by RBR AdminMarc Scott spent a night in a hospital early in the week, and came back to win his first NCAA title, taking the 10,000 meters! Heres’ how Kim Holm covered the event. Kim Holm is a junior at the University of Oregon, studying journalism and communication. She is a native Oregonian and loves to hike and explore all the wonders that Oregon wildlife has to offer.
By Kim Holm
EUGENE, Oregon — Tulsa 10,000-meter runner Marc Scott was out Monday morning in Eugene with his trainer, and he was four miles into his 10-mile run when he had what he called a mini-seizure.
He said he was too far from his car to turn around and go back. So he just finished his six miles and went back to the car.
So, he then went to the hospital, where they kept him for 24 hours. Doctors gave him a CT scan and checked out his heart, and everything came back inconclusive. They don’t know what caused it. But they cleared him Tuesday afternoon to compete on Wednesday, and Scott said he wasn’t worried about it at all.
Wednesday at Hayward Field, two days later, Scott won the NCAA title at 10,000 meters with a time of 29 minutes, 1.54 seconds. It was his first national title in five years at Tulsa, including his redshirt year.
“I didn’t know how it would affect me after I was released,” Scott said. “The lack of sleep was the biggest issue.”
That’s because medical personnel kept having to wake him up at night to check on his condition.
At the start of his race on Wednesday, he was in the middle of the pack, trying to break through, and it didn’t look like he would be able to with only a few laps to go.
“I knew it would come down to the last lap,” said Scott. “I’ve been working on really developing that final lap.”
This is the first NCAA win for Scott. Oregon’s Edward Cheserek, who had won the event for the last three years, was the favorite this season, before he withdrew from the NCAA West Regional with a minor back injury and could not qualify for the NCAA championships.
“I’ve worked hard for five years to get a title,” said Scott. “It’s one guy — it doesn’t change how I view a race. The goal is to go out there and beat whoever is on the start line.”
During the indoor season, Scott did race Cheserek in the 5,000 meters, taking second.
“It came a bit short indoors — I’m a little disappointed I didn’t race him,” Scott said. “It’s a shame for him to go out the way he did, but it opened the door for me.”
Right behind Scott with a time of 29:02.96 was sophomore Rory Linkletter from BYU. This is Linkletter’s third time ever running the 10K.
“It’s surreal–I had goals to be at least first team all-American,” said Linkletter. “I was in ninth with 500 meters to go. I just went for it–and I had it.”
Linkletter said all the runners were piling up at the beginning of the race, and he didn’t know how he would finish.
“It was a choppy race, everyone was throwing elbows, getting pushed in and out,” said Linkletter. “I was just thinking one more lap, one more lap, and eventually there was 400 meters to go, and I could always run a fast 400 meters.”
Both Scott and Linkletter will compete on Friday in the 5,000 meters. Scott especially is looking forward to resting after his hospital stay, and said he is grateful for the people in Eugene who were able to help him recover for his race.
