Pepsi Team Invitational Showcases Several Top Collegiate Teams
EUGENE – The University of Oregon’s track and field teams look forward to renewing their rich, scored-meet tradition this weekend in the 18th annual Pepsi Team Invitational, Saturday, April 7 at Hayward Field. The UO men and women will contend for their 11th and 13th team titles, respectively, in the annual fan favorite that features three of the nation’s top men's and women's programs – Kansas State, Washington, USC.
On the men’s side, Saturday’s event will reunite three of the top four team finishers from last year’s Pac-10 Championships in Eugene – meet champion USC, Oregon (second) and Washington (fourth). The USC women are the returning NCAA outdoor team runners-up from ’06, and Oregon and Washington were also top-25 placers in the collegiate outdoor finale last June with their 11th and 21st-place finishes. The Kansas State men also finished 11th in that same meet, while the Wildcat women are balanced in nearly every event.
Oregon will renew a men’s rivalry vs. Washington that dates back to 1900, and UO holds a 64-34 mark all-time advantage in regular-season scored competitions (ie duals, triangulars or quadrangulars). The UO women will square off vs. UW for the 37th time since 1977, and Oregon leads the series, 31-5 (with wins in 12 of last 14 meetings).
The past two weeks, UO has sent scaled back units to separate spring break stops, and it was the distance runners’ turn in the Stanford Invitational, last Friday-Saturday, March 30-31. In the men’s and women’s 10,000m races, All-America junior Galen Rupp ran an NCAA automatic mark (28:35.04), and All-America redshirt sophomore Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott (29:00.52) and freshman Keara Sammons (33:54.55) scored strong NCAA provisional marks, while the latter mark moved Sammons to sixth all-time for UO. Sophomore and returning 800m outdoor champion Rebekah Noble staked an equally impressive breakthrough in the 1,500m with a seven-second best (4:17.49) that easily won her heat and moved her to sixth all-time for UO.
The previous weekend in the ASU Clif Bar Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., Friday-Saturday, March 23-24, a trio of Duck javelin throwers jumped up UO’s all-time lists. Sophomore All-American and national collegiate leader Rachel Yurkovich threw her second personal best in as many weeks and notched her first school record (189-11). In the same event, sophomore Ashley McCrea (166-8) and senior Ryan Brandel (225-7) both moved to sixth all-time for the Ducks, respectively with their personal records (PR’s). Other top marks came from senior hammer throwers Britney Henry (206-3) and Brian Richotte (209-0), juniors Phil Alexander (200m, 21.33) and Marcus Dillon (200m, 21.43), sophomore Jared Huske (110m hurdles, 14.32) and freshmen Chad Barlow (400m, second, 47.25) and Kara Meeuwsen (javelin, 144-10).
Looking ahead, the Ducks may send a scaled-back crew of throwers and multi-event athletes to the Mt. SAC Relays, in Los Angeles, Thursday-Saturday, April 12-14.
The following weekend on April 20-21, the Ducks will officially unveil its new lighting system light at Hayward Field in the Oregon Invitational Friday evening distance carnival, followed by a high performance session Saturday afternoon that runs from approximately 2:00-5:30 pm.
PEPSI TEAM INVITATIONAL MEET INFORMATION
First Field Event: 11:40 a.m. – Women’s Javelin
First Running Event: 12:05 p.m. – Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase
Last Event: 3:30 pm - Men’s 4x400m Relay
Teams: University of Oregon, Kansas State University, University of Southern California, University of Washington
Scoring: Individual Events: 1st (9 points), 2nd (7), 3rd (6), 4th (5), 5th (4), 6th (3), 7th (2), 8th (1) – Each team scores only its top two finishers, and if a team has more than two entries in an event, any entrant can score. Relays: 1st (9 points), 2nd (7), 3rd (6), 4th (5).
Live Results: www.GoDucks.com (via the LIVE dropdown at the top of the front page)
Television Rebroadcast: Locally on Comcast cable. Check listings for Sat., April 14 on www.TVguide.com/listings website. Announcers: Joe Giansante (play-by-play), John Gillespie (color)
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, $15 for Family Ticket Price deal (2 adults and 3 children). The Bowerman Building ticket windows open on meet day an hour before the first event, and more information on weekdays is available via phone at 1-800-WEB-FOOT (and (541) 346-4461 locally) and online at the www.GoDucks.com website.
Promotions:
• Free pom-poms and Nike bags to first 1,000 fans
• Post-Meet Autographs with Oregon team under the Oregon Track Club (OTC) tent on the southeast corner
• KidZone sponsored by City of Eugene Recreation, River Road Park and Recreation, and KidSports
• OTC Kids’ Mini-Meet for ages 12 and under following the meet, featuring a 60m, 100m, 400m, long jump and softball throw
TENTATIVE OREGON ENTRIES
* Check back at www.GoDucks.com on Friday to see UO’s official list of entries.
