Ducks Kick Off Outdoor Slate in Oregon Preview
EUGENE – The University of Oregon track and field teams kick off their outdoor season at home this weekend with the Oregon Preview, Saturday, March 17 at historic Hayward Field on the UO campus. The Ducks look to springboard off one of their best indoor seasons ever where they set four men’s and four women’s school indoor records and both finished top-25 in last week’s NCAA Indoor Championships and combined for five All-America honors (3 women, 2 men).
As with previous Oregon Preview meets, the Duck men’s and women’s squads will enter virtually all of their rosters against a mix of Pacific Northwest university and post-collegiate talent.
Hayward Field fans will also get their first glimpse of the newest addition to Eugene – the Oregon Track Club Elite post-collegiate program – which makes its debut at Hayward Field. The middle distance and distance group of men and women is headed by one of the nation’s most respected distance coaches, Frank Gagliano, who worked with 32 athletes who competed in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials.
OREGON PREVIEW MEET INFORMATION
First Field Event: 11:15 a.m. – Men’s Javelin
First Running Event: Noon – Women’s 4x100m Relay
Last Event: 3:02 pm – Men’s 4x400m Relay
Teams: Cal State Los Angeles, Calvin, Clackamas CC, Clark College, Concordia, Eastside TC, Eugene Health & Performance, George Fox, Greater Boise Track Club, Idaho State, Lane CC, Lewis & Clark, Linfield, Mt. Hood CC, Oregon State, Oregon Tech, Oregon Track Club Elite, Pacific, Portland, Portland State, Southern Oregon, Southwestern Oregon CC, Team Eugene, Team GFR Salem Team XO, UO Running Club, Valley Royals TC, Warner Pacific, Western Oregon, Willamette
Live Results: www.GoDucks.com (via the LIVE dropdown at the top of the front page)
Tickets: Oregon single-day regular season home meet ticket prices for 2007 follow: $9 for reserved seats, $6 for adult general admission (GA), $4 for kids (ages 2-18) and senior citizen GA (ages 62 and older), $4 individually for group rates of 10 or more or $15 for the Family Ticket Price deal (2 adults and 3 children).
Promotions: During Saturday’s meet, be sure to pick up the Track and Field 101 guide at the marketing table on the southeast side of the track to get the inside on various events. The KidZone on the southeast corner of the track will give kids a chance to see several implements and track and field equipment up close, and also race against the clock through an obstacle course. UO athletes and OTC Elite athletes will be signing autographs and talking to fans near the KidZone at the southeast corner of the track from 1-2 p.m.
MEET THE DUCKS PERSONALLY
Saturday is also a great chance to “Meet the Ducks” one-on-one, and UO athletes and coaches will be on hand to greet fans personally at various points around the track.
2007 MEN’S PREVIEW
Oregon has unquestionably positioned itself among the nation’s top teams with its first string of five consecutive top-two Pac-10 Championships team finishes dating back to 1965. The Men of Oregon’s recent fortunes at the NCAA level have proven equally bright with top-15 NCAA outdoor finishes five of the past six years, and its first three top-10 NCAA indoor team finishes in that same stretch. This year, a new generation of future greats will team with several of Oregon’s greatest athletes to extend the tradition of the nation’s most recognized program.
Senior pole vaulter Tommy Skipper is only the second Duck to ever win four NCAA track titles, and is the Pac-10 and school record holder (19-0), Duck indoor holder (18-8 3/4) and a USA Championships medalist both outdoors and indoors. Junior Galen Rupp was an NCAA 10,000m runner-up as a freshman in 2005, he added a pair of All-America awards indoors in ’06 in the 3,000m and 5,000m. Last fall, he became the fifth Duck runner since 1980 to finish top-10 in the NCAA Cross Country Championships with his sixth-place effort. Keeping true to tradition, UO’s championship experience reaches the span of the track and is shared by a pair of All-America sprinters – redshirt senior Jordan Kent (4x100m, 4x400m) and sophomore Derrick Jones (4x100m) – redshirt senior Colin Veldman (hammer) and redshirt junior Michael McGrath (mile).
UO’s recruiting class – ranked third nationally by Track and Field News magazine – is anchored by one of its deepest groups of new distance runners ever. Freshmen A.J. Acosta (1,500m, 2-mile), twins Eric and Matthew Dettman (distance medley relay) and Diego Mecado (10,000m) were national champions in 2006, and the group also includes seven Foot Locker Championships qualifiers. Two other freshmen — Ryan Waite and Andrew Wheating — ran 800m legs on NCAA provisional distance medley relay teams indoors in ‘07. A pair of sprint transfers from Lane Community College, juniors Phil Alexander and Marcus Dillon, teamed with freshmen Chad Barlow and Ashton Eaton to run three NCAA provisional times indoors in the 4x400m. UO’s field event corps has been equally boosted with five pole vaulters arrived with personal bests in the 16-foot range, and All-America hammer thrower Brian Richotte who transferred from Radford and ranked 15th in the U.S. in 2006 (223-3).
