UO release – The reigning Olympic bronze medalist ran a season’s best in Sunday’s semifinal round. Recap written by Rob Moseley, Editor-in-Chief (GoDucks.com) EUGENE, Ore. – As this year’s U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials progress at Hayward Field, the margins between success and disappointment get slimmer and slimmer. The quartet of Oregon athletes and alumni in action Sunday certainly could attest to that. Reigning Olympic bronze medalist Raevyn Rogers needed a furious finishing kick to win her heat of the 800-meter semifinals Sunday, advancing to Monday’s final. Fellow UO alum Sabrina Southerland did not make the final despite running a season best in her semifinal, while both sprinter Kyree King and thrower Shelby Moran came up short Sunday by the thinnest of margins. King was the fastest man in the 100-meter semifinals who did not make the final. Moran, meanwhile, had the best mark in the hammer throw of any competitor who did not earn a second set of three throws in Sunday’s finals of the event. King ran a season-best 9.97 in his 100 semi, and failed to advance by four one-thousandths of a second — he was officially clocked in 9.966 seconds, while the last man to make the final finish in 9.962, with the benefit of a 3.0 m/s wind that calmed to half as strong during King’s heat. Moran threw the hammer 216 feet, 4 inches to finish ninth, with the top eight earning a second round of three throws in the finals. Ultimately Rogers provided some Hayward magic for the Oregon faithful. She went to the outside of a four-wide pack down the home stretch and gutted out a win in her heat, in a season-best 2:01.08. “I had a gut feeling it was gonna be a tough race,” Rogers said. “I feel like this 800 is at a whole ‘nother level — it just gets better and better each year. So it forces you to compete (and) it brings more out of you.” Rogers took the lead during the opening lap of her semifinal and remained there at the bell. She let other runners lead the pack down the backstretch before charging off the final turn and winning the race to the finish line. The four-wide group of leaders down the homestretch all crossed within 22 one-hundredths of a second of each other. “I’m like, just swing out wide and give yourself a chance,” Rogers said. “That’s always what I think, you know. I’m like, whatever I gotta do, just fight, fight, fight. And I feel like I had to bring out a different fight today.” In the first semifinal, Southerland intended to do the same. Her race tactics were complicated when Michaela Rose opened an early gap on the rest of the field, before finally being passed by Athing Mu and Kate Grace in the final few strides. Southerland ended up sixth, despite a season-best 2:01.20. “I wasn’t feeling my best, but I tried to kick as much as I could at the end,” Southerland said. “I feel like I could have done a better job positioning myself with 300 to go. But yeah, that’s the sport of track and field. … “I’m always grateful to come back to Hayward, always a Duck. I’m so happy to be in this atmosphere again, but definitely gotta sharpen up. I wish it would have been a little sooner, to get that sharpening up done before this race.” Moran, the reigning Pac-12 champion in the hammer, had her best effort Sunday on her opening throw. It ended up being just a little more than 4 feet shy of placing her in the top eight, and earning three more attempts. “I’m just overly hard on myself all the time, so I was trying to go into it with low pressure,” Moran said. “But of course I put pressure on myself like normal, and didn’t throw what I wanted to throw because of it.” That said, she added, “It was really fun. I love competing with all of them. They’re all great gals. I do belong with that group 100 percent in my mind. I just need to figure how to compete better.” As Moran experienced Sunday, along with King and Southerland, the margins are incredibly thin at this level of the sport. Even the relief Rogers experienced in advancing Sunday was tempered with awareness of the battle that lies ahead Monday night. But it’s a battle she’s ready to confront head-on, just as she did on the homestretch Sunday. “Let’s fight,” Rogers said. “I’m a fighter. I’m ready for tomorrow.” For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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