by Doug Binder
on September 1, 2010
Rob Conner will tell you that maintaining the 31-year streak of men’s conference cross country titles isn’t his program’s top priority.
But he also does enough to win the West Coast Conference meet every year and he most certainly isn’t looking forward to the day that run is snappped. It matters.
So imagine his surprise Tuesday afternoon when athletic director Larry Williams wandered into his office to tell him that Brigham Young University was going to join the conference in 2011.
“It was so far out of left field I couldn’t even tell you,” Conner said. Read More
by Doug Binder
on August 31, 2010
Oregon-based sprinter Ryan Bailey jumped the gun and was disqualified in Rovereto on Tuesday, missing out on a chance to mix it up with another strong field on the heels of his 9.88 on Sunday.
Yohan Blake, however, dealt Justin Gatlin his first defeat since returning to the track circuit last month, 10.06 to 10.09.
But here’s why we think Bailey’s 9.88-second result on Sunday was so significant — and it has received scant mention, if any.
Bailey, at 21 years, 4 months, 16 days, is the youngest man to ever run 9.88 seconds or faster in the 100 meters. He beat Usain Bolt to that threshold by four months.
by Doug Binder
on August 31, 2010
Initial rankings for the 2010 season have been released. You can check out the regional rankings here.
Stanford (men) and Villanova (women) begin the season with national No. 1 rankings. For more, go here.
by Doug Binder
on August 30, 2010
Ryan Bailey made a big breakthrough on Sunday in Rieti, Italy, but it has been slow to register with the U.S. media.
He not only broke 10 seconds in the 100 meters in a heat on Sunday, he broke 9.9 in the final. His 9.88 time is tied for the sixth-fastest in U.S. history.
“I’m ecstatic to break 10 and then 9.9 in the same day,” Bailey said. “I knew all year I could run this fast and just had to hold my form together. I had good starts in both races, but not great. My drive phase was better, but still not perfect.” Read More
by Jim McDannald
on August 30, 2010
by Doug Binder
on August 30, 2010
Ryan Bailey graduated to the next level of elite sprinting on Sunday in Rieti, Italy.
He lowered his personal best to 9.95 in a heat of the 100 meters, and then blasted to 9.88 in the finals. He lost to Nesta Carter, but near-perfect conditions led to fast times all around.
Bailey, a 21-year-old who grew up in Oregon and trains in Beaverton with his former high school coach, John Parks, is now tied for the sixth-fastest American ever.
by Jim McDannald
on August 29, 2010
by Doug Binder
on August 27, 2010
John Frank
Linda Hartman was 15 years old when her big brother accidentally fell into a 14-foot deep hole on a construction site in Yosemite Park and drowned in shallow water.
Linda had spent time accumulating press clippings and ribbons and certificates in her big brother’s room that fall, intending to build a scrapbook — to give him at Christmas, 1986.
But when John Frank died that October, the air was pretty much sucked out of the holidays. The scrapbook became a family memorial.
Frank was one of the best high school distance runners in the U.S. in 1980 and remains something of a local legend in Northern California. At Central Valley High School, he was undefeated during league cross country meets in 1978 and 1979 and won the state championship (Northern Section) his senior year. He won the U.S. Junior Olympic title that year as well, in New Jersey. He was the California co-runner of the year. Read More
by Doug Binder
on August 25, 2010
Roosevelt's condemned football stands, and track, circa 2008
There are compelling stories around every corner at North Portland’s Roosevelt High School.
In 2007, I reported that school officials were concerned about hosting a long-awaited state playoff game in boys basketball. Student tickets cost $5, you see, and Roosevelt students didn’t have it in their pockets. So for two days, people dropped off enough bills at the school so that students could watch their team play and earn a spot in the state tournament.
The Oregonian’s Steve Duin adopted the school, and the effort to save it, as a recurring series. His story about the girls basketball team’s final game of the 2009 season was brilliant.
The football program produced enough stories in 2009 to become an ESPN Outside The Lines feature, expertly written by Tom Friend.
The effort put forth by SouthLake Church of West Linn, of former principal Deborah Peterson, of development director Rich Recker, of coaches like Robert Key and Christian Swain, of Nike’s Michael Bergmann, of Norm Daniels and Michael Schrunk and many, many more is truly one of the most uplifting stories in Portland. Read More
by Doug Binder
on August 25, 2010
Ryan Bailey (Robert Rosenberg Photography)
Oregon-born sprinter Ryan Bailey got a confidence-boosting win on Sunday at the Euro Athletics Association meet in Dubnica, Slovakia.
Bailey ran 10.13 into a 1.5 meters per second headwind, beating Michael Frater (second) and Michael Rogers (third). Bailey got a good start and led throughout.
Although not a personal best, the wind reading may indicate Bailey is ready for a sub-10 second time.
“Physically, he felt great afterward and is excited to end the season in the next few days,” Bailey’s coach, John Parks, said.
Bailey is on a waiting list for the Brussels meet and it is doubtful that he would get into the 100 there. On Sunday, he’s planning to run in Rieti, Italy.
