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Track And Football Icons Named to 2020 Hall Of Fame
07/02/20 | Football, General, Track and Field
Track And Football Icons Named to 2020 Hall Of Fame
EUGENE, Ore. – The "World's Greatest Athlete," an iconic middle distance runner, a ground-breaking sprinter, Oregon's first NCAA women's indoor track and field national championship team and a football player who left his mark both on the field and in the service of his country comprise an impressive Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2020.
The University's 29th Hall of Fame class features five-time NCAA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist in the combined events Ashton Eaton (2006-10), five-time NCAA champion middle distance runner Andrew Wheating (2006-10), seven-time all-America sprinter Keshia Baker (2006-10), record-setting defensive lineman Nick Reed (2005-09) and the NCAA national champion 2010 women's indoor track and field team.
"The 2020 Hall of Fame class represents the dawn of a golden era for track and field as well as an elite Duck football player," said director of athletics Rob Mullens. "The Hall of Fame recognizes the best in Oregon Athletics history, and the class of 2020 is exceptional with its tremendous impact, including national champions and All-Americans."
To be eligible for induction into the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame, which originated in 1992, former athletes, coaches, administrators and teams associated with the school's intercollegiate athletics success must have departed the University a minimum of 10 years earlier.
The 2020 honorees will formally join the elite collection of 213 athletes and 28 teams previously selected at the Hall of Fame banquet, the date of which will be determined later this year.
Keshia Baker
Prior to her arrival in Eugene, most track and field experts said you could never have a national sprint program at the University of Oregon. That changed with the arrival of Keshia Baker. The Fairfield, Calif., native became the first woman ever to win three consecutive Pac-10 400-meter titles. In her final race as a Duck at the 2010 NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships, Baker famously held off Texas A&M's Jessica Beard on a spectacular anchor leg, thrilling the historic Hayward Field faithful. Run in a then-school record of 3:28.54, it was Oregon's first-ever NCAA outdoor victory in the 4x400-meter relay. Earlier that season at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships, Baker helped the Women of Oregon to their first indoor national title with a runner-up finish in the 400 meters and by running the second leg of the Ducks' victorious 4x400-meter relay team. As a senior, she was named the 2010 Pac-10 Track Athlete of the Year after winning the 400, finishing second in the 200 and running the third leg on Oregon's victorious 4x100 meter relay at the conference meet in Berkeley, Calif. Her winning time of 50.76 in the 400 meters set school, stadium and meet records. At the time of her graduation, the seven-time all-American held a piece of six school records: the outdoor 400 meters, 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay and the indoor 400 meters, 300 meters and 4x400 relay. Ten years later, she still ranks No. 2 and 3 at Oregon in the indoor and outdoor 400 meters, respectively. After college, Baker went on to win a gold medal as a member of the United States' 4x400-meter relay team at the 2012 London Olympics.
Ashton Eaton
Twice earning the moniker "World's Greatest Athlete" for his pair of Olympic gold medals in the decathlon, Ashton Eaton was a five-time NCAA champion and a five-time Pac-10 champion for Oregon. He was named the 2010 Bowerman Award winner, an honor bestowed to the best collegiate track and field athlete in the nation. He also won that year's Thorpe Award. Upon winning the decathlon as a senior at the 2010 NCAA meet, Eaton became the first person in ever to win three consecutive NCAA decathlon titles. He finished his career with a remarkable run of five consecutive NCAA titles in the combined events: 2008 decathlon, 2009 heptathlon, 2009 decathlon, 2010 heptathlon and 2010 decathlon. After helping Oregon win its first-ever NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field title by taking first in the heptathlon as a junior in 2009, the pinnacle of college achievements may have come at the 2010 NCAA indoor meet where, as a collegian, he broke the world record in the heptathlon, scoring 6,499 points to eclipse Dan O'Brien's 1993 mark by 25 points. Eaton was named USTFCCCA Field Athlete of the Year four times (twice outdoor and twice indoor) and was a two-time winner of the Pac-10 Field Athlete of the Year award. His performance at the 2010 Pac-10 Championships was one for the ages. Eaton won his third straight decathlon with a score of 8,154 points. He also won the 110 meter hurdles in 13.54, the long jump (25-7.5), took second in the 100 meters (10.33) and ran the second leg on the Ducks' fourth-place 4x100 meter relay team (40.36). In total, he accounted for 39.25 points toward Oregon's winning score of 168.5. The eight-time all-American still holds the NCAA meet, Pac-12 and school records in the decathlon with his 8,457 points scored at the 2010 national championships. In addition to his all-America honors in the combined events, Eaton also earned all-America status as a member of Oregon's indoor 4x400 meter relay teams of 2008 and 2010. After college, the Bend, Ore., native set the world record in the decathlon by scoring 9,039 points at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials at historic Hayward Field. He won Olympic gold in the decathlon at the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio Olympics. He was also the IAAF world champion in the decathlon in 2013 and 2015 and the U.S. decathlon champion in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016. He extended his world record to 9,045 points at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. Indoors, Eaton won four world championships in the heptathlon, including the 2012 meet where he broke his own record by scoring 6,645 points.
