Twilight Fields Showcase America's Best Distance Runners
EUGENE - With one of the year's most important meets - the Pacific-10 Conference Track & Field Championships - a week away, the Oregon track and field teams are understandably willing to share the spotlight this week at Hayward Field.
Saturday's Oregon Twilight will showcase several of the nation's top post-collegians in what should be several of the fastest races by Americans on U.S. soil.
The first field event is at 3 pm, the first running event follows at 4:35 pm, and many of the meet's top distance events will be held in the final 2 hours of the meet (and short event summaries follow).
6:20 pm - Men's 800 - Former George Mason All-American and Portland resident Julius Achon is entered with a mark of 1:47.9, and will take on Oregon Invite winner (and former Alan Webb prep teammate) Richard Smith and Ishamil Ahmed of the Sudan who has run 1:47.20 already this year.
6:50 pm - Women's 1,500 - As a collegian and recent Colorado graduate Kara Goucher was better known as Kara Grgas-Wheeler and a NCAA 5K and 10K champion on the oval and a cross country champion in 1999.
7 pm - Women's 3,000 - Boulder resident and Colorado alum Shayne Culpepper won a spirited kick in the Olympic Trials 5K last year over Eugenean Marla Runyan who is on maternity leave this year. Former Stanford 5K NCAA champion Lauren Fleshman missed last year's Olympic Trials in her return from injury, although the Los Angeles area native made the World Championships team in the 5K in 2003.
7:15 pm - Men's 5,000 - Another pair of former Colorado teammates and former NCAA champions - Dathan Ritzenhein and Jorge Torres - match up in the 5,000. Ritzenhein broke the American collegiate record in his 25-lap debut last May in Stanford (27:38.50) and a time that ultimately earned him an Olympic invite to Athens last August - although injuries slowed him in his 2004 Olympic Trials and Olympic races. Torres ranked #1 in the U.S. in 2003 in the 5,000 and made the World Championships final that year.
7:35 pm - Men's 10,000 - Oregon's newest distance legend, former Colorado NCAA champion Adam Goucher, joined Nike's training group in Portland last fall and is apprenticing under former Duck star Alberto Salazar. Goucher will make his 10K debut Saturday and was on the fast track to U.S. stardom after Olympic and World Championships runs in 2000 and '01, but has been derailed by injuries off and off since then. Nike's Mike Donnelly was fourth in the 2004 Olympic Trials, and was a former Providence All-American and is currently a training partner with Goucher in Portland. Max King is a top up-and-coming post-collegian and breezed to a steeple win in the Oregon Invite in Eugene two weeks ago (8:42.22). Duck frosh Galen Rupp will race the 10K for the second time in his career and debuted at 29:09.56 last August in Europe.
8:10 pm - Men's Bill McChesney Jr. Memorial Twilight Mile - Last year's champ Tom Brooks (4:07.17), a Eugene post-collegian, takes on former champ and Willamette University national champion Nick Symmonds who ran 4:03.85 as a frosh in 2003. The Ducks will enter a gaggle of youngsters that includes sophomore and returning 2004 U.S. Junior steeple champ Kyle Alcorn (4:14 1,600 as prep in '02 & '03), freshman redshirt J.K. Withers (4:10 prep 1,600 in '04), 2003 World Junior Champs steeple bronze medalist Chris Winter (3:50 1,500 PR), and first-year Duck and senior Nick Dalton (3:50 1,500 PR).
* The following are bios of select performers courtesy of USA Track and Field, and to read their entire bios, you can visit the www.USATF.org website.
> Event: 3,000 meters, 7:00 pm 
SHAYNE CULPEPPER
PRs: 800m - 2:02.51 (2000); 1500m - 4:06.33 (2004); 3000m ? 8:55.42i (2004); 5000m- 15:01.36 (2004)
Current Residence: Lafayette, Colo.
