Elliott Cook finished fourth in the 1,500 meters less than an hour before winning the Pac-12 title in the 800. Photo by Kevin Neri
Oregon freshman Elliott Cook won the Pac-12 800-meter title Sunday afternoon just an hour after finishing fourth in the 1,500 meters, his first time running two events on the same day in his college career.
His time of 1 minute, 48.81 seconds was a significant improvement from last year, when he did not qualify for the Pac-12 meet. This win puts Cook’s name among other decorated athletes who ran the same events such as Charlie Hunter and Cole Hocker.
Even though Cook was not as fresh as his other competitors, he gained an edge over his competitors from the crowd as a Duck.
“That crowd helped a ton,” he said. “Having the crowd show up like it did today — it makes a ton of difference. Even in the prelim yesterday, when you’re passing somebody like that, and you can hear that roar—you don’t see that anywhere else.”
The Ohio native is currently one of three University of Oregon runners under 1:50 this season. He was a 2021 NCAA West Preliminary Qualifier in the 800, and he last ran it at Hayward Premiere in 1:48.92.
In Sunday’s race, Cook said he knew where he wanted to be around 400 meters in. With 600 meters to go, Cook knew “there would be guys still on him.” But when it came down to the last 100 meters, Cook said he had “just enough recovery to bounce back.”
Cook and Dayton Carlson from Arizona State were side by side for the last 100 meters. The Hayward crowd gave Cook the extra push for him to slightly run forward and lean at the finish line.
Cook also attributed his win to his previous race in the 1,500, in which he set a personal record of 3:40.98. “The excitement of the 1,500 and scoring some points for my team—there was still some hunger there,” he said. “Obviously fourth place isn’t bad, I’d love to be at least podium.”
In preparation for both events Sunday, Cook cleaned his room Saturday night, went to bed at 10, stayed off his phone and drank water before bed. “It’s just like subconscious things that I think help,” he said.
Cook said that he sometimes enjoys making sushi wraps about three hours before his race. They consist of brown rice, siracha and sushi nori wraps. “It’s weird, but it’s what I do, and it works,” he said.
