Pepsi Team Invitational On TV This Weekend
EUGENE ? University of Oregon track and field fans will get three chances in upcoming days to watch the recent Pepsi Team Invitational held last Saturday, April 8 at Hayward Field on the UO campus.
Eugene and Portland area Comcast Cable viewers can watch the two-hour broadcast with play-by-play by Joe Giansante and color commentary by Tom Jordan at the following times (Pacific Daylight Time):
- Saturday, April 15, 11 pm ? Sunday April 16, 1 am
- Sunday, April 16, 4-6 pm
- Tuesday, April 18, 7-9 pm
In Eugene, the meet will be shown on Channel 14 on the Comcast cable system, and viewers should confirm local listings at the www.tvguide.com/listings website link.
In the 17th edition of the meet, the UO women and men finished first and second in their respective quadrangulars. Duck individuals combined for 13 wins (7M, 6W), 18 regional qualifying marks (7M, 11W), two women’s meet records and another women’s school record.
Saturday’s crowd of 5,004 was also the second-largest in meet history, and trailed only the meet’s first-year total (6,149, 1987).
On the women’s side, the Ducks won their 12th meet title by a four-point margin (203) over Penn State (second, 199), Washington (third, 152) and Boise State (fourth, 95).
Freshman Rebekah Noble kicked to a three-second meet record in the 800 meters (first, personal best 2:03.11) and made her debut on the UO outdoor all-time list at fourth. Junior Dana Buchanan claimed a meet and school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (first, 10:33.77). Senior Lauryn Jordan also climbed the UO all-time charts in the long jump (sixth) and triple jump (second) and won both events with personal best marks of 20-1 (w:1.3) and 41-4 1/2 (w:0.2). Freshman javelin thrower Rachel Yurkovich notched her third straight win (163-10). The women’s 4x400-meter relay ran its fastest time since 1996 and scored a regional qualifying mark (second, 3:40.17).
The ?Men of Oregon’ weathered bad luck in several events to still finish second with 176 points - only two points behind Washington (first, 178) who won their first Pepsi men's team crown. Minnesota trailed close behind in third place (172 1/3), followed by Boise State (fourth, 84).
Seniors Eric Mitchum and Akobundu Ikwuakor repeated their Pepsi Team Invite finishes from last season in the 110-meter hurdles, and took first (13.68W, w:4.1) and second (14.07W, w:4.1). Mitchum returned to win the 400-meter hurdles with a regional qualifier (52.09) in his season debut and was just off his personal best (51.27) from 2004 that ranks him 10th all-time for UO. Fellow senior Matt Scherer made his outdoor season debut in the 400 meters (first, 46.06) and was only .36 seconds off his personal best from 2005 that ranks fourth all-time for UO (45.70). The Sumner, Ill, native also won the 200 metes later in the day in a .15-second outdoor personal best (21.37, w:-1.9), and anchored UO to a season best at meet’s end on the 4x400-meter relay (second, 3:11.31). Redshirt freshman Christopher Winter won his first race in an Oregon uniform in the steeplechase (9:00.95) and ran a 3.79-second season best and regional qualifier, and pulled within six seconds of his personal best (8:54.94). Redshirt junior Colin Veldman led the ?Men of Oregon’ in three throws events - the shot put (third, 177-8), discus (third, 177-8) and hammer (fifth, 183-1) - and had regional qualifiers in the latter two events.
Collegiate track and field fans will get to watch another Hayward Field-hosted meet later this season since the Pac-10 Championships, Sat.-Sun., May 13-14, will be rebroadcast by various West Coast Fox Sports affiliates.
The NCAA Championships, scheduled for Sacramento, Calif., June 7-10, are set to be broadcast live on the final day of the meet by CBS Sports.
- www.GoDucks.com -