MEET SCHEDULE
Time - Event
11:40 a.m. - W Javelin
11:42 a.m. - M Hammer
12:00 p.m. - National Anthem
12:02 p.m. - W Shot Put
12:05 p.m. - W 3,000m Steeplechase
12:07 p.m. - W Pole Vault
12:10 p.m. - W Long Jump
12:20 p.m. - M 3,000m Steeplechase
12:30 p.m. - M High Jump
12:35 p.m. - W 4 x 100m Relay
12:37 p.m. - M Pole Vault
12:40 p.m. - M 4 x 100m Relay
12:42 p.m. - M Long Jump
12:47 p.m. - W 1,500m
12:55 p.m. - M 1,500m
1:00 p.m. - M Javelin
1:02 p.m. - W Hammer
1:05 p.m. - W 100m Hurdles
1:07 p.m. - M Shot Put
1:15 p.m. - M 110m Hurdles
1:17 p.m. - W Triple Jump
1:25 p.m. - W 400m
1:32 p.m. - M 400m
1:40 p.m. - W 100m
1:47 p.m. - M 100m
1:55 p.m. - W 800m
2:02 p.m. - M 800m
2:05 p.m. - M Triple Jump
2:12 p.m. - W 400m Hurdles
2:15 p.m. - W High Jump
2:20 p.m. - M Discus
2:22 p.m. - M 400m Hurdles
2:25 p.m. - W Discus
2:32 p.m. - W 200m
2:37 p.m. - M 200m
2:42 p.m. - W 5,000m
3:02 p.m. - M 5,000m
3:22 p.m. - W 4x400m Relay
3:30 p.m. - M 4x400m Relay
LAST WEEKEND’S WOMEN’S RECAP
STANFORD, Calif. (3/30-31/07) – The Duck women shined last weekend in the Stanford Invitational last Friday-Saturday, in one of the nation’s top distance meets, and picked up a strong NCAA provisional mark, two more regional clockings and two more top-10 all-time times. Sophomore Rebekah Noble wowed the Cobb Track and Angell Field crowd with an explosive 62-second last lap to easily win the 1,500m (4:17.49). That 7.06-second personal best also moved her to sixth on the UO all-time list. In the first night’s 10,000m, freshman Keara Sammons scored UO’s first NCAA women’s provisional mark of the outdoor season (second, 33:54.55), easily dipped below the NCAA provisional standard (35:00.00), and moved to sixth all-time for UO. Another pair of freshmen added regional marks - Zoe Buckman (11th overall in her section in her collegiate debut, 2:08.40) and Nicole Blood (1,500m, 22nd overall, 4:25.44).
LAST WEEKEND’S MEN’S RECAP
STANFORD, Calif. (3/30-31/07) – In the Stanford Invitational last weekend, the Men of Oregon distance runners stepped up with an NCAA automatic and provisional mark and three more regional qualifying efforts. Junior Galen Rupp scored an NCAA automatic mark with his controlled effort in the 10,000m (12th, 28:35.04) – a time that easily met the NCAA automatic standard (28:45.00) and was his fastest 25-lap track effort since his runner-up NCAA finish in Sacramento in June, 2005. In the same race, redshirt sophomore Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott added an NCAA provisional time in his track event debut (22nd, 29:00.52) that met the 29:30.00 minimum qualifying standard and was less than three seconds from UO’s top-10 list (10th is 28:57.79). Two other Duck men ran the men's 5,000m elite heats and met the regional standard (14:12.00) – redshirt sophomore Scott Wall (seventh-section, PR 14:08.19) and freshman A.J. Acosta (28th-section, PR 14:10.47). In the 1,500m, freshman Andrew Wheating clipped almost five seconds off his 1,500m best in his collegiate event debut (15th, 3:48.14), and just missed the regional standard (3:47.80). Redshirt sophomore James Withers also scored a six-second personal best (10th, 3:51.07) and junior A.J. Casteel (19th, 3:52.31) and sophomore Duke Wasteney (24th, 3:52.84) were just shy of similar ‘PR’ honors.