Nick Reed
Known now as the Air Force captain assigned to pilot a B-2 bomber over the 2020 Rose Bowl where his alma mater was preparing to square off against Wisconsin, Nick Reed set sacks and tackles-for-loss records that still stand nearly 12 years after his final snap as a Duck. He registered double-figure sacks and tackles-for-loss in both his junior and senior seasons. As a senior in 2008, Reed tied the Oregon single-season record with 13 sacks, a total that led the Pac-10 and ranked fourth nationally. He also led the country with five fumble recoveries in 2008. For his efforts as a senior, he earned the Morris Trophy as the Pac-10's best defensive lineman, was a member of the all-conference first team, was voted the team's most outstanding player by his teammates and earned first team all-America honors (Walter Camp Foundation). The Trabuco Canyon, Calif., native was also selected as a first team academic all-American in 2008, making him just the second Duck to earn first team all-America honors both on the field and in the classroom. Reed was a two-time academic all-American, earning that distinction in both as a junior and as a senior. He was a finalist for both the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's top defensive end and the Campbell Trophy, known as the "Academic Heisman" (then called the Draddy Trophy), in 2008. In addition to the single-season sacks record, Reed is the Ducks' career sacks leader with 29.5. His 51.5 career tackles-for-loss stands second in the UO annals, as does his single-season mark of 22.5. The 22.5 stops behind the line came during his junior season when Oregon led the nation in tackles-for-loss. His single-game best of 3.5 sacks (done twice) are the most by a Duck in Autzen Stadium. After college, Reed was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2009 NFL Draft. He went on to play for Seattle, Chicago, Tampa Bay and Minnesota. After his NFL career, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 2013.
Andrew Wheating
With his signature kick off the Bowerman Curve, five-time NCAA Champion Andrew Wheating helped reignite the passion for collegiate running in TrackTown USA. He became just the fifth man to sweep both the NCAA 800 and 1,500 meter titles when he accomplished that remarkable feat at the 2010 NCAA Championships. It was the first 800/1,500 double by anyone since Oregon's Joaquim Cruz in 1984. The 2010 NCAA 1,500-meter final remains one of the most indelible moments in historic Hayward Field history. A slow pace kept the pack together until the final lap, which turned into an all-out sprint. Waiting until the last possible moment to unleash the final thunderous kick of his college career, Wheating surged past the field down the homestretch and finished just ahead of teammates A.J. Acosta and Matthew Centrowitz to win in 3:47.94. Led by Wheating, Oregon became the first school ever to go 1-2-3 in the 1,500 meter finals. His 2010 800-meter title was easy by comparison as he broke away from the field on the bell lap to win by more than a second in a season-best 1:45.69. For his performance, Wheating was named a 2010 Bowerman Award finalist, finishing behind teammate Ashton Eaton for that honor. He was also the 2010 USTFCCCA Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and the Pac-10 Track Athlete of the Year. One of the nation's most exciting 800 meter runners at all levels, Wheating earned his first NCAA title at that distance in 2009. He also ran on Oregon's two-time NCAA Indoor champion distance medley relay team. Wheating dominated the 800 meters at the conference meets with three consecutive wins. He ran a personal-best 3:37.52 1,500 meters at the 2010 NCAA West Regional. That time is the fourth-fastest in school history. While unrivaled in his accomplishments as a senior, it was during his sophomore season of 2008 that Wheating's legend was born. Virtually unknown to the running community coming out of high school, the Norwich, Vt., native burst onto the scene by winning 11 consecutive races in 2008 before finishing second by .01 in the 800-meter final at the 2008 NCAA Championships. Wheating topped that by winning the silver medal in the 800 meters at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, clocking a personal-best 1:45.03 to rank second all-time at Oregon. His runner-up finish earned him a spot on the U.S. Olympic team that competed in the 2008 Beijing Games. He was the first Oregon undergraduate to compete in the Olympics since Matt Centrowitz in 1976. The eight-time all-American set school records in the mile, indoor 800 meters and distance medley relay. In his final race as an amateur, he broke a 26 year-old school record in the mile, running 3:51.74 at the 2010 Prefontaine Classic.
