You have to love this quote from The Oregonian's coverage of the NCAA Track & Field Championships:
Jordan Hasay's last race as an Oregon Duck in front of her Hayward Field fans almost had a Hollywood ending.
She took the lead in the 5000 final on the bell lap, an incredibly brave move considering she was up against Dartmouth's Abbey D'Agostino.
Think about that for a second. Hasay is described on the Oregon website as, "The most decorated runner in school history." Look, we're not talking the most decorated runner at the Oregon Institute of Technology. We're talking Oregon. You know, Pre and Alberto Salazar and Mary Decker? (Wikipedia claims Decker for the University of Oregon, and while she's an alum, she didn't run there. She has been quoted as saying, I'm not a Duck.")
And it was incredibly brave of her to challenge a runner from . . . wait for it . . . Dartmouth?
Brave and futile, it turns out. More from the Oregonian:
The place was as loud as could be when Hasay moved in front, but she made her bid too soon. D'Agostino answered Hasay's burst with a burst of her own, passing Hasay like she was standing still on the back straight.
Long story short, D'Agostino won her fourth national championship – twice as many as an Ivy Leaguer in history – by nearly seven seconds. And get this – she won three NCAA crowns this year and still has another year remaining at Dartmouth.
Next on tap for "Downtown" (Hanover's) Abbey is the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines where she will bid for a spot on the U.S. team heading to Russia for the world championships this summer. The USA Outdoor meet is June 20-23.
Check out the Dartmouth sports information story on last night's race. The story includes the following "fact sheet." (CLICK THE SHEETS to supersize them. You may have to click the second one twice to get it to full size.)
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Yesterday also was a big day for Dartmouth left-hander Mitch Horacek, who was drafted in the ninth round by the Baltimore Orioles. The 6-foot-5 junior was 6-2 with a 2.20 ERA this year. He fanned 42 batters in 45 innings and walked just 10. Find a story about his selection here.
Dartmouth now has had players drafted by major league baseball in each of the last six years.
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Speaking of Big Green baseball, Joe Purritano has been chosen to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball. Find a Dartmouth release here.
In conference play Purritano led the Ivy League with a .719 slugging percentage, tied for the lead in homers (five), tied for second in RBIs (18) and was fourth in batting at .368.
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Now for some football. A nice story out of New Haven where the Register writes about Yale players taking part in a pickup football game held in conjunction with the Warrior-Scholar Project. The W-SP was started by former Yale player Jesse Reising. From the story:
The veterans are in New Haven for the second Warrior Scholar-Project, an intensive two-week workshop which is designed to help with the combat-to-college transition.
And . . .
The veterans take part in seminars and discussions led by Yale professors, and are challenged just as Yale students would be. They receive help with their writing skills. And Australian army veteran Chris Howell, along with Yale psychologists, help with the social transition.
Reising, you may remember, was set to become an officer in the Marine Corps before a serious injury against Harvard cost him a chance at a military career. (Find his story here.)
Notable in the story about the Warrior-Scholar Project football game was a mention that standout receiver and return man Chris Smith played in the game and was identified as a Yale football player. Smith had been out of school, missing last season, and might well be eligible to return in the fall.
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And finally, The Dartmouth has a Q&A with incoming President Phil Hanlon, who takes office Monday. Of note:
I know you were a big football fan at Michigan. What sports are you most looking forward to?
Gail and I are interested in the full range of sports and arts events. We attended lots at Michigan, and we’ll attend a lot here, I’m sure. We’re anxious for the season to start.
