Oregon Daily Emerald
Wednesday, March 2, 2005
“I didn’t play much defense in high school
because you can relax on the other end of
the court and still get your 30 points. ”
Bryce Taylor | Oregon guard
Outdoor recreation
Running for life
Veteran runner Joe Henderson is utilizing his expertise to write
hooks and columns on the sport as well as train other runners
BY ASHLEY GRIFFIN
OUTDOOR RECREATION REPORTER
Some people see running as a chore, while oth
ers use it to burn off their latest caloric indul
gence. For veteran runner, sports writer and
marathoner Joe Henderson, running has become
something more — a necessity.
“For the last 25 years, it’s been the first thing
I’ve done in the morning,” Henderson said. “Not
running would be like not brushing my teeth oi
not eating breakfast.”
Henderson’s running career started by default
As a young man, he wanted to play attention
grabbing glamour sports, and tried them all. Ht
didn’t run until his freshman year in high school
despite the fact that he came from a family o:
collegiate runners.
Henderson started running and competing
in the first week of his career. As a fresh
man, he qualified for the state track and
field meet, and after high school he ac
cepted a four-year athletic scholarship
to Drake in Des Moines, Iowa.
Henderson said he learned quickly
that his personality was more suited to
the solo sport of running than contact
sports where athletes “knock heads” with
one another.
“In running, it’s you against yourself,
the clock and the elements,” he said.
Now, 47 years after his first race,
Henderson’s pace is still going strong. He has
run more than 700 races and finished
48 marathons.
“I’ve seen generations of runners come
and go. The thing I’m proud of most now is s*
having had all these years (of running),” he said.
Henderson’s favorite local run is at Alton Bak
er Park along Pre’s Hail. He estimated he has
run there at least 1,000 times.
His favorite race is the Boston Marathon.
“I like the Boston Marathon because
it’s Boston. It’s the most historic
marathon in the world and not just one
anyone can run. You have to qualify,”
he said, modestly mentioning that he’s a
four-time finisher.
For the last five years, Henderson has also
taught running at the University. He’s chal
lenged the school’s running elite and
novice newcomers in his Jog-Run, 5K and
10K training classes that meet twice a
week, early in the morning. For the dedicat
ed runners who wake in time to lace up their
sneakers, the class can greatly improve their
running abilities.
HENDERSON, page 6
■ Men's lacrosse
Men's Club lacrosse splits two-game homestand
The Ducks ended a six-year
losing streak against Chico State
before falling to Simon Fraser
BY LUKE ANDREWS
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
This weekend marked two key games for the
Oregon men’s Club lacrosse team.
The eighth-ranked Ducks attempted to break
a six-year losing streak against Chico State on
Friday and battled Simon Fraser on Sunday, a
rematch of last year’s championship game.
After shellacking Pacific Lutheran 23-3 to
begin the season, the Ducks knew this week
end would prove to be a better indicator of
needed improvements.
“We knew coming into this weekend that we
were not playing a team like Pacific Lutheran,”
team coordinator Justin Cooley said. “We knew
we had to play at our full potential to win.”
Friday Oregon hosted Chico State, a team it
had not beaten in six years. The Ducks started
quickly by taking a 3-0 lead, but the Bulldogs
settled down and responded to tie the game at
five after two quarters.
The lead changed hands several times, but
seven Oregon goals in the final two quarters
were too much for the Bulldogs tp overcome as
the Ducks clinched the 11-10 victory.
The Ducks’ ability to contain Chico State’s
Dan Yob in the second half was a key factor.
Yob finished the game with five of the Bull
dogs’ 10 goals. He also had one assist.
Oregon midfielder Julian Coffman had two
goals and two assists, and Chris Nelson and Alex
Parker also pitched in two goals for the Ducks.
“The curse of the Bulldog has been broken,”
Oregon head coach Josh Barbour said after
Friday’s victory. “I am thrilled to have that
monkey off our back.”
The win gave Oregon a 2-0 record heading
into Sunday’s A Division opener against Si
mon Fraser. It was in search of revenge after
the Ducks defeated Simon Fraser 19-9 in last
season’s Pacific Northwest Collegiate
Tim Bobosky | Photographer
A trio of Oregon
Club lacrosse
players chases
junior midfielder
Daniel Weber
in the Ducks’
7-5 loss to
Simon Fraser
on Sunday
in Eugene.
Lacrosse League’s championship game.