2010 Women's Indoor Track and Field Team
Oregon won two events and had runner-up finishes in three others to win its first NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field national title in 2010 in Fayetteville, Ark. The Ducks won with 61 points, 25 better than second-place Tennessee (36 points). Brianne Theisen earned Oregon's first victory of the meet by winning the pentathlon with a school-record 4,396 points (a mark she would surpass in 2011). The 4x400 meter relay team of Jamesha Youngblood, Keshia Baker, Michele Williams and Amber Purvis held off LSU to win in a school-record 3:32.97. It marked the Ducks' first-ever national title in the 4x400 meter relay. Backing up those wins were a trio of record-setting second-place finishes. Baker took second in the 400 meters in a school-record 51.63. Melissa Gergel set the school record in the pole vault with a clearance at 14-7.25 to finish second. And the distance medley relay team of Anne Kesselring, Williams, Zoe Buckman and Jordan Hasay secured a runner-up finish to Tennessee in a school-record 10:58.96. Oregon also had Purvis fourth in the 200-meter final in a school-record 23.21. Hasay and Kesselring both scored in the mile, with Hasay running fourth and Kesselring sixth. Nicole Blood capped the individual scoring with a fifth-place showing in the 3,000 meters in a season-best 9:11.23. The 2010 title was the first national championship for a University of Oregon women's team since cross country won the NCAA crown in 1987. Beginning with the team win in 2010, the Women of Oregon won five NCAA Indoor titles in a row and seven of the next eight.
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EUGENE, Ore. – The "World's Greatest Athlete," an iconic middle distance runner, a ground-breaking sprinter, Oregon's first NCAA women's indoor track and field national championship team and a football player who left his mark both on the field and in the service of his country comprise an impressive Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2020.
The University's 29th Hall of Fame class features five-time NCAA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist in the combined events Ashton Eaton (2006-10), five-time NCAA champion middle distance runner Andrew Wheating (2006-10), seven-time all-America sprinter Keshia Baker (2006-10), record-setting defensive lineman Nick Reed (2005-09) and the NCAA national champion 2010 women's indoor track and field team.
"The 2020 Hall of Fame class represents the dawn of a golden era for track and field as well as an elite Duck football player," said director of athletics Rob Mullens. "The Hall of Fame recognizes the best in Oregon Athletics history, and the class of 2020 is exceptional with its tremendous impact, including national champions and All-Americans."
To be eligible for induction into the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame, which originated in 1992, former athletes, coaches, administrators and teams associated with the school's intercollegiate athletics success must have departed the University a minimum of 10 years earlier.
The 2020 honorees will formally join the elite collection of 213 athletes and 28 teams previously selected at the Hall of Fame banquet, the date of which will be determined later this year.
Keshia Baker
Prior to her arrival in Eugene, most track and field experts said you could never have a national sprint program at the University of Oregon. That changed with the arrival of Keshia Baker. The Fairfield, Calif., native became the first woman ever to win three consecutive Pac-10 400-meter titles. In her final race as a Duck at the 2010 NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships, Baker famously held off Texas A&M's Jessica Beard on a spectacular anchor leg, thrilling the historic Hayward Field faithful. Run in a then-school record of 3:28.54, it was Oregon's first-ever NCAA outdoor victory in the 4x400-meter relay. Earlier that season at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships, Baker helped the Women of Oregon to their first indoor national title with a runner-up finish in the 400 meters and by running the second leg of the Ducks' victorious 4x400-meter relay team. As a senior, she was named the 2010 Pac-10 Track Athlete of the Year after winning the 400, finishing second in the 200 and running the third leg on Oregon's victorious 4x100 meter relay at the conference meet in Berkeley, Calif. Her winning time of 50.76 in the 400 meters set school, stadium and meet records. At the time of her graduation, the seven-time all-American held a piece of six school records: the outdoor 400 meters, 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay and the indoor 400 meters, 300 meters and 4x400 relay. Ten years later, she still ranks No. 2 and 3 at Oregon in the indoor and outdoor 400 meters, respectively. After college, Baker went on to win a gold medal as a member of the United States' 4x400-meter relay team at the 2012 London Olympics.
