Dancing for Anchor Splash and Breaking a UO Running Club Record

Spring had sprung in Eugene, Oregon. The campus was revitalized with life. People bustled around, and tulips were popping up everywhere. I started running into people I hadn’t seen in months. There was a palpable energy in the air.

The Delta Gamma sorority was hosting its annual Anchor Splash charity dance competition. Anchor Splash is their signature philanthropic event, inviting all fraternities to compete in a dance-off. Many fraternity guys considered DG to have the prettiest girls on campus—so, of course, we wanted to impress.

I’ve got to give a big shout-out to my fraternity brother, Levi Weiss, who organized our practice schedule and served as our fearless leader. He even brought in a dance instructor to help us with choreography. Our fraternity was very small—in fact, we weren’t even technically a fraternity yet. We were still a colony. But even though we didn’t have the numbers that some of the larger fraternities did, we didn’t fall back on the typical flash mob-style dance.

A lot of fraternities resorted to taking off their shirts. Not us. We don’t stoop to that carnal level. That’s what you do when you’ve got zero creativity. Instead, we came up with thoughtful choreography. Our dance was simple, but it told a story. It had a clear three-act structure. The moves weren’t complicated—something important when you're working with a group of uncoordinated guys. Honestly, I think we absolutely crushed it and, frankly, should have won.

See for yourself.

Side note: We got DG into so much trouble for throwing flour on the cement floor that the university revoked their access to the Matthew Knight Arena for future events. I feel bad, but also—as a fraternity just getting started—it’s almost a rite of passage to ruin a good thing for a sorority.

Right after the dance, I jumped on my bike and headed to Hayward Field. Once there, I had very little time to warm up before checking in for my event. I went underneath the grandstands for final check-in. When it was time for our event, my team and I walked out together from under the stands and onto the track.

There’s nothing quite like stepping onto Hayward Field with fans in the stands—the energy is electric. What made it even more special was wearing the “O” on my chest.

In 2016, I was running the fastest times of my life. I broke the 100m and 200m club records at the Willamette Invitational Tournament. This was my chance to break a third record that season. With the team I had, it was well within reach—we just needed to execute.

I measured out my 20-ish paces and laid down my tape. Rewatich the film of this race I have to give credit to amad rAs I sprinted down the back straightaway, I caught a flash of white streaking through the inside lane. Sure enough, I was being tracked down by Devon Allen—the two-time NCAA 110m hurdle champion.

When I rewatched the footage, he absolutely smoked everyone. The guy went on to become a two-time Olympian and an NFL wide receiver, so I guess I can give myself a little grace.

We ended up breaking the UO Running Club record with a time of 43:14. We placed seventh and even beat Clackamas Community College—how embarrassing for them!

Looking back, it was one of the most memorable days of my time at university. I had to perform well for two teams to succeed that day—and I did. It was definitely one of my proudest moments at the University of Oregon.