BOULDER — Brent Vaughn will leave Colorado this spring with the school record in the 5,000 meters, a major achievement in a program that has produced stellar distance runners such as Adam Goucher, Dathan Ritzenhein, Alan Culpepper — all Olympians — and Jorge Torres, a world championship competitor.
But if that record suggests the possibility of big things in the future for the former Smoky Hill High School runner, what happened in Saturday’s Big 12 Championships 1,500-meter prelim at CU’s Potts Field says something about his heart.
Vaughn was crestfallen after failing to qualify for today’s 1,500-meter final. It’s not his best distance, but he wanted to make finals and help CU’s cause in the team standings. Vaughn promised his disappointment would fuel him today when he takes the track as the favorite in the 5,000.
“It’s frustrating,” Vaughn said softly. “I let my team down. I feel bad about it. I’ll come back and do what I can for them.”
Two weeks ago, Vaughn finished second in the 5,000 at the Cardinal Invitational at Stanford, finishing just behind world champion Bernard Lagat, a native of Kenya and 1999 graduate of Washington State who now runs for the United States. Their times were the two fastest run by Americans this year, college or pro. Vaughn’s time (13 minutes, 18.48 seconds) shaved six seconds off the CU record set by Torres in 2003 and pared 12 seconds off Vaughn’s previous best.
“Unbelievable, to run the Olympic A standard?” said Greg Weich, Vaughn’s coach at Smoky Hill. “I think that performance speaks for itself.”
The memory of that night did little to lift Vaughn’s spirits.
“It was a good PR, but after running this 1,500, I feel like you’re only as good as your last race,” Vaughn said. “That takes away from it, in a sense. It was a good race for me, but I’ve got to focus on the next race and get back some of the confidence I just lost.”
These are momentous days for Vaughn, who has plenty of priorities beyond winning the conference title today. NCAA regionals are in two weeks, followed by the NCAA championships two weeks after that.
Then there are the Olympic trials, plus decisions to make about hiring an agent, signing a pro contract and picking a post-collegiate coach. Vaughn might just stay in Boulder, continuing to work with CU coach Mark Wetmore. Vaughn’s wife, Sara, still has a year of eligibility remaining.
“It looks like we’ll be staying in Boulder,” Vaughn said. “Wetmore’s a great coach. I don’t want to be too worried about all that other stuff right now. I’ve just got to win every 5,000 I run from here on out. That’s my goal.”
Vaughn was a three-time state champion at Smoky Hill, attracting recruiting pitches from other big-time track programs, including Stanford and Wisconsin.
“I’ll tell you what fuels that kid — he loves it,” Weich said. “He loves the challenge of running, he loves going out and running in the woods, he loves to step on the track and run fast intervals. He loves that challenge, he loves to compete.”
Vaughn is quick to express gratitude for the talent and opportunities he’s been given.
“I feel so blessed that I might have the opportunity to do this for a living,” Vaughn said. “You have bad races, but that’s what makes the good races feel that much better.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
