Pacific 10 Track and Field Championships : Everett Ventures Out Into World, Races Tiacoh

Any aspiring runner must eventually venture into international competition to find out how good he or she is.

For Danny Everett, a UCLA freshman, the opportunity will come early in his career, and in his own backyard.

The world will come to Everett in the person of Washington State’s Gabriel Tiacoh of the Ivory Coast, the silver medalist at 400 meters in the 1984 Olympic Games.

Everett and Tiacoh will be part of the men’s 400 field in the Pacific 10 track and field championships that begin today at the Coliseum. They’ll be in separate heats today leading to their confrontation in the final on Saturday.

Although Everett, 19, has exceeded expectations this season with his fast finishes and a best time of 45.49 seconds, it’s unlikely that he has matured enough to beat Tiacoh.

Not only is Tiacoh the two-time defending conference champion, he tuned up for the meet last Saturday by winning the 400 at the Pepsi Invitational in 44.32, third fastest time ever run at sea-level.

Tiacoh, 23, came to Washington State by way of France. He left his homeland at the age of 9 to study there. It has been a family mission. His five brothers and two sisters were all educated in France.

That’s not surprising considering that the Ivory Coast, located on the west coast of Africa, was once a French colony before becoming an independent country in 1960.

Tiacoh had the option of representing the Ivory Coast or France in the last Olympics. He stayed with his homeland.

But the quiet, modest athlete, who speaks English without a trace of an accent, is departing from family tradition by not aspiring to become a doctor, a profession chosen by his late father, uncle and grandfather.

His sisters are pharmacists, and a brother is also studying to become a doctor.

“I don’t think I’m smart enough,” Tiacoh said while smiling

He is smart enough, though, to have already earned his bachelor degree in economics at Washington State. He is studying for his masters in business while using his last year of college eligibility.

Tiacoh is the latest in a distinguished line of African runners who have found their way to the small town of Pullman in Eastern Washington.

His teammate, Julius Korir, the Olympic gold medalist in the steeplechase, and Henry Rono, Samson Kimombwa, Peter Koech, Joseph Taiwo and Richard Tuwei are some of the others.

“George Kablan and John Avognan, who ran for Washington State, are close friends of mine,” Tiacoh said. “They talked to Coach John Chaplin about me and he was looking for a quartermiler.”

After growing up in Epinany, France, which is virtually a suburb of Paris, and attending the University of Paris, Tiacoh experienced cultural shock when he first arrived in Pullman.

“I was surprised that it was such a small town, mainly a college town, and the weather was cold,” he said. “As for social life, I go out once in awhile and that’s good because I can concentrate on my studies and track.”

Tiacoh said he eventually plans to go into business in the Ivory Coast, a country that he says is a more stable economically than some other African nations.

This could be the year that quartermilers seriously threaten Lee Evans’ 18-year-old world record of 43.86. Four runners, led by Tiacoh, were under 45 seconds in the Pepsi meet.

“With so many good people running, something might happen on a good day,” Tiacoh said, referring to the record.

Tiacoh is a strong finisher who tries to save something for the last 100 meters of a demanding race.

Everett runs in the same fashion.

“Basically, I’ll be running against my shadow with Tiacoh because our styles are similar. If we mind our P’s and Q’s anything is possible,” Everett said.

Everett, from Fairfax High, said he eventually plans to “play around with the 100” and then move into the 800 or 1,500.

But he’s a committed 400-meter runner now. So is Tiacoh.

A capsule look at the events with 1986 best times in a meet in which Washington State and UCLA are favored for the team title:

100 METERS--With USC’s Pancho Morales unable to run because of shin splints, it’s a wide open race featuring UCLA’s Henry Thomas (10.39) and Mike Marsh (10.34), Arizona State’s Kenny Robinson (10.34), California’s Atlee Mahorn (10.38 wind aided) and USC’s Antonio Manning (10.37w).

200 METERS--Danny Everett (20.65) and Thomas (20.49) will try to hold off Mahorn (20.48). UCLA’s Marsh (20.69), USC’s Mike Dexter (20.67w) and WSU’s Gabriel Tiacoh (20.88) also should contend.

