HASAY PLANS FOR WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS DOUBLE
By David Monti
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission
Like
the soul hit by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, "She Ain't a Child No
More," former California prep star Jordan Hasay has grown up. The
outgoing University of Oregon freshman, who as a 16 year-old captured
the fond attention of fans and the media when she finished tenth in the
1500m at the 2008 USA Olympic Trials over, is now 18.
But the
2007 IAAF World Youth Championships silver medallist at 1500m is still
a junior --she does not turn 20 until 2011-- and plans to make her
final IAAF World Junior Championships next month in Moncton, Canada, a
productive one, doubling in the 1500m and the 3000m. Last week in Des
Moines, Iowa, Hasay won the national junior title at 1500m (her fourth)
and placed second in the 3000m, locking in her national team berths in
both disciplines. She told reporters after her 1500m victory last
Saturday that despite racing 17 times so far this year she can still be
fresh for next month's championships.
"That's been the goal all
season," said Hasay, who has clearly grown several inches taller in the
past two years. "It's a big year. It's my last year as a junior.
We're trying to peak for July, so we'll see how that goes. I mean, I'm
tired, but we've consciously kind of held back and tried not to
overtrain and still save something."
In her first year as an
NCAA athlete, Hasay has been a solid contributor to her Oregon Duck
squad which won the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships team title in
Fayetteville, Ark., last March, and finished second at the recent NCAA
Division I Outdoor Championships on her home track of Hayward Field in
Eugene. In the indoor championships Hasay took fourth in the mile,
scoring 5 points, and anchored the Oregon distance medley relay team
which took second, good for 8 points. In the outdoor championships she
finished third in the 1500m scoring 6 points. She's also set personal
best times at the indoor mile (4:35.01), indoor 3000m (9:12.25), 3000m
(9:18.92) and 5000m (16:16.02).
In Des Moines, Hasay was upset
by high schooler Emily Sisson in the 3000m, losing in the final kick by
19/100ths of a second. That defeat made her 1500m win all the more
important. It was only her second 1500m victory this year.
"It's
actually really nice because I haven't won a race since, I think, my
season opener outdoors, the Stanford Invite (March 26)," Hasay
explained. "I mean, I've run well --I wouldn't consider my other races
bad-- it's just a different level. So, it's nice to win again, and
experience that."
At the last IAAF World Junior Championships in
2008, Hasay finished fourth in the 1500m (Britain's Stephanie Twell
took the title), and she was a full two seconds from making the medal
stand. But at the junior level, two years of additional training and
development can be significant, and Hasay feels that she'll be a medal
contender in Moncton.
"I think I have a good shot, especially in
the 1500," she said. "I think my speed is really coming along, and
that's what it takes at the international level. I finished NCAA's in
63 (seconds) for the (final) 400, so I was really pleased with that.
It's definitely coming around. For the 3-K, I think it will be a good
opportunity for a PR against some of the African runners who like to
take it out hard. It's going to be exciting."
Hasay thinks
those championships may provide an opportunity for her to break the 23
year-old USA junior 1500m record set by Suzy Hamilton in 1987.
"I'd
really like a shot at the American junior record, it's 4:09.1," she
said. "So, I think I have a real shot at that if it goes fast. That
would be really exciting."
Adjusting to college life can be
difficult for any student, but has special challenges for a young woman
who already enjoyed a measure of fame as a young girl (she has 1,048
Facebook friends). But Hasay said she enjoyed her first year at
Oregon, made new friends, and said that her favorite subject was
chemistry.
"It's definitely difficult," Hasay said of the
pressure she's felt as a young star. "But I just try to enjoy it. I
love the sport. I love the people. I love the atmosphere, so that
definitely helps. I love the quote (by Michael Johnson) that 'pressure
is nothing more than the shadow of a great opportunity,' so I just try
to take my opportunities and just have fun out there."
ENDS