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Stuart
Eagon, 18, finished second in the junior boys' 8K at the 2005 USA
Cross Country Championships to earn a spot on the U.S.'s World Cross
Country team. Eagon ran 25:22.0 and finished eight seconds behind
his former high school rival, Galen Rupp. Eagon is a native of Portland,
Oregon, where he attended Beaverton High School. He is now a freshman
at the University of Wisconsin.
On
his expectations for the race:
I knew I was definitely in shape to make the team and to have a
chance at winning the race. I've run against Galen many times, but
I wanted to get out there and put myself in a position to make the
team. If I had an opportunity to win the race, I was going to go
for it. Maybe I wasn't visualizing second, but Oregonians went one-two.
I'll take it.
On
looking comfortable during the race:
This is my type of course, running at home. I felt really relaxed
out there. [On the] last loop, Galen started to pull away a little
bit. I tried to stay with that, tried to hang on, but it wasn't
in the cards today. I love cross country, I love track, and it's
a great day out here. It's a great day to run on this course. It
was a little muddy, but we got by.
On
his improvements at the University of Wisconsin:
Our guys ran really well in Seattle yesterday. Matt Tegenkamp ran
the fastest 5,000m in the world yesterday. We had six guys under
14:00. That was definitely a confidence boost, to see how well those
guys ran yesterday. It made me feel comfortable, knowing I was in
good shape. I've pretty much trained for seven months straight,
all leading up to this race. I took a little bit of a break in December,
but I've had the most injury-free, best training of my life for
the last six months.
On
his racing leading up to the Nationals:
I ran an open race, an 8K at Notre Dame, and I got 23rd at the Club
Nationals in Portland. I'm planning on redshirting the whole year,
just doing open races. My goal for outdoor track is to give myself
a chance at qualifying for senior nationals in the 5K.
On
deciding to focus on Junior Nationals rather than NCAA competition:
I got there on the first day, and I said [to Wisconsin coach Jerry
Schumacher], 'You know, I'm still a junior, Jerry.' And he said,
'No, I thought you were too old! We're definitely going to prepare
for that.' I got there on August 16th, with six months to prepare
for this race. I was as well-prepared as I could be.
We've
definitely geared towards this race and Worlds. I tapered down a
bit this week to make sure I was rested. I built up a huge base
over a long period. I just used the last month or so to incorporate
a bit more speed, get my legs turning over a bit and prepare to
race. It paid off.
On
his previous international experience:
None. It's going to be fun. I've never been out of the country.
Well, I've raced in Victoria (British Columbia), but I've never
been to Europe.
On
teammates who've run the World Junior race:
Matt Tegenkamp got fifth [in the junior race at the World Cross
Country Championships in 2001]. He was probably one of the best
resources coming into this race. He beat Dathan [Ritzenhein] on
this course [in 2001]. He told me, just hang with whoever's in the
race. He hung with Ritz, then got him up the hill. Unfortunately,
I couldn't get Galen today, but second place is still not bad.
(Interview
conducted February 13, 2005, and posted March 9, 2005)
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Stuart
Eagon.
(Photo by Alison Wade/New York Road Runners)
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