Drachman Stadium has changed so little since it was the site of the 1985 Pac-10 Track and Field Championships that you could put Madonnaโs โLike a Virginโ on the loudspeaker and go โBack to the Future,โ which was that yearโs hit movie.
The weather-beaten bleachers and old homes near 501 S. Plumer Ave. have seen better days, but in May 1985 they were part of a scene never repeated in Pac-10 history โ Washington State winning a league championship for a third straight year.
Coach John Chaplinโs Cougars had All-America distance runners in such supply that they, not the Oregon Ducks and their mystical Hayward Field connection, were considered the โitโ school for any race that required more than 400 meters.
It was about that time that James Li, a Chinese college distance running champion from the Beijing Institute of Physical Education, began the process of moving to Washington State, working on a masterโs degree in biomechanics and involving himself at the highest levels of American distance running.
How did it turn out?
After 13 years at WSU and 17 at Arizona, Liโs runners have won 31 Pac-12 championships, by far the leading number of those coaches โ even those at national powers Oregon, UCLA and USC โ who will be at Drachman Stadium this weekend.
The names of Liโs champions โ Lagat, Lalang, Kapkory, Cheseret and more โ are as historic to Pac-12 track and field as the names Elliott, Kerr and Bibby are to Pac-12 basketball.
On Wednesday morning, the ever-fit Li jogged to Drachman Stadium on a 6-minute-mile pace to began final preparations for the 2019 Pac-12 Track and Field Championships. Someone asked him about the chances of Arizona junior Carlos Villarreal sweeping the 800 and 1,500 meter races on Sunday.
โCarlos is amazing,โ said Li. โIโm fortunate to be able to coach him.โ
Thatโs not coachspeak. When Li says a distance runner is โamazing,โ you punch up the Track and Field News website and see where Villarreal fits in American distance running history.
It is amazing.
Villarreal has broken the 4-minute mile three times, one of 11 Wildcat runners since 1972 to do so. Breaking 4 minutes is not like it was 65 years ago, when Roger Bannister became the first to do so, but it is still treated as a sacred part of distance running history.
If all goes well in Saturdayโs qualifying rounds, Villarreal will attempt to become the first runner in modern Pac-12 history to sweep the 800 and 1,500 championships in a compelling Sunday night special: finals of the 1,500 are scheduled for 6:20 p.m., with the 800 finals squeezed in at 7:40.
โThe reason Iโm doing the double is to attempt to maximize the points for our team,โ says Villarreal. โIf I can pull it off it โ if I can get 20 points โ will be unheard of. If I fall short, Iโve just to got to get as many points as possible.โ
UA head coach Fred Harvey has spent some of the week handicapping the menโs championship, event by event, point by point. If all goes according to form โ which it almost never does โ Oregon, USC and Arizona will be in a three-team crunch, all of them scoring close to 125 points.
Arizona hasnโt won a Pac-12 track and field championship, menโs or womenโs, since the league began in 1978. So Villarrealโs attempt to get 20 points carries significant weight.
โCarlos is a premier runner, with experience against the nationโs best over and over again,โ says Harvey. โHeโs not going to back down from the challenge.โ
There are too many moving parts to say that as Villarreal goes, so go the Wildcats, but heโll get as much attention as super shot-putter Jordan Geist and No. 1 steeplechase entry Bailey Roth.
Few have a more compelling backstory.
When Carlos was growing up in Rio Rico as a basketball player, his father, Jaime, was part of the coaching staff of Sahuarita High Schoolโs 2004 state championship basketball team.
โMy dad played football, basketball and baseball at Sahuarita, so I tried every sport, too,โ he says. โI asked him what he thought if I went out for track if just to stay in shape for summer basketball, and he said it would be a good idea.โ
Two years later Villarreal was Arizonaโs boys Gatorade Cross Country as well as Track and Field athlete of the year. Villarreal won so many events itโs hard to keep accurate count.
Sundayโs 800-1,500 double wonโt be anything new; his workload at Rio Rico was even more challenging.
โIโd run four events in high school, sometimes four in the same day,โ he says. โYou specialize more in college, but for the Pac-12s, weโve prepared for the double. Weโve done workouts to simulate what Iโll encounter Sunday.โ
Distance running in the Pac-12 isnโt for wimps. The fields are stacked; runners from Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford and Colorado are all potential 800 meters champions. Itโs the same at 1,500 meters, but add those from USC and UCLA.
Villarrealโs strength is his kick. He has the leagueโs top time at 1,500 meters and is No. 2 at 800 meters.
โIf he can hang close to the final 200 yards, I like his chances,โ says Harvey.
A year from now, Villarreal will have ambitions beyond college track. Because he was born in Puerto Penasco, Sonora, and is a Mexican citizen, he plans to compete for Mexicoโs 2020 Olympic team. But thatโs a story for another day.
โBreaking the 4-minute mile has opened a lot of doors for me,โ he says. โI feel honored and humbled to be part of those from Southern Arizona to do so. But I want to go faster and faster.โ
Especially Sunday night.
