Tweet
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...52/1002/SPORTS
(STORY TOO LONG FOR ONE POST)
Hall entry a Relays legend
DeHaven still has record in 3,200
Published: 05/6/05 1:55 am
Rod DeHaven, perhaps the most dynamic distance runner in South Dakota history, will be inducted Saturday into the Howard Wood Dakota Relays Hall of Fame.
That's a no-brainer.
But most people don't realize that it took awhile for the Olympic marathoner's brightest Howard Wood moments to arrive.Up until his junior year at Huron High School, DeHaven's hometown staged its own track meet the same weekend as the more celebrated Sioux Falls event.
"I would always run out to get the Argus Leader to see how the boys 2-mile went," says DeHaven, who won a 1985 NCAA Division II indoor 1,500-meter title at South Dakota State and now coaches track and cross country at the school."The Dakota Relays are something that kids in this state look forward to, and it draws a nice crowd. There's also a feeling that people are knowledgeable and respectful about the history of the event, and I wanted to be a part of that."
DeHaven got his chance as a highly touted Huron junior in 1983, winning the boys high school mile at Howard Wood Field and anchoring the Tigers' 3,200 relay triumph.
But he missed out on the 2-mile when heavy rain and high winds (frequent annoyances at this early May meet) forced the race to be moved to Saturday, conflicting with the mile.Poor weather also was a factor during DeHaven's senior track season in 1984, after he had captured 1,600 and 3,200 track titles as a junior and finished first in cross country that fall.
"We had three or four meets snowed out," says the distance prodigy, who completed a 15-mile road race in Brookings at the age of 10."Our first meet that (senior) year wasn't until mid-April, but I had a feeling going into the Dakota Relays that I was going to run OK. It was just one of those meets where everything kind of came together, particularly the weather. That's usually the biggest adversary in South Dakota to kids who want to go for records."
That 1984 meet was the year organizers switched the open mile to Friday night and scheduled the two-mile for Saturday afternoon. Given his experience with prairie winds, DeHaven assumed the afternoon race would be a gust-filled affair.
"But it was just the opposite," he says. "That Friday night turned out to be windy, but Saturday was a much better day."So after easily defending his 1,600 title, DeHaven knew the stage was set to make a run at the meet record in the 3,200. He was being recruited by SDSU and Nebraska, but Cornhuskers coach Jay Dirksen was only offering to pay for DeHaven's books in college.
Since Dirksen was in the Howard Wood Field grandstand, the two-mile event offered a perfect opportunity for DeHaven to open the coach's eyes."There was a huge crowd that day, and people knew Rod was running an outstanding time," said Huron distance coach Roger Loecker, who has been at the school since 1969. "Over the last three laps, every time he came past the grandstand, he got a standing ovation. People were just going nuts cheering him on."
For most of the race, DeHaven was oblivious to the crowd. He was too busy checking his watch to see if the record was reachable.
"I could start to feel the excitement going into the last lap," says DeHaven, who grew up admiring South Dakota distance stars such as Jeff Schemmel (Madison), Jim Reinhart (Lincoln) and Jeff Turning Heart (Cheyenne-Eagle Butte)."I knew if ran sub-63 seconds, I had a chance to run faster that a lot of big names did earlier on that very same track."
He kicked across the finish line in 9 minutes, 8.59 seconds, beating the previous meet record of 9:10.9 set by Turning Heart in 1980. DeHaven's mark still stands 21 years later and ranks as the fifth-best two-mile clocking in state prep history.Later that day, DeHaven ran an astounding anchor leg of 1:51 in the 3,200 relay - more than two seconds faster than the current high school 800 meet record (1:53.86) established by Canistota's Troy Weiland in 1997.
That anchor leg wasn't enough to make up the huge gap DeHaven faced when his teammates passed him the baton. But the moment wasn't lost on Dirksen, who quickly hunted down Huron's hero to announce a change in Nebraska's recruiting plans.
"He said, 'Don't sign anything! I'm going to come up to Huron to talk to you and your mom!' " recalls DeHaven. "In the course of a day, I went from a walk-on prospect to a full-ride recruit."But DeHaven still felt a connection to South Dakota State, where then-coach Scott Underwood had forged a relationship with his future star while maintaining a team-first mentality.
DeHaven's career in Brookings included 12 All-America awards in cross country and track. He led the Jackrabbits to a national cross country title in 1986."I actually was offered more scholarship money by Nebraska than SDSU," says DeHaven, who worked an outside job to pay his bills. "To me, it wasn't about Division I or Division II - it was just a comfort level. I had a better rapport with the guys at SDSU. It felt more like I was part of a team."
