Matthew Centrowitz (2021) - Hall of Fame - University of Oregon Athletics

Matthew Centrowitz

Induction:
2021
Class:
2011

Winning the 2011 NCAA championship in the 1,500 meters was just the beginning for Matthew Centrowitz, who went on to win Olympic gold in the event at the 2016 Rio games and as a six-time U.S. 1,500 meter champion. In his first full season of running for the Ducks, Centrowitz helped Oregon win a pair of national titles. He was the Ducks’ No. 4 runner and finished 45th overall as Oregon won its second-straight NCAA Cross Country championship in 2008. Centrowitz then helped the Ducks win their first ever NCAA Indoor Track and Field national championships with a sixth-place finish in the mile at the 2009 meet. Later that spring, he won the first of three consecutive Pac-10 1,500 meter titles. The 2010 outdoor season was the best yet for Centrowitz, whose father Matt also ran track at Oregon. Not only did he defend his conference 1,500 crown, but he joined teammates Andrew Wheating and A.J. Acosta in Oregon’s 1-2-3 sweep of the 1,500 at the NCAA Championships. His final season as a Duck established his place among track and field’s luminaries. He dominated the 1,500 not only at the college level, but among all U.S. runners in 2011. That season produced his third league crown at 1,500 meters before Centrowitz won his first individual NCAA title. His collegiate win in 3:42.54 spurred an unforgettable summer. Wearing his Oregon singlet at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Centrowitz executed a near-perfect race plan in the 1,500 meter final to become the first Duck undergraduate to win a USA title since Steve Prefontaine in 1971 (three miles). Later that summer, Centrowitz broke the school’s 1,500 meter record by running 3:34.46 in a Diamond League meet in Monaco. He finished the 2011 season with a bronze medal finish at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, in the process becoming the youngest American ever to medal in the 1,500 meters after running 3:36.08. Centrowitz turned pro later that fall. He finished his career as a seven-time All-American with the No. 2 all-time mark at 1,500 meters. With his 1,500-meter win at the 2016 Olympics, Centrowitz became the first American to win gold in that event since 1908.