Stephen Delaney clipped the final hurdle as Montana’s Drew Owens pulled away to win heat two of the men’s 400-meter hurdles on Saturday in the Oregon Relays at Hayward Field.
Delaney, a sophomore from Carroll, finished second in 52.93 seconds after knocking over the last hurdle. Montana senior Owens, a three-time NCAA outdoor regionals qualifier, set a season best time in 52.26 seconds.
This wasn’t the first time the two have been side by side down the last 100 meters. Delaney and Owens are close friends, and even closer competitors. Carroll and Montana are only an hour and a half apart, and both schools compete against one another in many of the instate meets.
“We’re good friends, but also competitors,” said Delaney. “We’re always nice to each other, but then when we get on the track we compete, and compete to the best of our abilities. This week went Owens’ way, and next week we’ll be battling again.”
Delaney and Owens ran against each other in the 400-meter hurdles in March at the Al Manuel meet in Missoula, Montana, with Delaney winning the race by 1.19 seconds.
“It was the same deal and it came down to the last two hurdles,” Delaney said. “That time I made it clean over the last two hurdles, and this time he had it. It’s nice to have a guy to go back and forth with all year really. It makes each of us that much better.”
Washington senior Dan Sanders, who won the overall event with the best time in heat one, set a personal outdoor record with a time of 52.13 seconds.
— by Bryan Holt
