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She's Goin To Be .... A Duck!!
  
By Rich Gonzalez
Editor, DyeStatCal
(February 3, 2009) -- Three years ago, she said she had no kick. Two years ago, she said the kick was getting better, but still
not fast enough. Last year, she became a believer that she could kick with the best. On Tuesday, it was demonstrated that she
could still "close out" matters with that extra undeniable bit of something special.
On the eve of National Letter of Intent signing day, Jordan Hasay closed out the recruiting wars for her services with a most
anticipated press conference announcement typically reserved more for star quarterbacks or decorated pitchers about to charter
the next four years of their athletic lives.
And her decision?
Let's just say she left them green with envy.
Oregon green, that is.
Hasay, the two-time FootLocker national cross-country champion, seven-time California state champion (and counting) and
1500-meter prep recordholder ended months or rumor, speculation, and intrigue on Tuesday afternoon when the Mission College
Prep senior donned the distinct green and yellow colors of the Oregon Ducks program, signalling her intent to spend her collegiate
years running for Coach Vin Lananna in joining the distance-running powerhouse in Eugene.
Although cross-country and track and field athletes are not bound to their commitments until the official signing day for those
sports occurs on February 4th (tomorrow), the teenager pretty much ended all doubt when she announced her intentions at the
school's gymnasium before a small collection of media and during a live webcast of the event. If only the streaming video could
have run as poetically as Jordan. Even with the streaming feed often cutting out and her words left choppy, the colors she bathed
herself in said it all.
The "Jordan Sweepstakes" took several turns over the last 18 months, with Stanford, Oregon and Washington all seemingly
interchanging as the favorite in the quest to land the two-time U.S. Junior Nationals Cross-Country champion. Each destination,
as well as Arizona State and Arizona, where she also took official visits to, had their share of strengths in attracting Hasay, but
the lure of Eugene -- site of both the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials and of her most high-profile performance to date -- proved
to be too much for this blond-haired wunderkind to pass up.
She now joins a Ducks program poised to challenge defending NCAA cross-country team champion Washington and others
for the title in the fall.
Washington appeared to move into strongest contention for her services as late as this winter, when multiple reports of her
especially enjoyable trip to Washington, where she bonded well with prospective teammates, had surfaced. There were definite
hints from "Team Hasay" that the likelihood of a Huskie future has grown considerably to the point where it was most likely. A year
earlier, it was the successful Stanford program that was the supposed frontrunner (according to those closest to her), with the
university's revered standing in academia and its penchant for top teams being a dual attraction for the exceptional student
recently named as Gatorade's Cross-Country Runner of the Year. She also graces the cover of the March 2009 edition of
Track & Field News, which reached homes yesterday.
But in between came the Olympic Trials in Eugene, where Jordan etched a new chapter in her prolific youth career with a
prep national record in the semifinals of the 1500-meter run, then a strong showing in the final. Her performances left an indelible
image of the toothy, pony-tailed but ferocious competitor on a national TV audience as well as the capacity crowds at Hayward
Field, where the chant of "Come To O-re-gon! Come To O-re-gon! Come To O-re-gon!" filled the air after the record performance.
She admittedly was moved by the boisterous support, undoubtedly entertaining thoughts of a potential collegiate career in
Eugene. Trips to Arizona State and Arizona also went well, including a reported strong connection with Coach Louie Quintana
at the former and dinner with Bernard Lagat as part of her trip at the latter.
There was even a report that attending nearby Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was an option, where she reportedly could still train
under longtime personal coach Armando Siqueiros, but Siqueiros supposedly suggesting it was time for her to continue her
career growth without his guidance as a means of further expanding her horizons.
According to her father, Joe Hasay, Jordan made her final decision last Friday and revealed she would make her announce-
ment in a low-key affair at the school the following Tuesday. He also said neither parent was invited by her to attend, as she really
wanted to keep it low profile. Further, her father said she approached both parents with a bible in hand that day and half-kiddingly
made them swear on it they would not tell a soul before she announced it.
"Oh my gosh! My own daughter doesn't trust me!", laughed her father. "She knows I would have told everyone.... Smart kid!"
Yep, just another example she finds a way to win.
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