2006 PEPSI WOMEN’S REVIEW: Duck Women and Men Take Second and First Last Weekend.
EUGENE – In last year’s Pepsi Team Invitational, the Duck women shined in front of the second-largest Pepsi Team Invitational crowd (5,004), and won their 12th meet title by a four-point margin (203) over Penn State (second, 199), Washington (third, 152) and Boise State (fourth, 95). Individually, the Duck women combined for six wins, 11 regional qualifying marks, two meet records and another school record. Rebekah Noble kicked to a meet record in the 800m (first, 2:03.11) and broke the previous meet record set by Nebraska’s Lisa Graham in 1992 (2:06.24). Noble made her debut on the UO outdoor all-time list at fourth and improved upon her former personal best that won the 2005 USA Outdoor Junior Championships (2:03.73). Dana Buchanan claimed a meet record in the 3,000m steeplechase (first, 10:33.77) and broke the UO record set by former All-American Carrie Zografos (10:42.02, 2002). Lauryn Jordan climbed the UO all-time charts in the long jump and triple jump and won both events with personal bests of 20-1 (w:1.3) and 41-4 1/2 (w:0.2), respectively, to move to sixth and second all-time for Oregon, and met regional qualifying standards in both. Javelin thrower Rachel Yurkovich notched her third straight win (163-10) and was one of three UO regional qualifiers in the event that included Ashley McCrea (third, 146-9) and Roslyn Lundeen (fifth, season best 143-10). The hammer notched two regional marks from Britney Henry (second, 200-11) and Brittany Hinchcliffe, who followed five inches behind (third, 200-6) and improved on her former personal best (200-3, 2004). Other regional qualifiers were claimed by Amanda Fitz-Gustafson (steeplechase, third, 10:45.68) and the 4x400m relay (second, regional qualifier 3:40.17) and Lucy Cridland (discus, fourth, personal best 144-11).
2006 PEPSI MEN’S REVIEW: Duck Men Nearly Win 11th Title.
EUGENE (4/8/06) – The ‘Men of Oregon‘ weathered bad luck in several events to still finish second in the Pepsi Team Invitational 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). Individually, UO claimed seven wins and seven regional qualifying marks. Matt Scherer made his outdoor season debut in the 400m (first, 46.06) and was only .36 seconds off his then-personal best from 2006 (45.70) that ranked him fourth all-time for UO. The Sumner, Ill., native also won the 200m later in the day in a .15-second outdoor personal best (21.37, w:-1.9), and helped UO to a season best at meet’s end on the 4x400m relay (second, 3:11.31). Eric Mitchum and Akobundu Ikwuakor repeated their Pepsi Team Invitational finishes from 2005 in the 110m hurdles, and took first (13.68W, w:4.1) and second (14.07W, w:4.1) as the latter made his season event debut. Ikwuakor claimed a personal best nearly 20 minutes later in his 400m season debut (fifth, 48.60), and later ranked second on the team in the 200m (fourth, 22.14, w:-1.9). Mitchum returned to win the 400m hurdles with a regional qualifier (52.09) in his season debut and was only .82 seconds off his personal best (51.27) from 2004 that ranked him 10th all-time for UO. Chris 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). 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. Other men’s regional qualifiers came from the 4x100m relay (first, season best 40.33) and Jonathan Derby (pole vault, first, 16-6 3/4).
2007 MEN’S SEASON PREVIEW
Oregon has unquestionably positioned itself among the nation’s top men’s 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, and added a pair of All-America awards indoors in ’06 and ’07 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).
TOP MEN’S NEWCOMERS
UO’s men’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 that 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 SEASON 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 and five All-America honors in the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships — 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 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 freshmen on the national collegiate heptathlon list (5,428) last year.
TOP WOMEN’S NEWCOMERS
Oregon’s women’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 national pole vault champion Eniko Eros, Oregon and Washington Pacific Northwest 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 placing 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 including a school record (68-0 1/4) that won the Mountain Pacific Championships. For comparison’s sake, UO’s previous school record (67-7) was set by former NCAA qualifier Adam Kriz in 2003. All-America 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 overall all-time for Oregon. Indoors in ’07, 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 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 800m with a new 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 in three different meets 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 her 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 the regular season. That mark moved her to third all-time for UO, and scored her first NCAA indoor trip that later led to a tie for 13th place 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) that 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
Eugene track and field fans can cheer on another ‘home’ team on Hayward Field this season with the addition of the Oregon Track Club Elite post-collegiate program 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).
COACHING PROFILES
Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna returns for his second season as director of track and field, and is 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 FAVORITE 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, 400m 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.
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, and 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
Near the end of April, the Ducks host their biggest home stop of the year, the Oregon Invitational (Fri.-Sat., 4/20-21), and welcome many of the nation's fastest and strongest. Distance fans can look forward to a high-powered Friday evening Distance Carnival for races 1,500m through 10,000m on the well-lit famous oval. Saturday's schedule will feature elite track races and field events spread throughout the afternoon, including a 3 1/2-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.
GET YOUR TICKETS
Fans are streaming to Hayward Field in record numbers lately. The Oregon Preview in mid-March featured a meet record 5,699 spectators that easily surpassed the previous record of 4,291 from last year. The Ducks also set an attendance record ’06 for the Oregon Invitational (Sat. - 6,389, old mark 5,177, 1987), and welcomed the second-largest crowds to 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.
TRACK TOWN WELCOMES BACK WEST REGIONAL
In the heart of the collegiate postseason slate, Oregon fans old and young can look forward to the NCAA West Regional Championships (Fri.-Sat., 5/25-26) as the West Coast's top athletes from Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington will vie for top-five individual finishes and top-three relay placings to earn bids to the NCAA Outdoor Championships two weeks later.
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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