Sports_
Looking to bloom in Bloomington
Kim Roth has gone a long way in the past year Far
enough, in fact, that she will be leaving Saturday for the
NCAA cross country championships
Only a year ago she was en route to the Oregon
AAA high school championship The state cross
country title Roth won there was an indication of what
lay ahead for the Oregon freshman
Roth will be chasing another title Monday when she
and seven teammates run at Bloomington, Ind with the
hope of returning with the largest trophy offered
The Ducks, ranked third nationally by Harrier
Magazine, assured themselves a spot in the 16-team
championship with a runner-up finish to second-rated
Stanford in the District 8 championship Nov 13
Roth contributed her share with a seventh place
finish in the 70-runner field, and was second for the
Ducks behind Kathy Hayes
Not bad for a girl who was attending Sprague High
School in Salem six months ago Roth not only won the
state prep cross country title as a senior, but doubled up
to take the 3,000 and 5,000-meter medals in the state
track meet
This made Roth hot property in recruiter's eyes,
and Oregon coach Tom Heinonen has 20/20 vision.
“When we were recruiting Claudette (Groenen
daal), Rosa (Gutierrez) and Kathy (Hayes) there was
only one other runner who could compete with them.
Kim was the only underclassmen to challenge them
Naturally we took a long look at Kim She was an ideal
prospect," Heinonen says
The Oregon AAA state cross country champion the
past eight years has chosen the nationally-ranked
Oregon long distance program, and Roth was not about
to break the string
"When you look at schools, you do look at
records," Roth says But I came here because I liked
the school and the program Tom had He's a good
coach and I knew this is a place where I could improve
A freshman in college has a lot of adjusting to do
without the added pressure of athletics For Roth, the
adjustment was twofold
“The thing I feared most about college was the size
of the school and being away from home I was really
scared about that,” Roth says
But what about running? The last time she had run
a 5,000-meter race (high school races are 3,000 meters)
was in December of 1981 at the Kinney prep national
cross country championships in Orlando, Fla In only
her second competitive attempt at the distance she
finished 10th
'The 5,000 is a lot different race. It takes a lot more
endurance. It took a long time to adjust and Saturday (at
the district race) was the first time I felt comfortable,”
Roth says
Feeling comfortable doesn’t win NCAA trophies,
but feeling comfortable is a start. Roth has steadily
improved her performance since the Ducks began
workouts in September.
"I knew I could improve, but I didn't think this fast,”
she says. "The reason for that is I have more competi
tion and a team to work out with. I'd work out with the
boys in high school and when it came time to race I had
no one to run against.”
Heinonen attributes Roth's success to her "pure
foot speed.” and her ability to conform to college
running.
"The hardest thing she encountered from high
school to college is the speed and intensity of work
outs," Heinonen says of the 55 training miles the
Ducks log a week. "She's really tough because she
doesn't get competitive in workouts so you don't see it
(ability) until the race She saves all the racing for the
right time, which is what a coach hopes for.”
Roth says she is, once again, saving everything for
the race Monday she will line up with 136 of the best
runners in the country
"I know for sure I will be nervous. I know it will be an
exciting race I didn’t expect to be as high as I am right
now and that's what makes it exciting. Just thinking, "I
can run against the best in the United States,' is pretty
exciting,” she says
If Monday morning follows the pattern of this
season, Roth should make an impression at the national
level Her transition from high school to college has
been a smooth one for her and Heinonen sums it up in
one sentence.
"Her strongest asset as a person and a runner is
her level-head and the ease with which she handles
everything new around her.”
Bloomington and the NCAA championship will be
new to Roth, and, if Heinonen is right, she will handle it
with ease.
Story by Marcus Prater
Photo by Mark Pynes
University Theatre Presents
A comedy by pulitzer prize winning author
LAN FORD WILSON
I
/
1
Fifth of July
Nov. 19,20 Dec. 1,2,3,4
Robinson Theatre 8P M
UO Students & Seniors $3 25 General Public $5 00
686-4191
♦Audiences are cautioned that this play contains language that
may be considered offensive by some people
Produced in cooperation with Dramatists Play Service Inc
Page 8
Friday, November 19,1982