Harris prepares for Stanford Invitational

September 29, 1992
Originally published by The Daily Collegian (Fresno State)

There will be no rest for the weary this weekend.

The FSU cross country team will have its season test when they go head-up with the country's top talent and teams in the Stanford Invitational Saturday.

But Jamey Harris' adrenaline says 'go', and that spells trouble for all the pretenders. Running well, it means the Bulldogs will be in the hunt. Running excellent, it means the 'Dogs can rise to the top. When Harris is in his stride, the Bulldogs are almost unbeatable.

Harris, a senior, continues to add more strong performances to his stellar career.

He won the Big West cross country title in 1991 and was named BWC runner of the year. Harris set four cross country records last year and, to date, is the sole FSU distance runner to make a national team. He was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team in 1990.

The 6-foot-1 Oregon native could make yet another highlight film by taking the WAC championship this season. If he succeeds, he will become the first FSU runner to win back-to-back titles; in two different conferences to boot.

"I am a better runner this year, and I'm in better shape. My outlook has changed," Harris said.

"Last year, I had a lot to prove, not only to me, but to the team and everyone else. I wanted to win every race and do the best I could. Each race was intense to me. It drained me toward the end.

"This year I am better trained, and I am focusing more on the big meets rather than the early season races. Right now, I'm preparing for the Stanford meet, which will have the competition we want."

Harris is gearing up for the Stanford meet, which will include defending national champion Arkansas, BYU and Kansas. "It depends on how we run," Harris said. "We didn't run well as a team last weekend, and we need to do that to have a shot.

"There's a lot we can do to improve. We have to come together as a team. If we can get everyone to run to their potential, we can beat BYU and those other teams."

On team running: "It's hard to get five or six runners to run on all cylinders at every meet. But we'll need to do that in order to click this weekend."

All the top finishers on the men's team set personal time highs at UC Davis this past weekend, but the gap was 2:05. UC Berkeley's top runners crossed the tape only 40 seconds apart.

"That (setting the records) was a confidence builder. Most runners aren't crazy about running 10K races, especially on the collegiate level," Harris said. Harris finished second at the Fresno State Invitational on Sept. 12 and placed first collegiately at the UC Davis Invitational with 30:46.8. Overall, he was the second runner to cross the tape. Chris Schelle of the Reebok Aggies club was first at 30:43.8.

"He's the real thing," Harris said of Schelle. "I've run against him before, and he runs really good."