High School: Haverford (Pa.) ?92
Colleges: Vermont ?94; Colorado ?97
Coach / Club: Brad Hudson / Nike
Career Highlights: 2004 Olympic Trials 5,000m champion; Two-time Olympian; 2004 World Indoors 3,000m bronze medalist; Two-time USA Indoor 3,000m champion (’04 & ’05); 2003 U.S. XC 4 km champion; 2003 USA Indoor 3,000m runner-up
Career Overview: Culpepper made her second Olympic team with her victory in the 5,000m at the 2004 Olympic Trials, and she turned in personal best in three events (1,500, 3,000 and 5,000m) during the 2004 campaign. Culpepper started her 2004 season strong by capturing a bronze medal at the 2004 World Indoors 3,000m. With one lap to go, she surged ahead of Marta Dominguez of Spain and Yelena Zadorozhnaya of Russia. On the backstretch, Zadorozhnaya clipped Culpepper from behind. After stumbling, Culpepper regained her composure and sprinted the finish in 9:12.15, in third behind Ethiopians Meseret Defar (9:11.22) ? and Berhane Adere (9:11.43)...she returned to competition in 2003 after giving birth to her first child in April 2002, and she got off to a great start with the U.S. 4 km cross country title and runner-up finish in the 3,000 meters at the USA Indoor Championships...2000 was an exciting year for Culpepper. After finishing 4th at the 2000 Olympic Trials, she was placed on the roster when Regina Jacobs dropped off the team due to an illness...Culpepper’s PR of 4:07.99 at the time beat the Olympic ?A’ standard by .01 seconds...she happened to be at the Team USA training camp in Brisbane, Australia, accompanying husband Alan when she was informed that she had made the Olympic Team...as a child, Culpepper (maiden name Wille) competed in gymnastics for 10 years...she ran four years of cross country and track in high school but never qualified for the state meet: ?I only ran 15 miles a week,’ she says...ran a high school best of about 2:19 in the 800...attended Vermont, where by her sophomore year she became the number one runner and placed in the top three at the NAC XC meet...one summer she worked at a dude ranch near Boulder, where her parents had gone to college: ?I fell in love with Boulder, and I couldn’t go back.’ She took a year off school to establish residency, then transferred to Colorado, where she walked on the team. ?Colorado was such a talented team, and I was only ninth on the cross country squad. I had a realization that I couldn’t be the best on the team without working out.’ That was 1996, and she made All-American indoors in the 3000m...graduated with a degree in political science...married runner Alan Culpepper on November 9, 1997...son Cruz Samuel was born April 10, 2002.
2005: USA Indoor 3,000m champion (8:55.57i)...2nd at USA XC 4 km (13.27.0)...20th at World XC (14:06, 4th U.S. finisher), winning team bronze.
LAUREN FLESHMAN
> Event: 3,000 meters, 7:00 pm
PRs: 1,500 - 4:14.68 (2003), 3,000 ? 8:59.93i (2005) 5,000 - 15:09.98 (2004)
Current Residence: Stanford, Calif.
High School: Canyon HS (Canyon Country, Calif.) ?99
College: Stanford ?03
Coach / Club: Vin Lananna / Nike
Career Highlights: 3-time NCAA 5,000m outdoor champion; collegiate record holder in 5,000m; 13-time NCAA All-American
Career Overview: A 14-time All-American at Stanford, Fleshman made an impressive transition into the professional ranks becoming one of the United States’ top prospects in the middle distances...as a senior at Stanford, Fleshman won her third consecutive NCAA 5,000 meter title and set PRs in the 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 meters. She broke the collegiate 5,000m record with her 15:23.94 at Mt. SAC, then improved to 15:20.44 in placing 7th during the summer at Heusden, giving her the IAAF “B” standard for the World Championships...Fleshman was selected to be Team USA’s sole representative in the 5,000 meters at the 2003 World Championships when U.S. champion Marla Runyan declined her position, and the second- and third-place finishers at the U.S. championships did not have the IAAF “B” standard...Fleshman improved her PR 15:12.71 in placing 11th in her opening round heat at World Outdoors...human biology major at Stanford...Enjoys playing the piano and guitar, as well as songwriting and singing.
2005: 3rd in 3,000m at USA Indoors (8:59.93i)...5th in 4 km (13:30) & 6th in 8 km (28:11) at USA XC Championships...top U.S. finisher at World XC (11th, 13:44), leading Team USA to team bronze medal.
DATHAN RITZENHEIN
> Event: 5,000 meters, 7:15 pm
PR: 10,000m - 27:38.50 (2004); 1,500m - 3:42.99 (2002), 3,000m ? 7:50.39 (2004); 5,000m 13:27.77 (2002)
Current Residence: Boulder, Colorado
High School: Rockford High School (Michigan)
College: University of Colorado
Coach / Club: Dathan Ritzenhein / Nike
Career Highlights: 2003 NCAA XC Champion; 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field 5,000m runner-up; 2001 World Cross Country Junior bronze medalist; 4th at the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Career Overview: Just prior to the 2004 Olympic Trials, Ritzenhein incurred his third career stress fracture in his foot. Despite the pain, Ritzenhein competed at the Trials and ended his 10,000m race in Sacramento in 22nd place. Having already secured the “A” qualifying standard for the Olympics, Ritzenhein earned his spot on the team when Meb Keflezighi decided to only compete in the marathon at Athens, and Bob Kennedy was unable to finish his Trials race due to a sore Achilles. Ritzenhein was unable to finish the 10,000m in Athens due to pain from calcium deposits in his foot. His 2005 season got off to a momentous start with a cross-country victory in Belfast, Ireland on January 9 against a strong international field. In his short but very impressive career, Ritzenhein owns the American 10 km collegiate record (27:38.50), four Big 12 Conference titles (2003 cross country, 2004 indoor 3,000-m, 5,000-m and outdoor 5 km), four All-American titles (2001, 03 cross country, 2004 indoor and outdoor 5 km), the 10,000-m school record (27:38.50) and the nation’s only undefeated cross country season in 2003 to capture his first and only, NCAA crown. During 2003-2004, he won the Pre-National Invitational, Big 12 Cross Country Championship, NCAA Mountain Region Championship, and NCAA Championship just 10 weeks after resuming training following a femoral stress fracture to cap off the nation’s only undefeated season (792-0). He was the Big 12 Indoor Championships MVP and Performer of the Year with wins in a 3k meet record (8:01.23) and 5k. He was also a 5k All-American in 13:42.09, the second fastest indoor 5k in CU history. During the outdoor campaign, he finished sixth at the Stanford Invitational in an Olympic Trials “A” Standard, American Collegiate Record and 31-year CU School Record 27:38:50 in his first-ever 10k on the track. Eighteen hours later he claimed the Big 12 5 km title in Norman, Okla., and went on to claim the NCAA Midwest Region 5 km crown before an NCAA 5 km runner-up finish for his fourth, and subsequent final, career All-American certificate. Decided to forego his collegiate eligibility to turn pro during the summer of 2004. He believes that ultimately the marathon will be his strongest event...engaged to Kalin Toedebusch.
