West Regional Day 2 Athlete Quotes & Interviews
EUGENE - This link contains Day 2 Athlete Quotes from Saturday's NCAA West Regional, hosted by the University of Oregon at Hayward Field.
Aris Borjas, Cal Poly, Javelin, 1st Place, won the event on third throw with a PR throw of 235-6. - “I just tried to stay loose...weather was perfect and crowd was great. Loved the facilities and hopes to finish in the top ten at Nationals. I also play strong safety on the Cal Poly football team.”
Ryan Brandel, Oregon, second place in the men’s javelin - “It wasn’t there today as I hit it hard during the week with training. I want to focus on NCAAs and making sure that my technique and emotions are under control. This was my last meet for Oregon at Hayward Field, and it was great.”
Eva Orban, USC, winner of the women’s hammer throw with a season best of 219-0 - “I am finally feeling better and looking forward to the Nationals. I am hoping to throw personal best of around 230’0.”
Britney Henry, Oregon, third place in the women’s hammer throw - “I just wanted a ticket to Nationals. I had a couple of good throws and that is all I wanted. I need to focus on my technique and not worry about the distance. I need to work on a couple of small things, but I feel pretty good.”
Lopez Lomong, Northern Arizona, winner of the men’s 1,500m - “I very optimistic about NCAAs in the 1,500 as I am peaking at the right time. I train at 7,200 feet in Flagstaff so I feel that I have advantage by training at altitude.”
Michael McGrath, Oregon, fifth place in the men’s 1,500m -“I definitely believed that I would qualify. I wanted to be in fourth with 200 meters to go and I thought that I would pass a couple of runners in the stretch. I did not put my self in position to win, but qualifying was the focus. I believe that my momentum is building, and I am optimistic about Sacramenot.”
Ashley Lodree, Washington, winner of the women’s 100m hurdles - “I was focused on my race, kind of with tunnel vision. I am training hard and fast as this is my senior year. I believe that it will take running under 13 seconds to win at Nationals. I love running at Hayward, but the wind today was a bit of a problem.”
Lionel Larry, USC winner of men’s 400m in 45.59 - “I was looking to run a fast and I am not disappointed with my time today. I goal was to just qualify for Nationals. I ready to go all out in Sacramento.”
Marcus Dillon, Oregon second place in men’s 400 with personal best of 46.31- “My strategy was to run my race and compete. The times will come. I want to get to 300 meters and that is when the race begins. My focus was on Lionel Lary. My times are dropping and I would like to be in the 44-45 second range by the end of the season.”
Alysia Johnson, California, winner of the woman’s 800 in a time of 2:02.12 - “I think that I am running well, content and not worrying about others in the race. I know that it will be a struggle at Nationals. I need to focus on my race and not others. I did tie up a little at the end and need to work on feeling loose at the end. I noticed the pollen in the air which caused a fair nasal congestion. I would love to get the World qualifier of 2:00 at Nationals.
Rebekah Noble, Oregon, second place in the women’s 800 - “I am looking forward to going to Nationals and defend my title. I am not discouraged in my performance as qualifying was the key.”
Zoe Buckman, Oregon, 4th place in the women’s 800 and qualifying for Nationals - “We lightened training this week a little and that help me physically and mentally, and contributed to my improved performance in this meet.”
Carol Rodriguez , USC winner of the women’s 100m and 200m - “I am getting ready for nationals, as my training is going well. This year I started my speed work a little later and focused on building a stronger base. This is the first time that I ran under 23.00 seconds this year. I feel like I am peaking at the right time and feel like I can win NCAAs. I am hoping to represent Puerto Rico in the sprints in the 2008 Olympics”
Aaron Aguayo, ASU, winner of the men’s steeplechase in 8:33.68 (personal best) - “This meant a lot to me, as I wanted to win out ? at Pac-10, at West regionals and at nationals. I just wanted to qualify but the steeplechase is a tough event, so I ran a hard first K to avoid any potential problems. This race gives me confidence that I can run with the best guys if I stay on my feet. My goal all year has been to win the steeplechase at nationals, and I have a lot saved up for that. Even though I ran a personal best it felt easy. Actually, every time I run at Hayward I run a personal best.”
Chad Barlow, anchor for Oregon’s third place men’s 4X400m relay - “I was pretty fresh since this was all that I did all weekend. Coach threw me in as anchor twenty minutes before the race which made me nervous. My strategy was to run a smart race if I was in the lead. If I was not in the lead I was going to get behind whoever was in the lead and give all I could the last 150 meters.”
Phil Alexander, third leg on Oregon’s third place men’s 4X400m relay - “Everything hurts a little as this is the first 400 that I have run in a while. I just tried to get Chad (Barlow, the anchor) the lead. I am looking forward to running faster at nationals.”
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