Monday, June 14, 1999

Chang golden in
3,200-meter race

The Punahou junior posts
a big win in California and next
heads to the Junior Nationals

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

Victoria Chang knew she had to lay to rest one question over the weekend:

"Can she race with the best?"

And the answer is ... a resounding "Yes."

Chang, who cruised to the best 3,000-meter times in the nation this year without any serious competition on Hawaii's prep tracks, held off some of the nation's best on Saturday to win the prestigious Golden West Invitational 3,200-meter championship in Sacramento.

Next stop for the Punahou junior is Denton, Texas, where on Wednesday she will try to win the USA Track and Field Junior National title.

That's never been done by a Hawaii prep runner at any distance.

The top two finishers in each event in Texas will represent the U.S. in the Pan-Am Junior Championships next month in Florida.

"I was scared," said Chang when asked how it felt to have runners breathing down her back for a change.

She was the first Hawaii runner to win at the Golden West.

"She was very nervous and it was her first time with real competition, so it was real important that she stepped up and ran an aggressive race," said Dacre Bowen, one of her Punahou coaches. (She has also been coached by Duncan Macdonald.)

Asked what he thinks Chang's chances are to win the national title in the 3,200, Bowen replied, "They're good. She's prepared to race."

Chang led from start to finish but could not make the field disappear for the first five laps on Saturday.

She wound up winning in 10:32.30, a comfortable four seconds ahead of runner-up Michelle dela Vina of Valparaiso, Indiana.

"I didn't have a very good time," said Chang. Her best 3,000-meter time of 9:38.03 (achieved in the state meet trials on Maui last month) had been converted to 10:21.00 for 3,200 meters.

Chang and Bowen know that the Junior Nationals could be tougher to win.

That's due to the possibility that the top three finishers in last weekend's exceptionally fast Foot Locker Outdoor Junior National Championships 2-miler in Atlanta might show up.

Those three were Erin Sullivan of Vermont (10:17.67), Sheila Agrawal of Massachusetts (10:18.98) and Sara Gorton of Arizona (10:19.53).

""But every race is different,"" said Bowen, insisting that Chang can respond to any pace.

Eri Macdonald, the Punahou senior who is Oregon-bound on scholarship, arrived at the Golden West feeling ill. She finished seventh in the 800 meters in 2:14.21.