Lukas speaks

He sounds like a huge tool.

Lukas said back in June that tri always has been his number one sport.

Reading between the lines, I get the impression that Lukas thought that he could run XC at least just off his triathlon training. This did work in HS with carefully chosen races, but he found out rather quickly in Wisconsin that it does not and will not work at the D1 level.

Lukas was forced to choose between running and tri, and he did. It just happens that the Oregon fans don't like the decision.

coach d wrote:

Lukas said back in June that tri always has been his number one sport.

Reading between the lines, I get the impression that Lukas thought that he could run XC at least just off his triathlon training. This did work in HS with carefully chosen races, but he found out rather quickly in Wisconsin that it does not and will not work at the D1 level.

Lukas was forced to choose between running and tri, and he did. It just happens that the Oregon fans don't like the decision.

Or anyone with a shred of dignity.

ST: Which area do you think you will need sponsor help and where do you think you'll be fine?

Lukas: This is a hard question to answer, all I can say right now is the more the better I guess.

After screwing over his team mates, all he cares about is sponsors. What a selfish pr*ck!

Lukas followed what he felt was best- and anyone bashing is ignorant. Are people seriously going to bash him now, for most of his career? I can see 2020. Someone will say, "I never liked Lukas, since he decided on the tri. Esp. at age 18, he should've known better."

yeah, its not even funny supporting the dude as a troll, this article makes him sounds like a complete selfish pr#$k. I really hope the dude get busted for EPO or something, that would be fun... maybe that's why he left Oregon, because the NCAA actually tests, unlike in tri's

Anyways,bottom line, dude wants to get paid... and if you read the comments below the article, it appears that the Moderators on that site have taken down any bad comments about the kid...

So now he gets to use the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs? How does that work if he isn't a US citizen yet, and who is paying for it? Is he going to pay with his sponsorship money ('the more the better I guess').

"Oregon of course tried to stop me from making this decision, but I didn’t want to be jumping back into the same river."

Wow, you mean that asked you to just keep running with them for 2 weeks, what a d-bag

You're a shitheaded idiot if you think that this has anything to do with dignity.

In fact, what's REALLY undignified is people like you trying to bash a kid for going with the sport that he had been most dedicated to ALL ALONG.

Running was a sideshow for him.

He was a 9-time National Running Champion

He was the WORLD Triathlon Champion

All that shit about deserting his team? Nobody cares. He had no obligation to his team whatsoever, nor does anyone else on ANY team.

Dull and Bored wrote:

You're a shitheaded idiot if you think that this has anything to do with dignity.

In fact, what's REALLY undignified is people like you trying to bash a kid for going with the sport that he had been most dedicated to ALL ALONG.

Running was a sideshow for him.

He was a 9-time National Running Champion

He was the WORLD Triathlon Champion

All that shit about deserting his team? Nobody cares. He had no obligation to his team whatsoever, nor does anyone else on ANY team.

x10000

I don't think that anybody would have a problem with him doing triathlons if he never went to Oregon. The problem is that he made a commitment to go to the school. He took a scholarship for a year in a sport that only allows men's CC/T&F 12.6. Therefore, Oregon is short a scholarship athlete for the year. Deciding part of the way through the season left them even more shorthanded because the rosters for the NCAA Regionals / Nationals had to be submitted before he quit. It was a very selfish move.

Really? So if Derek Rose had just up and decided to go pro a week before the NCAA tournament, you don't think it would've been a big deal? It's just loser runners who care about this sort of thing?

No. If running was a sideshow then he shouldn't have taken up a scholarship slot at Oregon and caused them to redshirt other freshmen. 6 other kids aren't going to nationals solely because of his decision. If he didn't want to run, that's fine. Don't run. But don't screw over other people and act like it's nothing.

Freelove wrote:

Really? So if Derek Rose had just up and decided to go pro a week before the NCAA tournament, you don't think it would've been a big deal? It's just loser runners who care about this sort of thing?

No. If running was a sideshow then he shouldn't have taken up a scholarship slot at Oregon and caused them to redshirt other freshmen. 6 other kids aren't going to nationals solely because of his decision. If he didn't want to run, that's fine. Don't run. But don't screw over other people and act like it's nothing.

An individual helps his team by his own free will.

That same individual also has no obligation to do anything for his team should he choose not to.

Verzbicas already returned his scholarship money, and utilized campus resources for less than a sum total of 2 months.

As for the crap about him being the reason that 6 other runners on Oregon aren't going to nationals, if he had never been present to begin with and they had been running some other freshman, they STILL wouldn't be going to nationals. In fact, even if Verzbicas had run an absolutely perfect race and placed in the top 5, their point total would STILL have been too low.

Verzbicas' leaving in all reality, had NO substantial consequences as far as placing of the team was concerned.

There's a difference between legal obligation and moral obligation. Just because LV didn't break any rules doesn't mean we can't still question his character. What he did was selfish. Just because it was within his free will to quit the team whenever he pleased, doesn't mean we can't also call him selfish.

In fact, it was both within his god given and legal rights to quit the team, and he also is selfish and showed a lack of character for not waiting two more weeks to quit.

If you believe the comments on that site, he has almost no chance to make the 2012 Olympic team. Which makes it even more curious to me as to why he didn't finish out the season and the semester at Oregon.

What he said in June was that he had at true passion for running and didn't have that for the triathalon

asdgfh wrote:

Which makes it even more curious to me as to why he didn't finish out the season and the semester at Oregon.

Perhaps having decided to go professional, he was advised that his market value would decrease with each additional low place finish. It's all about protecting the brand.

Your last statement is just wrong.

With Lucas, they would have at least passed Cal for 5th place in the West. With 10 wins, they would have then been the 30th at large team ahead of New Mexico and Georgia. But because they finished behind Cal and the Push had already been used in the West, they were left out.

Art Venegas shied away from foreigners even though he himself was born in Mexico because foreigners don't feel obligated to obey coaches. They are afterall wandering souls given the mere fact that they are in the U.S. award from their native land. Maybe after a generation or two then the kids feel American. But those of you out there who have travelled a bit know that just because Lukas looks like the typical WASP American, his heart and his culture obviously is not thus we can't expect him to be like us.