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Newberg grad qualifies for U.S. Olympic trials |
In the final few miles of
his most recent race, Sage Canaday could have had several different
things on his mind.
It could have been the intense pain of finishing his second
marathon — the 2007 Grandma’s Marathon June 18 in Ithaca, N.Y. He
could have been thinking that he knew he was going to obtain his
goal of qualifying for the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials Nov. 3 at
Central Park in New York City with his time of 2 hours, 21 minutes
and 43 seconds. Instead, he was focused on remembering his
grandmother, Michi Ando, who died approximately a year ago.
“I knew I was probably going to get my goal and at that point
you’re just kind of enjoying it,” said Canaday, a 2004 Newberg High
School graduate. “It’s painful, but really a thrill. But in those
last couple of miles, she’s what I was thinking about. She had
always been really supportive of my running.”
Canaday began his running career in Newberg under the tutelage of
cross country coach Bruce Sinkbeil. Canaday said learning from
Sinkbeil instilled in him becoming a marathon runner.
“That’s when I started taking running seriously,” Canaday said of
his high school days. “I have a lot of good memories running for
Newberg High School.”
When he ran at Newberg, he had a stellar, but not flashy
career. He holds the freshman (16:23) and senior class records in
the 5,000 meters (15:17). Overall in Newberg history, he ranks
second in the event behind Todd Washburn’s time of 15:13 he set in
1987.
As a senior at the state cross country meet, he finished 13th
(15:48) in the 5,000; as a junior, he placed 18th (16:09). But
probably more telling than his races are the people he raced
against. Canaday was in the same class as some of the elite distance
runners in the country, including Galen Rupp at the University of
Oregon, Stuart Eagon at the University of Wisconsin, Isaac
Stoutenburgh at the University of Oregon and Ryan Vail of Oklahoma
State University.
Vail was OSU’s first member to ever qualify to be on the U.S.
Junior National team in 2005. Rupp, a six-time All-American,
currently holds the U.S. Collegiate 10,000 meter record (27:33.48) —
good for seventh all-time in U.S. history and third in NCAA history.
Rupp was also a three-time state track champion and a two-time state
cross country champion in high school. Eagon went on to become a
two-time All-American as a Badger.
Running against such competition drove Canaday.
“That helped me, just seeing those guys run amazing times and
compete at such a high level,” he said. “I was pretty far behind
them and it made me want to improve more and train harder.”
After he graduated from high school, he considered attending
colleges on the east coast. He eventually was accepted to at Cornell
University in Ithaca, N.Y.
“I visited a couple of other schools, but I fell in love with
Cornell’s campus,” he said. “They also gave me a generous financial
aid packet, so that helped.”
In his first season at Cornell, Canaday, a class valedictorian his
senior year at NHS, struggled in the classroom. He was also trying
to remain healthy for cross country and track.
“It was a tough adjustment for him,” Cornell men’s distance coach
Robert Johnson said. “I mean, this is a kid whose never seen a B
(grade) in his life.”
Johnson said most freshman can latch on to something at school.
Whether they like the school work, the athletics or the social
aspect of college, students usually are drawn to one of those. Not
Canaday.
“So for a freshman, he was going 0-3,” Johnson said.
After Canaday’s father, Riff, flew out to meet with his son and
Johnson, Canaday was persuaded to return to Cornell.
“I’m really thankful for his dad because (Canaday) had a really
strong cross country season as a sophomore,” Johnson said. “Plus, he
seemed to fit in a lot better and was one of the more popular kids
on the team.”
In his sophomore season, Canaday climbed up the depth chart and
eventually earned all-Northeast region honors when he finished 20th
in the 10,000 with a time of 30:51. He later finished 13th at the
IC4A meet to earn All-East honors at 25:26 in the 8,000. All of his
improvements garnered him the award as the most improved runner on
the team.
This past season, his highlight was finishing fifth at the Ivy
League Championships with a time of 30:49 (a personal best) in the
10,000.
“He’s just taken everything to another level,” Johnson said.
Canaday, who runs approximately 100 miles per week regularly (an
average of 14-17 miles per day), began working toward running a
marathon in his high school career when he ran a time of 32:05 in a
10,000.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a sophomore in high
school,” he said. “It seems like the longer the race, the better I
did, so it seems like I’d do pretty well at the distance races.”
He held off his dream until earlier this year. In January he
entered his first marathon, the Chevron Houston Marathon. There, he
ran a time of 2:22.21 in the 26.2-mile course. The time was 21
seconds away from the U.S. Olympic Trials B standard of 2:22.00.
“That provided a lot of motivation, so I knew I wanted to try it
again,” he said.
Six months later in June, Canaday got another chance. At the 2007
Grandma’s Marathon, he ran 2:21.43 — an average of a 5:25 mile — to
become what is believed to be the lone collegian to have qualified
for the Olympic marathon trials. Canaday is also believed to be the
youngest to qualify for the Olympic marathon trials as well. At the
meet, Canaday battled 70-degree weather during the race. Johnson
said while 70 degrees doesn’t sound that hot, the ideal temperature
for marathon runners is about 55 degrees.
“So to run that in that weather, it was quite remarkable,” Johnson
said.
Canaday, who majors in design and environmental analysis at
Cornell, will return to New York Monday to be begin training for the
trials. He said none of his accomplishments would have been possible
without not only Michi Ando, but Sinkbeil, his grandfather Burt and
parents Riff and Pam.
“They’ve believed in me and allowed me to pursue my running goals,”
he said. “They’ve been really supportive.”
Johnson said Canaday has come a long way since his freshman year.
“His development has been much better than probably anyone could
have predicted,” he said. “You could never predict this kind of
thing. It couldn’t happen to a better kid, too. I really think he’s
the type of kid you want to coach because he wants it that bad.” |
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From June 23, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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