2007 WOMEN’S PREVIEW
The UO women also enjoyed a ground-breaking first season under the guidance of director of track and field Vin Lananna in 2006 and look to raise the bar even higher in ’07. The Ducks made a return to the national spotlight with an 11th-place finish in the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships and five All-America honors — their best tallies in each category since 1993. Earlier in the year, UO’s first-ever All-America indoor recipients in the distance medley relay (seventh) and 800m (Rebekah Noble, second) keyed the Ducks to their third, top-25 NCAA indoor team finish. The Ducks took added pride in their Pac-10 Championships fifth-place team finish and their highest score in a decade (97 points).
In 2006, sophomore Rebekah Noble cruised to Pac-10, Regional and NCAA wins outdoors in the 800m and was a narrow NCAA runner-up indoors. She later added her second straight U.S. junior title and a World Junior Championships 800m bronze medal – Team USA’s first top-three event finish. Oregon’s national-class field event corps is paced by Britney Henry who ranks fifth all-time on the collegiate hammer throw list. In ’06, she claimed her first All-America honors in 2006 and is a two-time NCAA qualifier and three-time USA Championships participant. Sophomore javelin thrower Rachel Yurkovich was an All-American as a freshman after she won Pac-10 and West Regional titles in the trademark Duck event. Senior Emily Enders also made an NCAA outdoor trip in ’06 thanks to her second top-five regional finish and will try to become only the second Duck pole vaulter to qualify for three NCAA Outdoor Championships. Two other young Ducks followed their lead and made their NCAA debuts in ’06 — junior Kasey Harwood (400m hurdles) and redshirt sophomore Kalindra McFadden (heptathlon). Harwood sped to the four fastest times of her career in the Pac-10 and West Regional meets in ’06, and McFadden led collegiate freshmen on the national heptathlon list (5,428).
Oregon’s newcomer class, ranked eighth nationally by Track and Field News magazine, welcomes several capable of immediate contributions in the Pac-10, Regional and NCAA Championships. The UO sprint corps features junior transfer Kavina Hall and freshman Keshia Baker who should vie for Pac-10 points in various events. The distances welcome a trio of freshmen — Nicole Blood, Keara Sammons and Bria Wetsch — that were top-12 Foot Locker Championships finishers and national-class track performers. The jumps unit added several of the Pac-10’s top signees in Hungarian junior pole vault champion Eniko Eros, Oregon and Washington high jump state champions Emily Gillespie and Jasmine Kelly, and horizontal jumper Katie Gallagher — a Canadian junior national triple jump runner-up in 2006 and a two-time World Youth Championships long jump participant.
2007 MEN’S INDOOR WRAP-UP
In February, junior Galen Rupp continued to rewrite the UO record books with new school records in the 3,000m and 5,000m (7:54.19 / 13:38.62) and placed fourth and third, respectively, in the NCAA Indoor Championships to help the Ducks finish in a tie for 19th place. That team place also stood as UO’s fifth top-20 NCAA indoor finish ever, and all of which have come the past six years. Graduate student and Radford University transfer Brian Richotte made his second NCAA trip in the weight throw and first for the Ducks (11th, 67-8 3/4). He competed in five indoor meets — all with marks of 67-4 or better. For comparison’s sake, UO’s previous school record (67-7) was set by former NCAA qualifier Adam Kriz in 2003. Freshman A.J. Acosta also represented UO in the NCAA Indoor Championships (13th) after he ran the nation’s top mile time by a freshman (4:00.37) and moved to third all-time for Oregon. Senior Tommy Skipper ranked third nationally in the pole vault (18-1) but unfortunately missed the NCAA Championships with a calf muscle strain. UO’s distance medley relay ran four NCAA provisional marks this year that rank top-five in school history, including a school record of 9:37.95 by Acosta, Dillon, and juniors A.J. Casteel and Michael McGrath. Other NCAA provisional marks during the indoor slate came from junior Phil Alexander (400m, 47.18), McGrath (mile, 4:02.58), Acosta (3,000m, 8:02.80), sophomore Scott Wall (3,000m, 8:02.86) and freshman Ashton Eaton (heptathlon, 5,370).
