Breaking Four: Oregon track & field’s newest sub-4 Mile men
“You run a time and you think, ‘I could go faster.’ So, I think it’s always going to be a challenge, and I think I am always going to challenge myself to run it faster.”
By Maggie Vanoni, Daily Emerald
At the Columbia Challenge in New York last month, Oregon redshirt sophomore Mick Stanovsek clenched his hands up in fists as the finish line tape broke apart around him.
It was a reaction of utter elation from a feeling that only comes from running a sub-4 minute Mile for the first time.
Stanovsek’s first place time of 3 minutes, 57.90 seconds was a personal best and made him the 20th Duck ever to break the 4 minute indoor Mile barrier. The mark also places him ninth on Oregon’s all-time indoor Mile list.
“On the really cold wet mornings, when you’re out in the morning running on Pre’s trail and it’s muddy and you don’t want to be there,” Stanovsek told reporters after the meet. “The only thing I was thinking about was moments like those … I just kind of thought to myself, this is exactly how I pictured it. This is exactly how I thought it would go.”
Freshmen Cooper Teare and Reed Brown also joined the Sub-4 Club at the Columbia Challenge.
In Oregon men’s program history, only 23 Ducks have ever run such an accomplishment in the indoor Mile — six of them currently on this season’s roster.
This season alone, the men ran eight sub-4 Mile performances. Three of those times were fast enough to earn spots in Oregon’s top 10 indoor Mile all-time list. Redshirt senior Sam Prakel ranks third on the list with his time of 3:56.89 and right behind him sits Brown at fourth with a time of 3:57.23.
Being at opposite ends of their collegiate careers, Prakel has used his experience in the Mile to help propel Brown to a successful first indoor season.
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