Oregon's Cheserek takes aim at more Penn Relays success

As fans of the Penn Relays witnessed last year, Oregon's Edward Cheserek is one of the finest runners in college track. But there's more to competing for the Ducks than just posting fast times.

The Oregon men's team needed to pile up points in the 3,000 meters last month at the NCAA indoor track and field championships, the next-to-last event of the meet, because it did not qualify in the climactic 4x400 relay. So coach Robert Johnson asked Cheserek, a sophomore from St. Benedict's Prep in North Jersey, to run what would be his fourth distance race - including trials and final in the mile and the 1,600-meter leg on the distance medley relay - in two days.

"He could have gone out there and tried to break the collegiate record in the mile," Johnson said, referring to a race conducted two hours before the 3,000. "But he did just enough to win. Then he helped us score some points in the 3K."

After winning the mile in 3 minutes, 57.94 seconds, Cheserek followed teammate Eric Jenkins to the line in the 3,000, clocking 7:59.42. The 1-2 finish was worth 18 points to the Ducks, who won the team title for the second straight year.

That's the way it works on Johnson's team. No matter how much individual talent the Ducks have - and they have plenty - it's all about team goals.

"We're a team-first program with a team-first philosophy," Johnson said Monday at a Penn Relays news conference. "We have a lot of stars, a lot of all-Americans on our team that could very easily not want to do some of the doubles and triples and relay duties that we ask them to do. But they sacrifice some of their own glory to help the team be a success, and that's what we kind of embody here."

One of Johnson's assistant coaches is former Penn State star Jamie Cook, a two-time Penn Relays decathlon champion who spent 10 years at Penn as an assistant.

Cheserek sparked Oregon's two Championship of America winners at Penn last year. He anchored the distance medley relay team with a 1,600-meter leg of 3:57.98 and came back the next day to run a 3:56.4 second leg in the 4-x-mile. Cheserek was named the meet's outstanding men's relay athlete.

This year, Johnson expects Cheserek to be fresh for Friday's DMR and Saturday's 4-x-mile since the runner took a few weeks off after the indoor track season ended.

"Now he's just getting back to where we're looking to run some really exciting races as we move into the championship portion of the season," Johnson said. "What a great way to do that at the Penn Relays."

One of Cheserek's teammates on the relays is Johnny Gregorek, who transferred to Oregon for his last year of eligibility after graduating from Columbia. Gregorek is the son of former Georgetown star John Gregorek, who will be inducted on the Penn Relays Wall of Fame this weekend.

Oregon has another budding star on the women's side in redshirt junior sprinter Jenna Prandini. Prandini grabbed the track world's attention last weekend at the Mount San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, Calif., running 100 meters in 10.92 seconds, tying her for the fastest time in the world this year. She also set a school record of 22.42 in the 200.

Prandini, of Clovis, Calif., is expected to run at Penn in the 4x100 and sprint medley relays, the only two events in which the Ducks are competing.

"She's a phenom," Johnson said. "Jenna is continuing to get better and better each and every year and we're really excited about what the future holds for her."