(STORY TOO LONG FOR ONE POST)
Hall entry a Relays legend
DeHaven still has record in 3,200
Published: 05/6/05 1:55 am
Rod DeHaven, perhaps the most dynamic distance runner in South Dakota history, will be inducted Saturday into the Howard Wood Dakota Relays Hall of Fame.
That's a no-brainer.
But most people don't realize that it took awhile for the Olympic marathoner's brightest Howard Wood moments to arrive.Up until his junior year at Huron High School, DeHaven's hometown staged its own track meet the same weekend as the more celebrated Sioux Falls event.
"I would always run out to get the Argus Leader to see how the boys 2-mile went," says DeHaven, who won a 1985 NCAA Division II indoor 1,500-meter title at South Dakota State and now coaches track and cross country at the school."The Dakota Relays are something that kids in this state look forward to, and it draws a nice crowd. There's also a feeling that people are knowledgeable and respectful about the history of the event, and I wanted to be a part of that."
DeHaven got his chance as a highly touted Huron junior in 1983, winning the boys high school mile at Howard Wood Field and anchoring the Tigers' 3,200 relay triumph.
But he missed out on the 2-mile when heavy rain and high winds (frequent annoyances at this early May meet) forced the race to be moved to Saturday, conflicting with the mile.Poor weather also was a factor during DeHaven's senior track season in 1984, after he had captured 1,600 and 3,200 track titles as a junior and finished first in cross country that fall.
"We had three or four meets snowed out," says the distance prodigy, who completed a 15-mile road race in Brookings at the age of 10."Our first meet that (senior) year wasn't until mid-April, but I had a feeling going into the Dakota Relays that I was going to run OK. It was just one of those meets where everything kind of came together, particularly the weather. That's usually the biggest adversary in South Dakota to kids who want to go for records."
That 1984 meet was the year organizers switched the open mile to Friday night and scheduled the two-mile for Saturday afternoon. Given his experience with prairie winds, DeHaven assumed the afternoon race would be a gust-filled affair.
"But it was just the opposite," he says. "That Friday night turned out to be windy, but Saturday was a much better day."So after easily defending his 1,600 title, DeHaven knew the stage was set to make a run at the meet record in the 3,200. He was being recruited by SDSU and Nebraska, but Cornhuskers coach Jay Dirksen was only offering to pay for DeHaven's books in college.
Since Dirksen was in the Howard Wood Field grandstand, the two-mile event offered a perfect opportunity for DeHaven to open the coach's eyes."There was a huge crowd that day, and people knew Rod was running an outstanding time," said Huron distance coach Roger Loecker, who has been at the school since 1969. "Over the last three laps, every time he came past the grandstand, he got a standing ovation. People were just going nuts cheering him on."
For most of the race, DeHaven was oblivious to the crowd. He was too busy checking his watch to see if the record was reachable.
"I could start to feel the excitement going into the last lap," says DeHaven, who grew up admiring South Dakota distance stars such as Jeff Schemmel (Madison), Jim Reinhart (Lincoln) and Jeff Turning Heart (Cheyenne-Eagle Butte)."I knew if ran sub-63 seconds, I had a chance to run faster that a lot of big names did earlier on that very same track."
He kicked across the finish line in 9 minutes, 8.59 seconds, beating the previous meet record of 9:10.9 set by Turning Heart in 1980. DeHaven's mark still stands 21 years later and ranks as the fifth-best two-mile clocking in state prep history.Later that day, DeHaven ran an astounding anchor leg of 1:51 in the 3,200 relay - more than two seconds faster than the current high school 800 meet record (1:53.86) established by Canistota's Troy Weiland in 1997.
That anchor leg wasn't enough to make up the huge gap DeHaven faced when his teammates passed him the baton. But the moment wasn't lost on Dirksen, who quickly hunted down Huron's hero to announce a change in Nebraska's recruiting plans.
"He said, 'Don't sign anything! I'm going to come up to Huron to talk to you and your mom!' " recalls DeHaven. "In the course of a day, I went from a walk-on prospect to a full-ride recruit."But DeHaven still felt a connection to South Dakota State, where then-coach Scott Underwood had forged a relationship with his future star while maintaining a team-first mentality.
DeHaven's career in Brookings included 12 All-America awards in cross country and track. He led the Jackrabbits to a national cross country title in 1986."I actually was offered more scholarship money by Nebraska than SDSU," says DeHaven, who worked an outside job to pay his bills. "To me, it wasn't about Division I or Division II - it was just a comfort level. I had a better rapport with the guys at SDSU. It felt more like I was part of a team."
Comment