McGrath's milestone opens way to nationals.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

When Mike McGrath clocked 3 minutes, 59.25 seconds in the indoor mile at the Last Chance Qualifier in Seattle last weekend, he became the 28th Oregon runner to join the sub-4-minute mile club.

The UO sophomore is the first Duck to crack that barrier since Steve Fein in 2000.

The difference is that McGrath, the former standout from Portland's Lincoln High School, accomplished his feat indoors - and nobody knows for sure if that has ever happened before in school history.

The Ducks, of course, have had a long string of outstanding middle-distance runners. But until recently, Oregon never took the indoor track season too seriously. With the exception of an annual trip to the Portland Indoor at Memorial Coliseum, there were few opportunities to compete indoors.

All of which shouldn't detract from McGrath's feat.

`It's a pretty big milestone in my career,' said McGrath, who owns the state prep record in the 800 meters at 1:48.56.

`It was a cool experience just because people outside of the sport all know what the 4-minute barrier is about, and people inside the sport respect breaking a time like that.'

McGrath, who redshirted last season after leaving the team following the 2004 Pac-10 championships, will get another chance to run the indoor mile as he joins a group of eight UO athletes at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at Fayetteville, Ark.

The two-day meet - held on the 200-meter banked track at the Randal A. Tyson Track Center - opens at 9 a.m. today with the men's heptathlon and ends with the women's distance medley relay final at 9:35 p.m. Saturday's finals run from 11 a.m. to 8:20 p.m., concluding with the women's 4x400 relay.

Although the Ducks' focus and attention is on the upcoming outdoor season, UO track and field coach Vin Lananna said one of the steps for a successful spring is getting something done indoors.

McGrath's breakthrough is a good sign for the Ducks because one of their missing links last year was a lack of representation in the 800 and 1,500. There were no UO runners in the 1,500 at the Pac-10 meet, and Roderick Dotts took sixth in the 800.

`For any young miler, breaking four minutes is a big deal,' Lananna said. `It's a wonderful accomplishment for both Mike and the program. I'm glad he owns that moment of pride. ... It was one of a long list of things to do this year.'

Oregon's list of men's qualifiers also includes defending champion Tommy Skipper in the pole vault, two-time indoor all-American Eric Mitchum in the 60-meter hurdles, and freshman Galen Rupp in the 3,000 and 5,000.

On the women's side, freshman Rebekah Noble will compete in the 800, and senior graduate student Amber McGown, a transfer from Canada, qualified for the mile. Those two joined junior Dana Buchanan and sophomore Irie Searcy to post the 10th-best qualifying time in the distance medley relay.

Lananna said he would wait and see what develops during today's preliminary races before deciding on a relay lineup - which starts with the 1,200, followed by the 400, 800 and mile. If Noble and McGown both make their individual finals, senior Sara Schaaf is a candidate to replace Noble in the relay 800, and McGown might swap the mile for the 1,200 with Buchanan.

`To reach the NCAA meet is a heck of an accomplishment for those kids,' Lananna said. `When we started the cross country season, we only had four women and now we have a vibrant core of middle-distance and distance runners. It's been cool to see how well they've all developed.'

The UO men, who set five indoor school records this year, have recorded three top-20 finishes at the NCAA indoor meet in the past four seasons. Last year's crew had the best showing ever with 29 points for a sixth-place performance.

Skipper, who recently cleared 18 feet, 8 3/4 inches to tie his own indoor school record, was the NCAA indoor runner-up as a freshman before winning the NCAA crown last year, both with the same height of 18-4 1/2 .

`I think Tommy is poised for a big year,' Lananna said. `Our emphasis, of course, is on the outdoor season this spring. But any time you get a chance to compete against the top collegians in your event, whether it's indoors, outdoors or during cross country, that's a valuable experience.'

Mitchum enters the 60 hurdles with the second-fastest qualifying time at 7.67, which broke his own school record by two-hundredths of a second. He was sixth in that race in 2004 and fourth in '05.

`With the hurdles, everything has to go right on that day,' Lananna said. `I like Eric's momentum going into the NCAA meet. He is an extraordinary young man and one of our team co-captains (along with senior decathlete Andy Young) who leads by performance and attitude.'

Rupp, who was second in the 10,000 at the NCAA outdoor meet last year, is faced with a difficult double. The 5,000 final will be held at 7:50 p.m. today, followed by the 3,000 final at 7:35 p.m. Saturday. Rupp owns the indoor 5,000 school record at 13:48.51 and stands third in the 3,000 at 7:54.90.

`It's a tough double, but it's what Galen wants to do and he's excited about it,' Lananna said. `He's not anywhere near as good as he's going to be this spring, although he is fit enough to be able to compete at the national level.'

CAPTION(S):

Mike McGrath is believed to be the first Oregon runner to break 4 minutes in the indoor mile.