by Romaine Soh
Right before Oregon’s Raevyn Rogers toed the line for the 800 meters Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, teammate Ariana Washington, the newly crowned 100-meter champion, walked past Rogers, pointed at her and said, “It’s your turn.”
Said Rogers, “I’m just like ‘Shh!’ I know. Just don’t add that pressure on me.’”
With 150 meters to go, déjà vu set in as Rogers executed her signature kick to take the lead, reminiscent to last year, when she blasted past the leader. This year, once past the leaders, Rogers never looked back, steadily extending her lead to win the race with a time of 2 minutes, 0.75 seconds and become a back-to-back champion.
Rogers has already qualified for the Olympic Trials with her winning time of 1:59.71 at last year’s NCAAs. Now, she can focus on breaking the 1:59 barrier.
“It was a different feel winning it for the first time last year,” said Rogers, who made sure to mention teammates, including 15-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek and two-time 110-hurdle champion Devon Allen. “I give Ches, Devon, all of them so much credit. It’s so difficult. But I’ve had a lot of support and positivity this week, and that’s really helped me.”
Stanford sophomore Olivia Baker put in a final surge on the home straight to clinch second with a time of 2:02.65, a new PR. Brigham Young junior Shea Collinsworth outlasted last year’s runner-up Claudia Saunders to finish third with a time of 2:02.83. Saunders finished fourth in 2:02.99.
Rogers’ win marks the third consecutive time an Oregon woman has won the event. Laura Roesler won in 2014, and Rogers has continued the legacy with her wins the past two years.
Anxiety was a dominating emotion for Rogers as she prepared for her race. Describing herself as a visual person, she was all too ready for the final 150 meters so that she could make her move.
Said Rogers, “I was like, ‘Can it just get here?’”
During the heats, Rogers discovered that her competitors had the same foot speed as her, and was not about to let them outkick her in the finals. Battling a fierce wind, she said she felt that God got her through as she swung out on the curve to execute her kick.
The last time Rogers went sub-2 was in last year’s NCAAs, when she won the race with a time of 1:59.71. Though she has not run sub-2 since, her ultimate goal this season is to make the Olympic team. She said she has faith that Coach Robert Johnson has her on the right track to peak at the right time, and has accepted her time as a gradual progression.
“I know that everything happens for a reason and at the right time,” said Rogers. “I am really blessed that I was able to accomplish this.”
The 2014 U.S. national 800-meter champion said that for her to make the Olympic team, she has to learn to deal with discomfort. As of June 3, 25 women have met the Olympic standard, and Rogers’ PR ranks her sixth among them. Runner-up Baker is also among the Olympic qualifiers.
“I know it’s going to take a lot of heart and way more than talent because everyone’s talented,” said Rogers. “Being uncomfortable helps me grow.”
Baker, who had recently moved up from the quarter mile, only clocks 15-20 miles a week at most. Yet, she has made astounding progress in the event, meeting the 800-meters qualifying standard earlier this year at the Payton Jordan Invitational with a time of 2:01.02.
When the NCAA race pack went through the first lap in 59 seconds, she felt that the moderate pace was in her favor, but her poor positioning saw her swinging wide on the Bowerman curve. She caught Saunders and Collinsworth on the home stretch, but was too far from Rogers to threaten her title defense.
“We were all feeling it on that last 100 meters, kicking down to the finish,” she said. “I was a little surprised that I caught Claudia.”
Baker is training partners with Saunders at Stanford. Though they did not spend as much time together this season as compared to last year due to the new coach’s style, she said they still remained good training partners. To Baker, Saunders leads by example, with her strong performance in the heats inspiring Baker. With Saunders departing this season, Baker will miss training with her role model.
“Just running the rounds and having a teammate like Claudia with me the whole way has been such a blessing to me throughout the years,” said Baker.
Baker hopes to compete at the U23 Games in El Salvador, and hopefully the Olympics if she performs well at the trials.
Though Saunders also qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials, she has decided to try for the French Olympic team. Saunders’ mother is French, which grants Saunders French citizenship as well. The Stanford senior is ranked 16th among the qualifiers with a time of 2:00.61.
Since the French Olympic standard is a second faster than the international general Olympic standard, Saunders hopes to compete at a high performance meet to clock a fast time before she heads over to the French trials.
“With 200 meters to go, I started to make my move, but I wasn’t aggressive enough,” she said. “I got stuck and kind of lost my momentum. I definitely want to run faster than that.”
Rogers’ family is a big part of her athletic journey. Her father, mother and godmother flew in from Texas to watch her race, and her grandmother was at home watching the competition on her iPad.
“Being with my mom and godmum here, it really means a lot to me,” she said. “I like to make my family proud.”