Ashton Eaton
Twice earning the moniker "World's Greatest Athlete" for his pair of Olympic gold medals in the decathlon, Ashton Eaton was a five-time NCAA champion and a five-time Pac-10 champion for Oregon. He was named the 2010 Bowerman Award winner, an honor bestowed to the best collegiate track and field athlete in the nation. He also won that year's Thorpe Award. Upon winning the decathlon as a senior at the 2010 NCAA meet, Eaton became the first person in ever to win three consecutive NCAA decathlon titles. He finished his career with a remarkable run of five consecutive NCAA titles in the combined events: 2008 decathlon, 2009 heptathlon, 2009 decathlon, 2010 heptathlon and 2010 decathlon. After helping Oregon win its first-ever NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field title by taking first in the heptathlon as a junior in 2009, the pinnacle of college achievements may have come at the 2010 NCAA indoor meet where, as a collegian, he broke the world record in the heptathlon, scoring 6,499 points to eclipse Dan O'Brien's 1993 mark by 25 points. Eaton was named USTFCCCA Field Athlete of the Year four times (twice outdoor and twice indoor) and was a two-time winner of the Pac-10 Field Athlete of the Year award. His performance at the 2010 Pac-10 Championships was one for the ages. Eaton won his third straight decathlon with a score of 8,154 points. He also won the 110 meter hurdles in 13.54, the long jump (25-7.5), took second in the 100 meters (10.33) and ran the second leg on the Ducks' fourth-place 4x100 meter relay team (40.36). In total, he accounted for 39.25 points toward Oregon's winning score of 168.5. The eight-time all-American still holds the NCAA meet, Pac-12 and school records in the decathlon with his 8,457 points scored at the 2010 national championships. In addition to his all-America honors in the combined events, Eaton also earned all-America status as a member of Oregon's indoor 4x400 meter relay teams of 2008 and 2010. After college, the Bend, Ore., native set the world record in the decathlon by scoring 9,039 points at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials at historic Hayward Field. He won Olympic gold in the decathlon at the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio Olympics. He was also the IAAF world champion in the decathlon in 2013 and 2015 and the U.S. decathlon champion in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016. He extended his world record to 9,045 points at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. Indoors, Eaton won four world championships in the heptathlon, including the 2012 meet where he broke his own record by scoring 6,645 points.
Nick Reed
Known now as the Air Force captain assigned to pilot a B-2 bomber over the 2020 Rose Bowl where his alma mater was preparing to square off against Wisconsin, Nick Reed set sacks and tackles-for-loss records that still stand nearly 12 years after his final snap as a Duck. He registered double-figure sacks and tackles-for-loss in both his junior and senior seasons. As a senior in 2008, Reed tied the Oregon single-season record with 13 sacks, a total that led the Pac-10 and ranked fourth nationally. He also led the country with five fumble recoveries in 2008. For his efforts as a senior, he earned the Morris Trophy as the Pac-10's best defensive lineman, was a member of the all-conference first team, was voted the team's most outstanding player by his teammates and earned first team all-America honors (Walter Camp Foundation). The Trabuco Canyon, Calif., native was also selected as a first team academic all-American in 2008, making him just the second Duck to earn first team all-America honors both on the field and in the classroom. Reed was a two-time academic all-American, earning that distinction in both as a junior and as a senior. He was a finalist for both the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's top defensive end and the Campbell Trophy, known as the "Academic Heisman" (then called the Draddy Trophy), in 2008. In addition to the single-season sacks record, Reed is the Ducks' career sacks leader with 29.5. His 51.5 career tackles-for-loss stands second in the UO annals, as does his single-season mark of 22.5. The 22.5 stops behind the line came during his junior season when Oregon led the nation in tackles-for-loss. His single-game best of 3.5 sacks (done twice) are the most by a Duck in Autzen Stadium. After college, Reed was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2009 NFL Draft. He went on to play for Seattle, Chicago, Tampa Bay and Minnesota. After his NFL career, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 2013.
