From yards to miles: no.1 Mark Hauser awaits NCAAs

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

From yards to miles: no.1 Mark Hauser awaits NCAAs

FEATURE: After switching from football to cross country, runner
Mark Hauser awaits the NCAAs

By Donald Morrison

Daily Bruin Contributor

Senior cross country runner Mark Hauser dreamed of becoming a
professional football player. Running one mile, however, eventually
led Hauser to a different career goal.

It was freshman football practice at Saint Augustine High School
in San Diego. Hauser and the rest of the team were punished and had
to run one mile wearing their pads.

Hauser finished it in five minutes and was asked to join the
cross country team. By his junior year, Hauser was completely
focused on running.

Now, UCLA’s No. 1 runner wants to run professionally after his
collegiate career and is already running well enough to compete
with and defeat some of the best collegiate runners in the
country.

Hauser, a two-time indoor track and field All-American, is in
the best shape of his life and is now preparing for the Pac-10
Conference Championships on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.

Hauser knows he has his work cut out for him at the nation’s
strongest conference meet. The Pac-10 boasts three of the nation’s
top four runners and a slew of others that can also run well.
Hauser is optimistic, though, about his chances of finishing high
in the meet.

"I think now I can run with the leaders," Hauser said. "If I can
make it to the fourth mile from the third without really slowing
down I’m going to be fine for the last (fifth) mile. It’s just a
matter of staying relaxed and doing it."

What Hauser has done over the past two years at UCLA is improve.
After transferring from Wisconsin in 1996, Hauser participated in
the NCAA Outdoor Track Championships the last two years and set the
school record for the fastest indoor 3,000 meter with a time of 8
minutes, 2.09 seconds.

He went from 11th in the 1,500 meters at the Pac-10 Outdoor
Track and Field Championships in 1997 to second in 1998. This cross
country season he set the course record at the Triton Invitational
in San Diego with a winning time of 24:07 in the five mile
race.

In 1997’s cross country season, he placed eighth at the Western
Regional meet and narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA
championships – a place he plans to be at this year.

"I want be an All-American in cross country," Hauser said. "I
want to go to the championship meet. Once I go, I want to finish in
the top 25. That’ll be a good finish for me."

If Hauser does qualify for the NCAA championships, he’ll be the
second Bruin in the past five years to qualify.

Mebrahtom Keflezighi, last year’s NCAA cross country champion,
went to the meet the past four years for UCLA. He feels Hauser will
go as long as he runs well at the Western Regional meet on Nov.
14.

"As of right now, the way he’s competing, he could do a lot of
damage at the NCAAs," Keflezighi said. "There’s no question in my
mind he should be able to qualify. He should be pumped up about the
NCAA championships."

Hauser is enthusiastic about training with Keflezighi, his
friend and former teammate. Keflezighi, a four-time NCAA champion,
is the reason why Hauser didn’t directly attend UCLA.

Hauser was recruited by UCLA out of high school, but said he
made a "selfish" decision to attend Wisconsin.

He was tired of losing to Keflezighi at high school meets in San
Diego and didn’t want to get beat by him again at UCLA. Hauser
didn’t enjoy his stay at Wisconsin, however, and decided to
transfer to UCLA to run with Keflezighi once again. This time, they
were teammates and not in opposition.

"I always kept my eye on (Hauser)," UCLA men’s cross country
head coach Bob Larsen said. "I felt that coming back to California
was a natural thing. We’ve had other athletes that have transferred
from Wisconsin that were from California, and it’s worked out
really well."

Hauser’s stay at UCLA has worked out so far, especially training
with Keflezighi. Hauser said that he constantly tries to keep up
with Keflezighi at workouts, and he said that only makes him a
faster and stronger runner.

Hauser also credited Keflezighi with teaching him patience.
Keflezighi told Hauser that he would have to adjust to a new
program after transferring and that he would get better.

"It took me until last year to get to where I wanted to be or
thought I could be," Hauser said. "That lesson right there was
probably more valuable than any kind of training we’ve ever
done."

Keflezighi said Hauser pushes him now at workouts and that he is
different now than he was two years ago.

"I think he’s a fun guy," Keflezighi said. "He’s focused and
mature. He trains hard."

Hauser also credited sophomore and No. 2 runner, Paul Muite, for
his success. Hauser said Muite pushes him every day at
practice.

While Muite pushes him, Hauser in turn pushes the team to work
hard. Larsen and Keflezighi noted that, as a captain, Hauser helps
lift the team’s spirits and provides encouragement to the team as
well.

"When you have a No. 1 runner and he’s a team captain and works
out as hard as he does, Hauser is setting the tone for the whole
team right now," Larsen said.

Hauser will lead his team into Eugene, Ore., this week knowing
that even a very strong showing by the Bruins could place them as
low as six out of eight teams in the nation’s strongest
conference.

Hauser said he wants to place high, not only for himself, but
for the team. He said that every person he passes is one less point
for the team.

Hauser will have to contend with two runners with familiar
names. Brothers Brad and Brent Hauser from Stanford – who are of no
relation to Mark – are two of the nation’s best runners.

"The Stanford coach always comes up to me asks me if I’m Hauser
one, two or three before the race," Hauser said. "I always say that
I don’t know."

Hauser from UCLA was No. 2 the last two cross country races that
the trio has competed in, beating Brent both times. After the cross
country season, Hauser will run in his final collegiate indoor
track season. He will run the 3,000 meters and try to break his
school record and will run the mile-leg of the distance medley
relay.

Hauser knows that before the indoor track season begins, he
needs to accomplish the goals that he set for the cross country
season and finish as Hauser No. 1.

MARY CICEK

Runner Mark Hauser will try to qualify for the NCAA cross
country championships this year.

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