“Simon Fraser has turned into a huge rival
ry for us,” Barbour said. “We knew they were
not push-overs, and we knew we were not
going to beat them by 10 goals like we did
last year.”
Simon Fraser started the game strong with two
early goals and managed a 5-2 lead at halftime.
The Clan added another goal in the third to
take a 6-2 advantage. Oregon stormed back,
however, scoring three goals in the fourth, but
the Ducks eventually fell 7-5, suffering their
first loss of the season.
“I thought we played better team defense
against (Simon Fraser),” Barbour said. “Un
fortunately, the ball was not dropping for us,
and we were not able to finish.”
Oregon managed an impressive 57 shots on
goal, but Simon Fraser goalie Aaron Pascas
had 27 saves to preserve the victory for the
Clan. In addition to Pascas, Mike Christians
gave the Ducks trouble. He accounted for five
of the Simon Fraser’s seven goals.
For Oregon, Danny Ernst had an assist and
tossed in two goals.
“This game shows that we have a lot to
work on if we want to be one of the elite
teams,” Barbour said. “It let us know where
we stand. We did a lot of things well, but we
have a long way to go.”
The Ducks take on Gonzaga and Washing
ton State this weekend in Spokane and
Pullman, Wash.
“The good news is that this loss came early in
the season and really gives us motivation to get
better,” Barbour said.
IN BRIEF
Skipper finishes second
at national indoor event
Sophomore pole vaulter Tommy
Skipper took home the silver at the
USA Indoor Championships on Sun
day, finishing behind former Washing
ton vaulter Brad Walker. Walker,
ranked second in the country heading
into the event, cleared 18 feet
6 1/2 inches, besting Skipper’s top
mark of 18-2 1/2. Walker, now com
peting for Nike, and Skipper met in the
NCAA Indoor Championships last
March. Walker topped Skipper in that
meet as well, earning his second
NCAA Indoor championship.
Skipper entered the event as the top
ranked collegian and tied for fifth over
all in the country with 2004 Olympic
silver medalist Toby Stevenson.
At the Mountain Pacific Sports Fed
eration Championships, junior Eric
Mitchum, a returning Indoor All
American, won the 60-meter hurdles
with a time of 7.81 seconds.
Mitchum, who entered the Seattle
meet with the nation’s fifth-fastest
time, was .11 seconds off the NCAA
automatic qualifying mark.
Sixty-meter sprinter Richard Del
Rincon also won dash events for Ore
gon. The junior transfer finished the
Sunday final with a 6.74 sprint, nar
rowly edging out Washington State’s
James McSwain (6.74). Del Rincon
needs to run a 6.71 to break into the
nation’s top 20 times.
Finally, the Ducks’ 4x400-meter re
lay team, Travis Anderson, Kedar Ini
co, A.K. Ikwuakor and Matt Scherer,
blazed to a season-best 3 minutes, 6.08
seconds time en route to a first-place
finish. The Duck sprint team beat run
ner-up Washington by almost a full
second (.98) and climbed into the na
tional rankings (eighth).
— Beau Eastes
Men's golf finishes last
at Ashcroft Collegiate
A sloppy final round at the Ashcroft
Collegiate Invitational left the Oregon
men’s golf team in last place of
15 teams with a total score of 921 after
the three-round event. Junior Justin St.
Claire led the Ducks in the final round
with a l-over 72. However, his com
bined score of 228 left him in a tie for
52nd place with teammate Matt Ma,
who only managed an 83 in the final
round after solid first- and second
round scores of 73 and 72.
No. 23 Tennessee (852) took home
the team title, but had to endure a
late run made by No. 10 Brigham
Young, which came up short of the
Volunteers by two strokes. The
Cougars finished with an 854 followed
by host No. 8 Southern California
(861), Georgia Southern (865), Califor
nia (870) and Washington (878). The
Ducks finished the tournament nine
shots back of 14th-place finisher
Washington State (912).
Oregon’s final-round score of 305 at
the 6,742-yard, par-71 North Ranch
Country Club came by way of the
Ducks carding individual scores no
less than 72. Sophomore Eric Hastings
recorded an 82 to finish in a tie for
72nd. Freshmen Joey Benedetti and
Derek Sipe finished 74th and 80th.
Aron Price (203) of Georgia South
ern shot a final-round 1-under 72 to
grab the individual title. He defeated
Ross McGowan (208) of Tennessee.
The Ducks take the links March 21
when they host the Oregon Duck
Invitational in Eugene.
— Scott J. Adams