2007 WOMEN’S INDOOR WRAP-UP
The Duck women’s team tied for 21st in the recent NCAA indoor championships and featured three All-America performances. Sophomore Rebekah Noble repeated second in the NCAA Indoor Championships with a new 800m personal best (2:04.70). The two-time U.S. junior champion became the first Duck female distance runner, and third Duck female overall, to score multiple indoor All-America honors in her career after she also took second as a freshman in ‘06. Redshirt senior Lauryn Jordan wrapped up her collegiate eligibility and broke her indoor school record in the long jump three times indoors. She was an NCAA qualifier with her final personal best (20-6 1/2), and earned All-America honors with her ninth-place NCAA finish (20-1 1/2). All-America senior Britney Henry placed eighth in the NCAA Championships weight throw debut (66-7). The Spokane, Wash., native entered the year with a school record of 61-1 1/4, and topped that with +65-foot throws in all four regular season meets, including a best of 68-4 1/2. UO’s other women’s NCAA qualifier, senior pole vaulter Emily Enders, added 6 1/2 inches to her best qualifying mark of the season (13-6 1/4) in the final weekend of NCAA indoor qualifying. That mark moved her to third all-time for UO, and scored her first NCAA indoor trip in which she tied for 13th with her second-best career mark (13-1 1/2). Other Ducks with NCAA provisional marks indoors included the 4x400m relay of junior Kavina Hall, Noble, sophomore Leah Worthen and freshman Keshia Baker (3:37.48) which ran school records three times indoors in ’07, the distance medley of senior Dana Buchanan, Baker, Noble and freshman Nicole Blood (11:19.58 – UO #2 all-time), Blood (mile, 4:46.73; 3,000m, 9:29.87), freshmen Keara Sammons (5,000m, 16:31.71 – UO #4) and Eniko Eros (pole vault, 12-11 3/4), and Jordan (pentathlon, school record 3,957).
OREGON TRACK CLUB ELITE MAKES DEBUT
Track and field fans will also get their first glimpse of the newest addition to Eugene – the Oregon Track Club Elite post-collegiate program – which makes its home debut and is under the guidance of Frank Gagliano. The long-time Georgetown mentor most recently headed the Nike Farm Team in Stanford, and in 2004, worked with 32 athletes who competed in the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, - including two Olympians – Jonathan Riley (5,000m) and Nicole Teter (800m).
Potential athletes to watch Saturday from the new OTC group include Tom Brooks, Sean O’Brien, Sean Graham and Cack Ferrell. The latter of which placed 10th in the recent USA Cross Country Championships and will compete in the World Cross Country Championships at the end of March in Kenya, along with Duck freshman Kenny Klotz who made the U.S. junior team after he placed second in the USA Championships in Boulder in mid-February.
LOOKING AHEAD
The following weekend, the Duck men and women will send their sprinters, jumpers and throwers to the Arizona State Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., Friday-Saturday, March 23-24. The following week, the UO distance runners head to the Stanford Invitational, Fri.-Sat., March 30-31.
OREGON PREVIEW RECAP - 2006
In last year’s Oregon Preview, the Ducks combined for two school records (1M, 1W), 12 regional qualifying marks (7M, 5W) and 16 wins (6M, 10W) in front of the largest Oregon Preview crowd in history. The historic venue welcomed a crowd of 4,291 - 924 more than the previous high (3,367, 1987) from available records. Three-time NCAA champion Tommy Skipper capped the meet with a new Pac-10 and Oregon outdoor record of 19-0 on his first and only attempt of the competition. On the women’s side, Rachel Yurkovich enjoyed an auspicious Duck debut with a 10-foot javelin personal best on her first throw as a collegian (first, 179-10) and won by more than 30 feet. Also in the throws, Britney Henry added a +9-foot school record in the weight throw in her first official outdoor appearance for the Ducks (first, 208-7).
COACHING PROFILES
Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna returns for his second season as director of track and field, and was already very familiar with the confines of Hayward Field. The former Stanford head coach guided the league rival Cardinal men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs to five NCAA team titles and 35 top-10 NCAA team finishes in his 11-year career from 1992-2003.
Other members of the 2006-07 track and field staff include assistant athletic director Michael Reilly, assistant coaches Kelly Blair LaBounty (women’s hurdles, decathlon/heptathlon, second year), Lance Deal (throws, fifth year), Robert Johnson (jumps, women’s sprints, second year), Andy Powell (men’s distances, second year), Dan Steele (men’s sprints, hurdles, pole vault, fifth year), volunteer coaches Jennifer Ashcroft (pole vault, first year), Akobundu Ikwuakor (men’s sprints, first year), Maurica Powell (women’s distances, second year) and Cari Soong (throws, first year) and director of operations Colleen Wrenn.
