Former Viking track athlete trains for re-qualification

Last fall, Portland State track and field graduate Nick Trubachik joined the U.S. National Team after he qualified in the decathlon. Now, the former Viking decathlete is working in a volunteer coaching position at PSU as he trains in smaller meets leading up to an appearance at the National Outdoor Championship, June 23–26. Trubachik must re-qualify to remain on the National Team, and his eventual goal is to make the Olympic cut in 2012 as well.

Decathletes compete in ten events in both track and field, and each event placement earns its own respective point value. At the end of the two-day competition each contestant’s scores are added. Trubachik must place sixth or better to be included on the U.S. National Team roster. Although this is an off year for the Olympics, multi-event competitions begin placement for invites to Olympic Trials two years out. To be eligible for the beginning of such trials Trubachik needs to earn 7,900 points.

Trubachik said that competing and training outside of college is increasingly difficult, but he still manages to train by himself and the Viking coaches help him out when they can as well. Trubachik also noted that competing in the small events will be beneficial to his performance in the qualifying meet in June.

“Mostly going to these smaller meets is just [about] getting back into it, getting practices in so I can work out the bumps for the big meet,” Trubachik said.

In one of the larger events earlier this year, Trubachik competed in the Mt. Sac season opener in February, where he brought home a 9th place finish with a score of 7281. Most recently, the decathlete competed in a small event, the Mt. Hood Track and Field Festival. He said that his best result was the discus—the event he’s put the most focus toward in recent practices. Trubachik won the event with a personal best throw of 140 ft.

Improving on little details and technicalities are a big focus for the decathlete, as they must be solid in a multitude of areas. Along with discus, Trubachik also hopes to improve in the long jump. At Mt. Hood, he did not have a personal best in his jump, although he managed a second place finish.

The next meet Trubachik will compete in is the Lewis and Clark Track Festival held on June 11. He said the event would be his last practice meet before he appears in Eugene for the National Outdoor Championship.

Currently, Trubachik is working with the PSU team as a volunteer coach, and said that although he mainly wants to focus on his own career at the moment, coaching is something that he would like to keep as an opportunity down the road. If he does re-qualify in June, Trubachik said that he will remain in Portland for training, but that he will be flown to various meets and practice for a few days with the US National Team prior to national events.

The National Outdoor Championship is scheduled at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. Day one of the event is to be held on June 23, and will continue until the final day of competition on June 26. ?