Redshirt sophomore Austin Ramos had a dream season last fall in
cross country, but his track season has turned into more of a
nightmare.
Ramos has battled a nagging leg injury all year long,
compromising his training regimen and prematurely ending his
season.
In the fall, Ramos had a breakout year, earning All-America
honors and even posting some impressive, sub-14-minute 5,000-meter
times early in the outdoor season. However, that was when the
injury arose, prompting the coaching staff to take measures to try
and preserve the sophomore’s promising season.
“Austin had a very strong cross country season and ran two
really impressive races indoors,” distance coach Eric
Peterson said.
“After the injury came up, we met with the doctors to try
and see the best course of action for Austin and decided to rest
him and let the pain subside,” Peterson said.
Ramos did not appear outdoors until the USC dual meet and
struggled in both the 1,500m and 5,000m, failing to place in the
top three in either event.
His lack of race experience during the season translated into a
frustrating past few meets, according to Peterson.
“He was still in very good condition,” Peterson
said. “But because he missed so much race time, his timing
and rhythm were off.”
This is not the first time the redshirt sophomore has had to
deal with injuries. In 2004, Ramos missed the entire outdoor season
with a stress fracture and was hampered last season with numerous
persistent ailments as well.
Despite this year’s setbacks, Ramos was still able to
score critical points for the Bruins at the Pac-10 Championships
last Saturday. He came in seventh in the 10,000m in 31:11.7, though
the time was still over a minute slower than his best in that
event.
Since Ramos has seen such limited action, he was unable to
attain regional-qualifying marks in his signature events, the
5,000m and 10,000m. Despite his qualifying time in the 1,500m,
Peterson has decided that it would be best for him to call it a
season and focus on recovering in time for the fall.
“At this point, we have decided to shut him down,”
Peterson said. “We are going to evaluate his health and try
to structure a workout plan which will prevent this from happening
again.”