2005: Won 2005 Reebok Cross Country Challenge in Belfast, Ireland (29:26).
JORGE TORRES
> Event: 5,000 meters, 7:15 pm
PRs: 1,500m 3:42.09 (2002); 5,000m 13:24.17 (2003)
Current Residence: Wheeling, Ill.
High School: Wheeling (Ill.) HS ?
College: Colorado ?03
Coach: Mark Wetmore / Reebok
Career Highlights: 2002 NCAA XC Champ; 2002 NCAA Outdoor 5,000m runner-up; 3rd at 2003 USA Outdoor 5000m
Career Overview: Torres had a successful campaign in 2003, making the finals at the World Outdoor Championships. His performances earned him his first #1 U.S. ranking. As a senior at the University of Colorado in 2002, Torres won his first national title at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 25. Torres ran neck-in-neck with Alistair Cragg of Arkansas going down the final stretch but pulled away in the final seconds, crossing the finish line two seconds before Cragg. Torres’ triumph came in the course record time of 29:04.7. With his victory, Torres became just the third American in the last 15 years to win the men’s NCAA Cross Country Championship. He completed his senior season without losing one race. Torres’ best 5,000m in 2002 of 13:26.0 at Stanford was the second-fastest by an American that season. Jorge, the elder Torres brother (by 10 minutes) won the 1998 Illinois Class AA State Cross Country Championship, his third straight state-record, at Peoria’s Detweiller Park in 14 minutes, which was the fastest state meet time for the three mile course since 1977. Prior to his three straight titles, he was the runner-up as a freshman. A week later at the Foot Locker Midwest Regionals in Kenosha, Wis., he won the qualifying race in 15:04.00 and set the course record of 15:12 previously held by Indiana’s Bob Kennedy, Adam Goucher and Todd Williams. With his finish, he became the first boy to qualify for four straight national championships. He went on to win the Foot Locker National Championships less than a month later in Orlando, Fla....Torres was an economics major in CU’s College of Arts and Sciences.
ADAM GOUCHER
> Event: 10,000 meters, 7:35 pm
PRs: 1500m 3:36.54 (2001); 5000m 13:11.25 (1999); 3000m 7:34.96 (2001)
Current Residence: Boulder, Colo.
High School: Doherty HS, Colorado Springs, Colo. ?94
College: Colorado ?97
Coach / Club: Mark Wetmore / Nike
Career Highlights: 2000 Olympic Trials 5,000m champion; 2000 USA 12km and 4km XC champion; 1999 U.S. 5,000 champion; 1998 NCAA 5,000 champion; 1998 NCAA cross country champion; 1997 and 1998 NCAA 3,000 indoor champion
Career Overview: As one of America’s finest, if injury-riddled, middle distance runners for close to a decade, Adam Goucher enjoyed a strong season in 2003, ending the campaign ranked #3 in the 3,000m and #4 at 5,000m in the U.S. Goucher struggled again with injuries in 2004, which kept him from making his second Olympic team. Goucher started competing in track in seventh grade, trying all the events including the high jump and hurdles. He says he didn’t get serious about training until his sophomore year of high school...earned his degree in communications at Colorado...bypassed his final indoor season of collegiate eligibility so that he can run the open circuit...worked in summer of 1998 at the USOC’s International Games Preparation Warehouse...likes playing the drums and flying sailplanes...as a teenager, he won an essay contest sponsored by Soaring magazine, and took his first solo flight in a sailplane at age 15...2001 season got off to a slow start after battling post-Olympic achilles problems, but he came back to make the final in the 5,000m at World Outdoors...Married distance runner and former NCAA champion Kara Grgas-Wheeler September 16, 2001.
2004: 19th in 5,000m at Olympic Trials (13:58.55)...9th at Prefontaine Classic 1,500m (3:41.21)...best of 13:58.55.
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