It takes some doing to steal the spotlight from a presidential candidate.

But that’s exactly what UO sophomore Andrew Wheating accomplished at the Oregon Twilight Meet before a stunned crowd of 5,124 at Hayward Field on Friday.

Most of those in attendance were still buzzing about the unannounced visit of Democratic senator Barack Obama earlier in the meet — a 15-minute walkthrough that brought the competition to screeching halt — when Wheating trumped the political performance.

The 6-foot-5 native of Vermont used a blazing final 200, unofficially clocked at 26.1, to blow away an elite field in the 1,500 meters with a winning time of 3 minutes, 38.60 seconds.

It was the fastest time by an American this season, the sixth-best mark in Oregon history, and it assured Wheating of a spot in the 1,500 at the upcoming U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials.