Ducks Host the Oregon Relays Presented by the Oregon Community Credit Union

EUGENE -- Close to 1,700 high school, college and university, and post-collegiate competitors will converge on Hayward Field this weekend to take part in the Oregon Relays presented by the Oregon Community Credit Union Friday and Saturday.

Reserved seats for the two-day meet are $9 per day, while general admission tickets are $6 daily for adults and $4 for children, 17 years and younger.

Friday only, Bi-Mart is sponsoring a 2-for-1 ticket promotion that allows spectators to purchase two reserved seats for only $9 when accompanied by a Bi-Mart card.

The Bowerman Building ticket window will open at 12:30 p.m. Friday, with access into Hayward Field available beginning at 1 p.m. Tickets Saturday can be purchased beginning at 8:30 a.m., with gates opening at 9 a.m.

Friday’s schedule will get underway with a series of B section events beginning at 1:15 p.m. However the primary sections of Friday’s schedule will begin with field events at 4 p.m., followed by running events at 4:40 p.m.

Saturday’s schedule will commence at 10 a.m., with the High Performance session of running events beginning at 4:25 p.m.

Men and women representing as many as 18 NCAA Division I programs are expected to compete, including teams from Arizona State, Central Michigan, Colorado, Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Portland, Portland State, Washington, Wichita State and Wisconsin. They will be joined by competitors from such schools as Lane Community College, Oregon Tech, Pacific, Southern Oregon, Western Oregon and Willamette, in addition to approximately 35 Oregon high schools and another five from the state of Washington.

The Ducks’ turn their attention away from a team-scoring emphasis and begin a three-week run geared towards preparations for next month’s Pacific-10 Conference Championships.

The Oregon men made inroads towards improving their stock on the national front following last week’s 94-69 dual-meet win over previously third-ranked UCLA. The victory vaulted the Ducks to 19^th in the country as the men entertain the likes of athletes representing eighth-ranked Arizona State, No. 16 Colorado, 23^rd-ranked Wisconsin and 25^th-rated Georgia.

The women maintained their previous ranking of 14^th in the country and will face challenges from competitors from the No. 2-ranked Sun Devils.

The Ducks are led by sophomore Ashton Easton, who currently ranks fourth in the country in the decathlon (7,792 points). The Bend standout is expected to compete in no fewer than four events during the weekend. In addition, sophomore A.J. Acosta, who is ranked 25^th nationally in the 5,000 meters (13:57.81), is entered in Friday’s Bill McChesney Jr. Memorial 5,000 as well as Saturday’s Invitational Mile Run. He will be joined in the former event by redshirt freshman Danny Mercado, who is ranked 19^th in the country in the 10,000 meters (29:04.24). Sophomore Andrew Wheating would join Acosta in the mile run after ranking ninth in the country (3^rd in the Pac-10) in the 800 meters (1:48.83).

The program’s men’s field events are led by a trio of hammer throwers who all rank among the top 46 in the country as well as the top seven in the Pac-10. Senior Colin Veldman stands ninth in the country (219-6) as the conference runner-up, while freshman Jordan Stray is 13^th nationally (215-8) and third in the league, and junior Steven Johnson is seventh in the Pac-10 (198-10).

Oregon junior Mike Simmons heads a javelin corps as the conference’s fourth-best thrower ranks 13^th in the country (226-7).

On the Oregon women’s side, junior Rachel Yurkovich heads the field in the javelin as the Pac-10 leader ranks second in the country (183-11). The school record-holder (new implement) will look to hold off former Duck Sarah Malone, who ranks second on the school’s all-time list in the event.

After posting the school’s top 5,000-meter mark in 20 years, sophomore Nicole Blood will step down to the 1,500 Friday night. Blood ranks 17^th in the country in the event (4:20.86) as well as third in the country at 5,000 meters (15:43.82). Conversely, freshman Alex Kosinski is slated to run her first 5,000 of her career after ranking 11^th in the country in the 1,500 meters (4:19.88).

Expected to make her long-awaited Hayward Field debut is freshman pole vaulter Melissa Gergel. The Glenwood, Ill., standout finished in a three-way tie for eighth place in this year’s NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships (13-5.25), with her personal-best 13-7 landing her third on the women’s all-time indoor list.

Canadian freshman Brianne Theisen will continue working on different aspects that will aid her run in the heptathlon at the conference meet, as the nation’s fifth-best standout in the event (5,575) and league runner-up is being counted on to compete in a minimum of three events. She will be joined in the long jump by freshman Jamesha Youngblood, who ranks 26^th in the country (41-11.25) in the triple jump.

Youngblood also is entered in sections of the 400 meters as well as the 400 hurdles.

Sophomore Keshia Baker, who is rated 19^th in the country (53.62) and second in the conference in the 400, will run the 200 meters this weekend after ranking 10^th in the Pac-10 (24.31).

University of Oregon Athletics

Ducks Host the Oregon Relays Presented by the Oregon Community Credit Union