Striding Toward Hayward Field

The atmosphere at Hayward Field has always inspired Junction City native and cross country and track star Anika Thompson. She describes running there, “like you’re at the Olympics or something”, and is thankful because her family and friends are close enough to come watch her perform on the big stage. Hearing thousands of people cheering for you, running under the lights, and competing against the best to ever do it, Thompson has found her place, in Eugene, Track Town USA. And she’s out to prove she has the same fire and drive as some of the all-time greats.

Thompson had no idea what would happen when she started running, but she has become something of a local legend, earning the right to pursue her dreams of running track and cross country at the collegiate level. Thompson crushed a state record in the 1,500 meters and swept the 1,500 and 3,000 titles in 2019, while also capturing the 4A cross country title. Now a sophomore at the Univer- sity of Oregon (UO), Thompson dreams of a national championship.

In middle school, Thompson had an interest in soccer that later developed into a passion for distance running in high school. Outlasting her opponents in speed and stamina helped Thompson realize she could earn a scholarship at UO.

During high school, Thompson’s biggest inspiration may have come when she could not compete. Covid hit during her junior year at Junction City High School, but her focus stayed on running. Thompson recorded herself running all the time, sending it to coaches, desperately trying to show that she could run at the next level.

“This really motivated me and I thought, maybe one day I can run in college, hopefully at the University of Oregon,” says Thompson.

Thompson’s dad was a good high school runner, and one of her greatest inspirations. Unable to continue running in college he created a scrapbook of every thing his daughter did that he couldn’t and it remains one of Thompson’s favorite things to look through for inspiration. The scrapbook includes news articles, awards, medals, and everything in between. mile race in 1969. Just as Prefontaine did, Thompson isn’t afraid to take on the biggest of competition while showing intense leadership as just a sophomore at UO.

Other than her dad, Steve Prefontaine’s story has pushed Thompson to be her best. Prefontaine (Pre) paved the way for many athletes and is someone who Thompson still looks up to. Pre was incredibly charismatic while at Oregon, passionate about creating a safe space to connect the Eugene and Springfield communities. While at UO, he won seven NCAA titles, never lost a race by more than a mile length, and owned every American record between 2,000 and 10,000 meters at the time.

The University of Oregon has an extremely diverse team, with members from as far as Poland and others from as close as Eugene, just five minutes from campus. Since the track and cross country teams spend just about every minute together, they have become a family and they work tirelessly to achieve success. They wake up at dawn, often discovering the best of themselves running on Pre’s Trail, something Thompson refers to as feeling “alive, talking and involved,” a self described “introverted wallflower” coming out of her shell and joining a community of elite athletes, securing a spot in a storied track history.

Thompson says, “I looked up to Prefontaine, from the youngest age my dad showed me that movie and I fell in love with it and thought he was the coolest guy ever. You see him all over Eugene and he’s just an Oregon hero.”

Growing up, Thompson displayed some of the same spirit, breaking records and standing out from the competition, fighting through pain and outlasting opponents She coasted past all of her competition in 2019, winning the 1,500 meters with a 4.47 record and Pre did the same with his 8.41 record for the two

This year is especially important for Thompson. One of her close teammates, Malia Pivec, describes her as “the unsung hero of the team. She loves what she does and it shows” and followed up, saying that “she is an ultimate team player who understands that much more can be accomplished as a team than can be achieved individually.”

Now exploring new territory, running overseas, Thompson is at the strongest point in her career, recently qualifying to represent Ireland because of her dual citizenship in the U20 European Cross Country Championships in Italy. Thompson went head-to-head against the best in the world, racing in Italy against some big names like Maria Forero and Ilona Mononen. Thompson is invested in running and has much more to prove.