By Maggie Vanoni
UO senior Edward “King” Cheserek reigned as he picked up his second consecutive Pac-12 title in the men’s 10,000-meter race Saturday at Hayward Field with a time of 29 minutes, 11.76 seconds.
“I was trying to get it done, so I can go home and relax and get ready for the next one,” said Cheserek.
Teammate Tanner Anderson finished third with a strong final 800 in the 25-lap event. He was 10.67 seconds behind Cheserek with a time of 29:21.43 and nearly 10 seconds behind second-place finisher Trent Brendel of Cal.
“I was expecting to take fourth and just get points for the team,” said Anderson. “And my coach was on the sideline telling me to go at the 600, but at the 800 I just thought that I could get better than fourth if I kicked down the Cal guy.”
Through the help of Cheserek and the team, Anderson felt determined going into Saturday’s race after working hard during last year as a redshirt.
“He is my workout partner and we always run together,” said Cheserek. “He has a couple more years to go, but I think he’s going to take my spot. I always tell him to keep his head strong and focus.”
Anderson says that having Cheserek to train with has made him a more confident runner.
“Ed keeps everything light-hearted, which is key during intense competitions like these,” said Anderson. “He has taught me to tune into what’s important as a distance runner. For example, when you get onto the track and you know it’s the same surface, it’s the same loop no matter where you are, it takes a lot of the pressure off and makes for more consistent pacing.”
The runners remained on pace when they were met with a quick Oregon downpour
halfway through the 25-lap race. Cheserek was surprised to see fans still cheering throughout the rain, whereas Anderson used the weather to his advantage.
“I enjoyed running in the rain,” said Anderson. “Going to school here, you have the advantage of always training in the rain. So, the more it poured the more I was like ‘Yeah, bring it on, let’s keep going!’”
Oregon coach Robert Johnson said Cheserek will not compete Sunday in the 5,000 on Sunday. Anderson will, however.
