Mitchum Picked Pac-10 Men's Track Athlete of Week
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. ? In the first edition of the Pacific-10 Conference Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week award, University of Oregon senior Eric Mitchum claimed the men’s track award for his part in three wins and another runner-up finish in the Pepsi Team Invitational last Saturday, April 8 at Hayward Field.
The Calumet City, Ill., native won his fourth Pepsi Team Invitational crown in the 110-meter hurdles (13.68W, w:4.1), and he returned later in the meet to win the 400-meter hurdles with another regional qualifier (52.09). His latter mark was his season debut and only .82 seconds off his personal best (51.27) from 2004 that ranks him 10th all-time for UO.
He also ran on UO’s 4x100-meter relay (first, regional qualifier 40.33) and 4x400-meter relay (second, 3:11.31).
Mitchum entered the weekend ranked fourth nationally among collegians in '06 in the 110-meter hurdles (13.65) and first in the Pac-10 and region with his winning mark from the Trojan Invitational at USC, Sat., March 25.
Career-wise, the two-time Pac-10 and West Regional 110-meter hurdles champion is also a five-time All-American (three times indoors in the 60-meter hurdles and twice outdoors in the 110-meter hurdles). Mitchum also owns the school record and fifth-best 110-meters hurdles mark in Pac-10 history (13.38, 2004), and UO’s indoor 60-meter hurdles record (7.67, 2006).
Monday’s other category winners included UCLA pole vaulter Mike Landers (men’s field), Stanford sprinter Chauntae Bayne-Hackett (women’s track) and UCLA pole vaulter Chelsea Johnson (women’s field).
Mitchum is the third Duck on the current roster to be honored by the conference in recent years, and joins redshirt senior Andrew Young (4/25/05, Oregon Invitational decathlon win, 7,329 points) and junior Tommy Skipper (5/10/03, Pac-10 Championships decathlon win, 7,589).
A pair of Duck women’s graduates and NCAA qualifiers also scored similar honors recently - Sofie Abildtrup (4/12/04, Pepsi Team Invitational wins in 200 (23.94), 400 (54.49) and 4x400 (3:46.92)) and Sarah Malone (5/14/01, Oregon Twilight javelin win, 174-0).
This weekend, Mitchum will travel as part of a scaled-back Duck men’s and women’s unit that will compete in the Mt. SAC Relays, Wed.-Sat., April 12-15 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif. A men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon will be held Wednesday and Thursday at Azusa Pacific University, and the remaining events will be contested Thursday-Saturday at Mt. SAC’s Hilmer Lodge Stadium.
More meet information, entries and results will be posted at the http://relays.mtsac.edu and www.flashresults.com/flashwest websites.
The following weekend, the Ducks compete at home in a revamped Oregon Invitational that kicks off with a decathlon at approximately noon on both Thu.-Fri., April 20-21. A Friday evening elite athlete distance carnival will welcome many of the nation’s top collegians and post-collegians, followed by a high performance session Saturday afternoon that runs from approximately 2:00-5:30 pm.
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