HAYWARD FIELD – AMERICA’S HOME FOR TRACK & FIELD
At the heart of the recent buzz in Track Town, USA is venerable Hayward Field – the centerpiece of the community’s and University’s successful bid for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. Founded in 1919, the facility has welcomed nine NCAA Championships since 1962 – the most in modern history – along with six U.S. championships and three Olympic Trials. On the northeast side of the facility, Powell Plaza was unveiled in 2005 as a grand entranceway for spectators, and its external displays detail Oregon’s rich track and field tradition. A new, four-lane, 400-meter warm-up track was added on the southwest edge of the track in 2006, and a new walkway for the west grandstands was completed in the winter of 2006. A new lighting system will officially be unveiled for the Oregon Invitational distance carnival, Fri., April 20, and other improvements are planned in the next year in the lead-up to the ’08 Olympic Trials.
GET YOUR TICKETS
Fans are streaming to Hayward Field in record numbers lately. Last year, the Ducks set attendance records for the Oregon Preview (4,291, old mark 3,367, 1987) and Oregon Invitational (Sat. - 6,389, old mark 5,177, 1987), and the second-best ever marks for the Pepsi Team Invitational (5,004, record 6,149, 1987) and Oregon Twilight (4,776, record 6,392, 1987). Oregon single-day regular season home meet ticket prices for 2007 follow: $9 for reserved seats, $6 for adult general admission (GA), $4 for kids (ages 2-18) and senior citizen GA (ages 62 and older), $4 individually for group rates of 10 or more or $15 for the Family Ticket Price deal (2 adults and 3 children). Tickets are also now available for the NCAA West Regional, Fri.-Sat., May 25-26, and ticket prices follow: All-Session (Fri.-Sat). - Reserved $20, Adult GA $15, Senior Citizen/Child $10, College Student $10; Single-Day: Reserved $12, Adult GA $10, Senior Citizen/Child $7, College Student $7. Ticket are available online at www.GoDucks.com or call the Duck ticket office at 1-800-WEB-FOOT or (541) 346-4461 for more information.
QUALIFYING 101
Over the course of the 2007 outdoor campaign, Duck individuals will try to meet regional qualifying event standards as they bid for invitations to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Regional event standards are based on the 100th best performance nationally from 2006, while all conference champions are also automatically invited to their respective regional. Qualifiers then compete head-to-head in their respective regional among four national sites that host two-day meets on Fri.-Sat., May 25-26, with the Ducks hosting the meet for the second time in three years.
Except for the 10K and heptathlon/decathlon (which still operate on an automatic/provisional standard system similar to the indoor season), the top-five finishers from each individual regional event and top three relay placers automatically advance to the NCAA Championships, nearly two weeks later (June 6-9 in Sacramento, Calif.). Besides the automatic advancers from each regional, an additional 6-8 athletes nationally per individual event are invited by the NCAA Championships selection committee based on a season performance list (in case of injury, illness, etc.) as long as that athlete finished top eight in the regional.
A list of various regional and national qualifying standards is available in the STATISTICS dropdown link at the top of the www.GoDucks.com track and field page.
OTHER UPCOMING MEETS AT HISTORIC HAYWARD FIELD
In April, the Ducks renew their famed scored meet legacy in the Pepsi Team Invitational (Sat., 4/7) against three other top teams from across the nation – field event power Kansas State, returning Pac-10 champion USC and Northwest rival Washington. Two weeks later, the Ducks' biggest home stop of the year, the Oregon Invitational (Fri.-Sat., 4/20-21), welcomes many of the nation's fastest and strongest. Distance fans can look forward to a high-powered Friday evening Distance Carnival for races 1,500 meters through 10,000 meters on the well-lit famous oval. Saturday's schedule will feature track races up to 800m and field events spread throughout the day, including a three-hour High Performance Event window in the late afternoon showcasing several of the meet's top performers. The Oregon Twilight (Sat., 5/5) concludes the UO regular season schedule two weeks later, and the evening meet will be optimal for athletes seeking an opportunity to tune-up for the championship season or achieve NCAA and USA qualifying performances.
HAYWARD FIELD IN A NEW LIGHT
Hayward Field will host its first official meet under its new lighting system in the distance carnival portion of the Oregon Invitational, Fri., April 20. Eight 110-foot light poles have been placed the past several months via cranes, along with an additional lighting system that is fixed to the top of west and east grandstands. Approximately 540 metal halide 1,500-watt lamps are powered by a new transformer, which sits beneath the west grandstand, next to a generator that can provide exit lighting for spectators in case of an emergency. New wiring also is in place for future improvements to the stadium's press box and sound system. The lighting system can be set at tree different settings, and will likely use 60 foot-candles for evening track meets and 30 foot-candles for practice.
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