Oregon daily emerald., October 27, 2004, Image 9

“1 feel like I am pregnant with all
these ideas. I am just trying
to give birth to them. ”
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Miguel Batista describing his writing career
Mother Duck: Harmon leads cross country flock
As Oregon's lone senior harrier,
Laura Harmon embraces her role
as the team's leader and mom
BY BEAU EASTES
FREELANCE SPORTS REPORTER
Laura Harmon is many things to her young
Oregon cross country team.
Leader by example, coach on the field, inspira
tion to others, workout warrior — but caregiver?
“She’s the mom of the team,” Mandi Fitz
Gustafson said, a junior transfer from Arizona
State. “She coordinates functions and she’s really
supportive. Everyone loves Laura. ”
Harmon, the lone senior on a Duck harrier
squad whose roster is made up primarily of fresh
men, has embraced the role of Mother Goose.
“I like being in that leadership role,” Harmon
said. “I’ve always kind of been in that role, even
in high school.”
Case in point: Last week on a morning when
Harmon didn’t have class or workouts, the psy
chology major got up early and made blueberry
practice pancakes for her teammates who did
have morning commitments.
“I knew they probably had a tough workout
and thought it would be nice,” said the Vancou
ver, Wash., native.
The only thing more impressive than Har
mon’s eagerness to help her teammates with al
most any task is her ability come to race day
ready to focus and take care of business.
Harmon has finished in the top 16 of all her
races this season, including the Roy Griak Invita
tional and the Pre-NCAA Invitational, the two
most competitive regular season races in the
country. This is on the heels of Harmon’s top-20
finish (18th, 17 minutes, 18 seconds) in the 5,000
meter at the NCAA Outdoor Thick & Field Cham
pionships last spring. •
On top of her pursuit to make the NCAA
Championships, Harmon has helped lead and
nurture a Duck team with very limited
collegiate experience.
“She shares experiences; she has input on
courses and she always has an open door,” said
freshman Maegan Kuntz.
“Laura has really stepped into the role of cap
tain and leader by setting a good example,” said
ami
hi
Oregon’s Laura Harmon (9), seen here last season, finished 18th in the 5,000 meter at the NCAA Outdoor Track &
on this season’s Duck cross country team.
Erik R. Bishoff | Photographer
Field Championships last spring. She is the lone senior
junior Haripurkh Khalsa, the Ducks No. 2
runner. “Coming in as a freshman, Laura
really helped me.”
Harmon’s praise for leadership is also sung by
her coach, Marnie Mason.
“She’s really come into her own,” the second
year coach said. “Her work ethic is next to none.
The girls look up to her. She’s a good teacher. ”
Harmon credits Mason with helping her get
over her hump last year and into the next level
of competition.
“She pushes me,” said Harmon, who also
believes maturity helped her become a
better runner.
“We’ve got a good rapport,” Mason said.
“Laura and I really connect. She realized she
had a lot more potential and dug down deep.
That was exciting.”
Harmon was stricken with pneumonia in the
summer of 2003 and redshirted the cross country
season that fall. She trained for indoor and out
door track under Mason and shaved 39 seconds
off her 5,000 meters time.
‘‘It was hard having patience,” Harmon said
about missing the cross country season. “But it
was a confidence builder getting over it.”
With that newfound confidence, Harmon has
her sights set on a top-10 finish at the Pacific-10
Championships, ensuring All-Pac-10 honors, and
an All-American finish at nationals after the
West Regional.
Harmon’s goals aren’t simply personal; they’re
also part of a larger ambition.
“We know we’re a young team,” Khalsa said.
“We want to get everyone PRs (personal records)
and get Laura in the top six at conference,”
Khalsa said .
After Harmon’s collegiate athletic career
ends this spring, the 5-foot-2 dynamo is contem
plating a position that couldn't seem more natu
ral — coach.
“I love running and watching other people do
well," Harmon said.
