Galen Rupp Leads Oregon to Men's NCAA Track and Field Title

The boy became a man.

In one of the most dramatic performances in collegiate track and field history, the boyish Galen Rupp flexed his diminutive muscles and carried his University of Oregon teammates to the men's team title at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Oregon finished with 54 points, well ahead of second-place Florida, with 36 points. Rupp accounted for 30 of those points with victories in the 5000 meters, the distance medley relay, and a dominant win in the 3000 meters.

His teammate, Ashton Eaton, captured the heptathlon, and fellow runner Andrew Wheating, despite a sore foot, gutted out a close second-place finish in the 800 meters.

The crowd of nearly 5,000 at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium (College Station, Texas) may have witnessed the emergence of the next great American distance runner. The Oregon senior was determined to leave his mark in his last college indoor performance.

"I wanted to test them, to make them hurt." said Rupp of his bold explosion from the start of the final event, the 3000 meters. " I knew everyone was tired, but I felt good."

The Portland native never looked back, winning without a serious challenge.

Eaton, from Bend, Oregon, accomplished his victory in the heptathlon by equalling or bettering several personal records. The reigning NCAA decathlon champion finished with 5988 points.

For Rupp and the rest of the Oregon team, the outdoor season is just days away. A strong finish or possibly another title in the Outdoor Championships is now a very real possibility.

Then, for Rupp, the world awaits.

There, the African runners will issue a new challenge: can Galen Rupp become a man among men?

Additional notes

It seems "Track Town USA," the old moniker from the glory days of the Bill Bowerman-and-Bill Dellinger-coached teams, is returning to Eugene.

Oregon's Hayward Field, which hosted the 2008 Olympic Track and Field Trials, will also be the venue for the 2012 Trials.