EUGENE, Ore. ? Fans coming to the Friday’s Twilight Meet, the final home meet for the 2008 season, will get a first look at Historic Hayward Field’s Olympic Trials makeover. In addition, the schedule for the 2008 Twilight Meet has been released.
The first event Friday will be the college section of the men’s hammer, which will start at 3:30 p.m. The running events start with the popular middle school mile at 4:30 p.m. Gates will open to the public at 2:30 p.m.
For a complete meet schedule see the attached PDF on the right of this page.
The most prominent feature of Hayward’s new look is the pair of 57-foot tall bleachers lining the south rim of the track, giving that end of the stadium a new closed-in look. The bleachers are not open for the Twilight Meet, but fans will be allowed to use the passageway underneath them to move back and forth from the east side to the west side of the stadium.
All entrances to Hayward Field will be open as usual, and the only advisory fans coming to Friday’s meet should be aware of would be an expected heavy flow of pedestrian traffic through the newly constructed bleachers.
Also, the new hammer throw ring will be utilized on Friday; both the men’s and the women’s hammer will see some of the top competitors in the nation in that event.
The field events feature Olympian women’s javelin thrower Kim Kreiner and men’s hammer thrower A.G. Kruger.
Kreiner headlines the women’s javelin field (7 p.m.). The current American record holder (210-7) is a four-time USA champion ('01, '04, '05, '06), won the 2004 Olympic Trials and captured gold at the 2003 Pan Am Games. Dana Pounds is also a contender in the women’s javelin.
The invitational men’s hammer (6:30 p.m.) features Kruger, the two-time defending USA outdoor champion. The 2001 NCAA Division II champion for Morningside College (Sioux City, Iowa) has a personal-best throw of 260-0, and could make a run at the U.S. record of 270-9 ? set by current Oregon assistant coach Lance Deal in 1996. Kruger was the runner-up at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Others to watch include Kristin Heaston in the women’s shot put (7 p.m.) and Amber Campbell, Krystal Yush and Bethany Hart in the women’s hammer (4:25 p.m.).
After the middle school miles, the running portion of the meet begins in earnest at 4:55 p.m. with the B section of the men’s 800 meters. The men’s 5,000 (7:15 p.m.) features Reebok’s Ryan Kirkpatrick, who boasts an entry time of 13:19.68. Other races of interest include the women’s 1,500 meters (7:50 p.m.), the women’s 3,000 steeplechase (5:35 p.m.) and the men’s 400 hurdles (6:40 p.m.).
Also on Friday, the University of Oregon will recognize its 18 senior track and field student athletes.
The 10 seniors on the men’s side have won a pair of Pac-10 titles and own a couple of top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships (2005, 2007). Half the group are native Oregonians.
The list includes All-American Phil Alexander (Keizer), A.J. Casteel (Wilsonville), Joaquin Chapa (Portland), Vincent D’Onofrio (Castro Valley, Calif.), two-time All-American Marcus Dillon (New Orleans, La.), Mike McGrath (Portland), Carlos Trujillo (Middleton, Idaho), Esteban Trujillo (Middleton, Idaho), Scott Wall (Ft. Collins, Colo.) and Patrick Werhane (Beaverton).
The eight senior women helped Oregon take fifth in the Pac-10 at the 2006 meet. It was the Ducks’ best showing in seven years. They also led Oregon to an 11th-place at the 2006 NCAA Championships, which was the Ducks’ highest finish in 14 years.
The eight are Ashley Bridenbeck (Lake Oswego), All-American Dana Buchanan (Beachburg, Ontario), Kavina Hall (Fairfield, Calif.), Kasey Harwood (Polson, Mont.), Emily Mathis (Klamath Falls), Sarah Pearson (Eugene), All-American Irie Searcy (Portland) and Liddell Steele (Bend).
The senior ceremony is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
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