Saturday • June 13, 2009 • Folsom High School, Folsom, CA
Jordan Hasay to Compete at GWI #5
Jordan Hasay (l to r), 2005 GWI Don Gosney photo, 2006 Kirby Lee photo, 2007 GWI Don Gosney photo, 2008 GWI Don Gosney photo
By Bob Burns
As the Golden West Invitational got older, it got younger.
For years, the nation’s top invitational high school track and field meet invited only seniors. In 1993, the field was opened up to qualified juniors, sophomores and even freshmen.
When Jordan Hasay, a pony-tailed prodigy from Arroyo Grande, Calif., raced in the 2005 event as an eighth-grader, she broke new ground. She’ll blaze another trail on June 13, when at the 50th edition of the prestigious meet, she becomes the first athlete to compete in five straight GWIs.
GWI meet director John Mansoor remembers having some reservations about letting an eighth-grader runner compete.
“It opened the door for others, but we did it because she was so good,” Mansoor said. “She couldn’t find any competition. Now she’ll end her high school career here. I’m glad we broke with tradition and let her in.”
Hasay was named the High School Girls Athlete of the Year in 2008 by Track & Field News after she set a national prep record in the 1,500 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials. In a break for her preparations for a fourth straight California state championship in the 3,200 meters, Hasay thought back on her first Golden West appearance, when she finished a respectable fifth in the mile in 4 minutes, 56.38 seconds.
“I remember being really excited,” she said. “I was nervous because I had never really run against people who were faster than me before. I remember going out really fast and taking the lead. I’ve gotten smarter as I’ve gotten older.”
She’s also become a celebrity of sorts. She graced the cover of Track & Field News in March 2009 and has her own Wikipedia entry. While she has been winning national titles since 2006, she took the sport by storm last July when qualified for the 1,500-meter final at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.
A head shorter than most of her rivals, with her waist-length blond hair bouncing with each stride, Hasay created one of the lasting moments of the Trials. The fans at Hayward Field chanted “Go … to … Oregon!” during each of her races. She set a national high school record in semifinals, clocking 4:14.50, and finished 10th in the final against a field comprised mostly of professionals.
“It was such an honor for me to be competing against all those women I’d always looked up to,” Hasay said. “It was a really cool experience.”
In Eugene, Hasay qualified for the semfininals by finishing seventh in her first-round heat. But she was scheduled to leave Eugene for the World Junior Championships in Poland on the same day as the semifinals. It didn’t look as though she’d be able to compete until USA Track & Field officials agreed to delay her departure, and she proceeded to break the national high school record.
As for the Eugene fans who tried to steer her college choice with their deafening chants, Hasay decided earlier this year to attend Oregon over Washington, Arizona State and Stanford.
“The support they showed at the Trials was nice, but if I didn’t like the coach or the team, I wouldn’t have chosen Oregon,” Hasay said.
Oregon coach Vin Lananna is considered one of the finest distance coaches in the country. Hasay will join one of her old high school rivals, Alex Kosinski, at Oregon this coming fall. Kosinski, a former standout at Oak Ridge High School, placed second to Hasay in the mile at the 2006 Golden West Invitational.
Hasay was a freshman at Mission College Prep in San Luis Obispo, clocking 4:42.21 to Kosinski’s 4:42.93. Hasay also won the GWI mile in 2007 (4:43.34) and won the 800 meters at last year’s meet in 2:09.92. She plans to run the mile at this year’s GWI.
Her 2009 season was interrupted by a sinus infection, forcing her to skip the Arcadia Invitational, where she wanted to take a shot at the national record in the 3,200 meters. She returned to form at the Payton Jordan Invitational in early May, clocking 4:16.80 for 1,500 meters.
Hasay began running in the fourth grade. When she outran the boys in her school, her physical education instructor said she should start competing for the junior high team. At 12, she clocked 9:48.77 for 3,000 meters.
She won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships as a high school freshman. Her coach, Armando Siqueiros, is an outstanding runner himself and has guided her career in a sensible fashion. Unlike some age-group standouts, Hasay shows no signs of burnout as she finishes up her high school career.
“I developed a love for being out there and pushing myself every day. I also love the competitive side of it. It’s more fun now than ever.”