Andrew Wheating
With his signature kick off the Bowerman Curve, five-time NCAA Champion Andrew Wheating helped reignite the passion for collegiate running in TrackTown USA. He became just the fifth man to sweep both the NCAA 800 and 1,500 meter titles when he accomplished that remarkable feat at the 2010 NCAA Championships. It was the first 800/1,500 double by anyone since Oregon's Joaquim Cruz in 1984. The 2010 NCAA 1,500-meter final remains one of the most indelible moments in historic Hayward Field history. A slow pace kept the pack together until the final lap, which turned into an all-out sprint. Waiting until the last possible moment to unleash the final thunderous kick of his college career, Wheating surged past the field down the homestretch and finished just ahead of teammates A.J. Acosta and Matthew Centrowitz to win in 3:47.94. Led by Wheating, Oregon became the first school ever to go 1-2-3 in the 1,500 meter finals. His 2010 800-meter title was easy by comparison as he broke away from the field on the bell lap to win by more than a second in a season-best 1:45.69. For his performance, Wheating was named a 2010 Bowerman Award finalist, finishing behind teammate Ashton Eaton for that honor. He was also the 2010 USTFCCCA Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and the Pac-10 Track Athlete of the Year. One of the nation's most exciting 800 meter runners at all levels, Wheating earned his first NCAA title at that distance in 2009. He also ran on Oregon's two-time NCAA Indoor champion distance medley relay team. Wheating dominated the 800 meters at the conference meets with three consecutive wins. He ran a personal-best 3:37.52 1,500 meters at the 2010 NCAA West Regional. That time is the fourth-fastest in school history. While unrivaled in his accomplishments as a senior, it was during his sophomore season of 2008 that Wheating's legend was born. Virtually unknown to the running community coming out of high school, the Norwich, Vt., native burst onto the scene by winning 11 consecutive races in 2008 before finishing second by .01 in the 800-meter final at the 2008 NCAA Championships. Wheating topped that by winning the silver medal in the 800 meters at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, clocking a personal-best 1:45.03 to rank second all-time at Oregon. His runner-up finish earned him a spot on the U.S. Olympic team that competed in the 2008 Beijing Games. He was the first Oregon undergraduate to compete in the Olympics since Matt Centrowitz in 1976. The eight-time all-American set school records in the mile, indoor 800 meters and distance medley relay. In his final race as an amateur, he broke a 26 year-old school record in the mile, running 3:51.74 at the 2010 Prefontaine Classic.
2010 Women's Indoor Track and Field Team
Oregon won two events and had runner-up finishes in three others to win its first NCAA Women's Indoor Track and Field national title in 2010 in Fayetteville, Ark. The Ducks won with 61 points, 25 better than second-place Tennessee (36 points). Brianne Theisen earned Oregon's first victory of the meet by winning the pentathlon with a school-record 4,396 points (a mark she would surpass in 2011). The 4x400 meter relay team of Jamesha Youngblood, Keshia Baker, Michele Williams and Amber Purvis held off LSU to win in a school-record 3:32.97. It marked the Ducks' first-ever national title in the 4x400 meter relay. Backing up those wins were a trio of record-setting second-place finishes. Baker took second in the 400 meters in a school-record 51.63. Melissa Gergel set the school record in the pole vault with a clearance at 14-7.25 to finish second. And the distance medley relay team of Anne Kesselring, Williams, Zoe Buckman and Jordan Hasay secured a runner-up finish to Tennessee in a school-record 10:58.96. Oregon also had Purvis fourth in the 200-meter final in a school-record 23.21. Hasay and Kesselring both scored in the mile, with Hasay running fourth and Kesselring sixth. Nicole Blood capped the individual scoring with a fifth-place showing in the 3,000 meters in a season-best 9:11.23. The 2010 title was the first national championship for a University of Oregon women's team since cross country won the NCAA crown in 1987. Beginning with the team win in 2010, the Women of Oregon won five NCAA Indoor titles in a row and seven of the next eight.
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