Oregon Invitational Distance Carnival Features National Class Fields
EUGENE - The upcoming Oregon Invitational looks to feature another stellar field in the Friday evening distance carnival, scheduled for April 20 - the opening day of the two-day event (a link to a final meet schedule is available to the right).
Many of the nation’s top post-collegians will highlight the fields, including a pair of recent U.S. champions and new Eugene residents - Lauren Fleshman and Nick Symmonds - and many other top runners will set their sights on a return to Hayward Field in 2008 for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials.
Her former Stanford University teammate Jonathon Riley was a 2004 5,000m Olympian - the same season another meet entrant, Nike's Dan Browne, qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in both the 10,000m and marathon.
Nike’s Kara Goucher comes of a banner year after she led the U.S. in '06 in the 10,000m (31:17.12) and 3,000m (8:41.42).
The Oregon Track Club’s Nicole Teter is also a former national champion and Olympian in the 800m, and her OTC teammate Cack Ferrell recently led the U.S. squad in the World Cross Country Championships and won the Oregon Preview 3,000m in March. OTC teammate Brianna Dahm is a USA Championships steeplechase veteran, and former Duck and OTC member Amber McGown was an NCAA qualifier in the 1,500m last year for UO.
Other women's distance runners to watch include two of the Pacific Northwest's fellow top post-collegians - Kelly Strong of Asics and Amy Yoder-Begley of Nike.
The Oregon Track Club's presence is well-represented on the men's side by 2006 USA Championships veterans Elliott Blount, Kevin Elliott and Brandon Shaw (800m), John and Sean Jefferson and Sean O’Brien (1,500m), Tom Brooks and Max King (steeplechase) and Sean Graham (5,000m).
Other top post-collegians to watch include Rod Koborsi, Jon Rankin of Nike and Thomas Morgan of Zap Fitness and New Zealand Olympian Michael Aish.
The collegiate fields are equally national-class and spotlight All-Americans such as Colorado senior Stephen Pifer, Eastern Michigan senior Corey Nowtizke, Notre Dame senior Thomas Chamney, UC Santa Barbara senior Tetlo Emmen, BYU junior Josh McAdams and Oregon junior Galen Rupp.
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