Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1001699
I saiah Harris crossed the finish line with his arms extended wide to each side and a smile stretching from ear to ear. And then the impact of winning an NCAA championship seemed to hit him as he knelt on the track at Oregon's Hayward Field and covered his face with his hands. Harris had just run a personal best of 1 minute, 44.76 seconds at 800 meters, be- coming the first Penn State man to win an NCAA title at the distance since 1923, when the event was the 880-yard run. It was a large upset in an NCAA champi- onship meet that was full of them; Harris had outkicked favorite Michael Saruni of UTEP, which no one had predicted. "There was no doubt in my mind that I could win this race," Harris said. "I know a lot of people didn't have their money put on me. It's been my mission, just to win. And now it feels like everything that I did and all the hard work I've put in this year paid off." He even remained calm several minutes later, when he reached the Penn State team tent and three of his teammates rushed out to congratulate him, jumped on him and shouted in excitement. Said Harris, "I told y'all." That confidence, combined with his unique track abilities, enabled Harris to steadily improve over his three years at Penn State, going from fourth in the 800 finals with a time of 1:45.76 as a fresh- man to second as a sophomore in 1:45.40. "As an athlete, he's done some amazing and special things for Penn State," head coach John Gondak said. "What makes him really who he is, is he's just a competitor. He doesn't like to lose in anything that he does. He has an uncanny abil- ity like very few that I've seen." Gondak became aware of Harris when he heard that there was a high school run- ner in Lewiston, Maine, who was winning state titles not only in the 800 meters, but in the 200 meters. (Harris still holds the state records in both events.) He gradu- ated with three 800-meter state titles, two 200-meter titles, a 1,500-meter title and a runner-up finish in cross country. That's a particularly rare range of events, and while Harris, who was re- cently named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year, focuses on the 800 now, his cross country stamina and his 200-meter speed give him a strong kick. He's also got a strong upper body, and Gondak said that Harris can get extra speed by pumping his arms. But at the end of last season, Harris said, he felt tired. For his junior season, he and Gondak decided that fewer competi- tions would be better. Harris MISSION STATEMENT Isaiah Harris makes good on his goal of bringing an NCAA title to '800 U' | VARSITY VIEWS BIG FINISH Harris caught up to UTEP's Saruni for his first national title in the 800. The junior had finished second last year. Photo by Adam Eberhardt