If possible, Hannon says she would like to serve
as an assistant under Mason, helping train a group
she says has “huge potential to be great runners. ”
It’s a role that would be familiar to Harmon,
one that would undoubtedly come naturally.
Beau Eastes is a freelance reporter
for the Daily Emerald
■ Men's golf
Minnesota wins BigTen/Pac-10 event
The No. 20 Golden Gophers edge
out No. 10 USC Trojans for the
team title; Oregon finishes 12 th
BY SCOTT I. ADAMS
FREELANCE SPORTS REPORTER
The Big Ten/ Pac-10 Challenge concluded
Tliesday as No. 20 Minnesota capped off a
memorable comeback by defeating No. 10
Southern California in a tie breaker. The Golden
Gophers trailed the men of Tfoy by 13 strokes
at one point in the tournament, which was held
at the par-72, 7,040-yard Bandon Dunes Golf
Course. Minnesota finished 4-over 292.
The Golden Gophers sat in sixth place at the
end of the first round, but climbed the leader
board thanks to impressive second-round play by
Bronson La’Cassie, Niall Tlirner and Josh Per
sons. All three finished the tournament ranked in
the top 20. USC couldn’t keep pace with the ex
plosive Golden Gophers, who rode their wave of
momentum en route to a two-stroke win.
Nineteenth-ranked UCLA led the field by five
strokes going into the second round but shot a
307 on Tuesday to fall to a third-place finish in
the tournament with a combined score of 598.
Fellow Pacific-10 Conference affiliate Arizona
State finished three strokes behind the Bruins
to take fourth place with a score of 601. Round
ing out the top 10 were Northwestern (602),
Washington (603), Arizona (605), Penn State
(607), No. 21 Purdue (609) and Indiana (611).
. Courtesy | Oregon Media Services
Oregon freshman Joey Benedetti studies his next putt at the Big Ten/ Pac-10 Challenge in Bandon, Ore.
Host Oregon finished four strokes behind de
fending national champion Cal to take 12th
place with a score of 620.
A Big Ten Conference team may have won
the tournament, but the Pac-10 would be the
victor as its schools posted a combined total score
of plus-162. The Big Ten carded a plus-191.
Alejandro Canizares of Arizona State took
home the individual title after shooting
consecutive 71s to finish with a 2-under 142.
Second and third place were also occupied by
Pac-10 golfers as Washington’s Alex Prugh fin
ished behind Canizares with a 1-over 143. USC’s
Taylor Wood followed at an even-par 144.
The Ducks were carried in the second
round by freshman Joey Benedetti, who
GOLF, page 10A
IN BRIEF
Swinnen wins singles title
at regional tournament
Senior Sven Swinnen became the first
player in Oregon men’s tennis history to
capture the Intercollegiate Tennis Associa
tion Wilson/ITA tyen’s West Regional title
in Berkeley, Calif., Tliesday.
The 23-year-old Swinnen, who was seed
ed No. 2 in the tournament, defeated Port
land's Matt Loucks in a tough three-set
match, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in the singles main
draw finals.
“It was a great week of tennis for the
team and Sven,” Oregon assistant coach
Ross Duncan said. “What separates Sven
from his opponents is his ability to rebound
with big points when down. He is the first
Duck to ever win a regional title and we ex
pect him to continue his solid play at the na
tional indoor tournament.”
For his victory, Swinnen received an au
tomatic bid to participate in the four-day
ITA National Indoor Championships in Ann
Arbor, Mich., which begins Nov. 4.
Swinnen is currently the No. 12-ranked
singles player in the nation, which is the
highest all-time ranking for the Oregon
men’s tennis program.
The West Regional tournament was one
of nine ITA regional tournaments played
throughout the country the past two weeks.
The singles draw finalists and the doubles
draw champions in each of the nine tourna
ments earned an automatic bid to the ITA
National Indoor Championships.
— Alex Tam