a good shot at nationals if I made the final, so I was pretty relaxed before the race today. The goal this year was winning Pac-10s, but after today, maybe I need to re-evaluate it. (About his great season) After my freshman season I quit the team because I had only ran as a high school senior, and I was feeling so much pressure in college that it wasn’t as fun. Luckily I came back, and I’m having a lot more fun these days."
Leonidas Watson, Sr., Oregon, 1st Men’s Long Jump, 3rd Men’s Triple Jump
"It was hard to get cold, and have to get warmed up all over again. But my trainer loosened me up and I felt good. You know, I feel at home in the rain."
"I’m happy, I had a good performance. The goal is just to jump and get qualified. You know you want to win and jump well, but under these conditions you don’t want to hurt yourself, so the goal was just to get qualified."
"Yesterday I was on top of the world. I finally hit that barrier. Today I came out and jumped well, and I had a good weekend."