400 METERS--Tiacoh and Everett.

800 METERS--Oregon’s Dub Myers, the defending champion (1:49.38), will have only a 45-minute rest Saturday after running the 1,500. If he can’t hold up, USC’s Joey Bunch (1:46.8) and Eric Schermerhorn (1:48.23), Arizona’s Doug Herron (1:47.00), Stanford’s Christian Skoog (1:48.25) and WSU’s Calvin Harris (1:48.28) will be scrambling to win.

1,500 METERS--Myers is the clear favorite with a Pac-10 best time of 3:40.76. UCLA’s Mark Junkermann (3:42.7) and Arizona’s Andre Woods (3:43.27) will be among a group chasing Myers.

5,000 METERS--WSU’s Julius Korir (13:46.51) will be coming back after running the steeplechase on Friday. Three Oregon runners led by Harold Kuphaldt (13:49.30) and Cal’s Jay Marden (13:47.78) could be factors.

3,000-METER STEEPLECHASE--Korir, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist, was the Pac-10 champion in 1983 and 1984 before redshirting last year. No one should catch him.

10,000 METERS--Although noted for its distance runners, Washington State doesn’t have an entry in the event. Washington’s Curt Corvin has the best time (28:58.2) but Oregon’s Mark McMongial (29:00.65) is a strong challenger.

110-METER HURDLES--Arizona State’s Andrew Parker (13.44) is the apparent class of the field. He’ll be challenged by teammate Mark Boyd (13.80), Arizona’s Frank Barnett (13.73), Cal’s Rod Jett (13.82) and USC’s Robert Reading (13.85).

400 INTERMEDIATE HURDLES--Cal’s David Chesarek (50.53) and UCLA’s Kevin Young (50.21) most likely will be battling for first. Chesarek beat Young in a dual meet last month.

LONG JUMP--UCLA’s Mike Powell (26-11 3/4) will be difficult to beat. Oregon’s Uchenna Agu (26-0 3/4) and WSU’s Demetrios Araouzos (25-8 3/4) will be in the hunt.

TRIPLE JUMP--Cal’s Dmitry Piterman has the best mark (52-10), but he’s reportedly coming off an injury. Agu (52-6 3/4), Oregon’s Spencer Williams (51-9 3/4) and Cal’s Mike Harris (51-7w) make this a competitive event.

HIGH JUMP--Arizona’s Maurice Crumbly (7-5) will be trying to break his meet record of 7-3 1/2 established in 1985. Other 7-3 jumpers are UCLA’s Troy Haines, Washington’s Rick Noji and Stanford’s Brian Marshall.

POLE VAULT--Oregon’s Jay Davis and USC’s Steve Klassen (both 18-0 1/2) are slightly favored over Oregon’s Tim Canfield (17-10 1/2) and UCLA’s Brandon Richards (17-8 1/2).

JAVELIN--It should be a Cougar show with Jan Johansson (257-1) and Mark Babich (247-0) getting the first two places. WSU’s Jim Miller (229-1) may make it a sweep.

SHOTPUT--WSU’s Dimitrious Koutsoukis (66-1 indoors) and UCLA’s John Frazier (63-11 1/2) were 1-2 last year and figure again. Other contenders are ASU’s Jim Camp 65-5 1/2) and UCLA’s Jim Banich (63-9 1/2).

DISCUS--Cal’s Kari Nisula is the only competitor with a toss of more than 200 feet (202-2), but UCLA’s Banich (199-10), Oregon’s Kevin Carr (198-11) and USC’s Bernd Kneissler (196-4) aren’t far behind.

HAMMER THROW--WSU’s Tore Gustafsson has already set a collegiate record at 255-1. He will renew his rivalry with Oregon’s Ken Flax (246-2), who won the event in 1984 and 1985. Gustafsson was the titlist in 1982 and 1983.

400-METER RELAY--If USC’s Pancho Morales is able to run, the Trojans (39.17) are a slight favorite. Three other teams--Cal, UCLA and Arizona--have been under 39 seconds this year.

1,600-METER RELAY--UCLA (3:03.04) can only lose it if someone drops the baton.