Oregon daily emerald., April 13, 2004, Page 9, Image 9

Lauren Wimer Photographer
Colorado redshirt freshman Erik Heinonen (103) took fifth in the 3,000 at the Pepsi Invitational Saturday. Heinonen, son of former
Oregon women’s head coach Tom Heinonen, transferred to Colorado from Oregon before this season.
HAGER
continued from page 7
So it comes as no surprise that Sat
urday was a big day for the younger
Heinonen. He came back to Hay
ward for the first time after transfer
ring to Colorado.
"There's so many people here and I
was so nervous about the race," Erik
Heinonen said.
The race on Saturday was in fact
I Ieinonen's first as a collegiate ath
lete at Hayward. Had it come for
Oregon, it might have been a sign of
things to come.
Of the top four finishers in the
3,000, only one was an Oregon run
ner. Colorado's Ritzenhein easily took
the event and was followed by Min
nesota's duo of Andrew Carlson and
Will McComb.
Both Golden Gophers finished
more than eight seconds before Ore
gon's Brett Holts, who took fourth
with a time of 8 minutes, 26.27 sec
onds. Heinonen was almost one sec
ond behind.
The 3,000 was the longest race of
the day, but it did not hide, in any
way, shape or form, Oregon's dearth
of immediate talent in distance run
ning. The thing is, that's been the pro
gram's staple in the past, from Steve
Prefontaine to Bill McChesney Jr., Al
berto Salazar to Karl Keska.
In the 1,500 you'd have to look as
far as fifth to find Oregon's top run
ner, Eric Logsdon.
In the 800 — which is pushing it
for serious distance running — Mike
McGrath took second.
Heinonen would've been that perfect
fit for the Ducks. He's proven in the past
that he can handle the distances,
becoming one of the top runners in the
Northwest while in high school.
While at South Eugene High
School, Heinonen took fourth in the
3,000 at the 2001 Oregon 4A State
Track Championships, finishing
third the previous two years. In the
1,500, he finished fifth in 2001 and
sixth in 1999.
Not all of those are stellar numbers,
but figures that accentuate the notion
that he would have been a nice piece
of the puzzle in Oregon's attempts to
win a Pacific-10 Championship.
But he won't be. After sitting out
last season, he ultimately decided to
transfer. He said it just didn't feel right
in Eugene.
"I never really found my groove,"
Heinonen said. "Coach Smith is an
incredible mentor, an incredible
coach. But for some reason it just did
n't click."
For now, Heinonen will run for the
Buffaloes, hoping to recapture the
magic on the track that he enjoyed in
high school.
Ironically, he could be seeing
more of the same starting Friday at
the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut Creek,
Calif, where a number of Ducks are
expected to compete. From there,
he's set to compete at the Chris
tiansen Invitational in Fort Collins,
Colo., on April 24.
That's followed by the Big 12
Conference Championships in Nor
man, Okla., during the final week
end of April.
"It's just good to be training hard
again," Heinonen said. "I haven't done
that since I was in high school, two
years almost. It's nice to feel like I'm
working again and the racing is going
to be what it is. I'm going to keep on
putting in the miles and the sessions."
MOMENT
continued from page 8
660 in the spot where many of
Bonds' home runs have fallen, in
cluding the single-season record
73rd in 2001 that wound up the sub
ject of a bitter court feud.
All Crum got was wet, just before
the ball did.
"I caught a couple beers," said
Crum, glancing down at his soaked
.shirt and trousers.. Not that he cared
much. He got to watch history soar
above his head, and that was enough.
"With everything going on, him
taking a lot of heat, it was nice to see
him hit one. It was so sweet to see it,"
said Crum.
"I'll tell my pops, tell my daughter,"
he crowed. "I probably won't tell my
girlfriend. She'll wonder why I'm not
at work."
(c) 2004, Contra Costa Times (Walnut
Creek, Calif.). Distributed by Knight
Ridder/Tribune Information $eryipes.
On one beautiful Saturday, all of
the hard work meant a return home.
What could have been.
Contact the sports editor
at hankhagen@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
We’ve got sports 24/7
www.dailyemerald.com
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