Ducks Host Pepsi Invitational
This Week:
The 2015 season at Hayward Field will begin on Saturday with the Pepsi Team Invitational where the Oregon track and field team will host Kentucky and Washington. The meet will begin at 1:30 p.m. with gates opening at 12:30 p.m.
Coverage:
The meet will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Live results can be found at goducks.com.
Scoring:
The top six finishers in each individual event will contribute to their team’s tally. Scoring for those events will be 7-5-4-3-2-1. The top three relay teams will be scored 7-5-4. Two athletes from each institution shall score in individual events while only one relay entry per team shall score.
Featured Events:
As always, the Pepsi meet brings together great competition for some thrilling events and this year is no different. Here are some stories to keep an eye on.
Men’s Javelin: Field includes 2014 NCAA Champion Sam Crouser from Oregon and NCAA Runner-Up Raymond Dykstra of Kentucky. Crouser currently leads the NCAA this season with a throw of 259-0 at the Trojan Invitational while Dykstra is second with a toss of 252-1.
Women’s 200 Meters: The field includes NCAA 60 Hurdles Champion Kendra Harrison, and Jasmine Todd who is now a two-time All-American for the Ducks in the 60 indoors.
Men’s 5,000 Meters: The race will have a total eight combined individual NCAA Championships between Edward Cheserek and Eric Jenkins. Jenkins is coming off wins in both the 5,000 and 3,000 at NCAA Indoors this season while Cheserek won mile.
Men’s 1,500 Meters: Features four runners who have broken four minutes in the mile, including Oregon’s Daniel Winn – who held Oregon’s school record in the indoor mile for about thirty minutes before teammate Cheserek broke it on the same day at the Millrose Games in February. Also includes Oregon’s Johnny Gregorek and Washington’s Izaic Yorks.
Women’s 100 Hurdles: The 2015 Indoor NCAA 60 hurdles champion Kendra Harrison from Kentucky will go head-to-head with Oregon’s All-American and school-record holder Sasha Wallace. Freshman Jacklyn Howell will be running alongside Harrison after already posting a 13.08 this season.
Men’s 100 Meters: Features two Oregon freshmen football players: Charles Nelson and Tony Brooks-James, who split time between football and track during the spring.
Women’s Long Jump: Features NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Long Jump Champion Jenna Prandini. Prandini was the Pac-12 Track and Field Athlete of the Year last season. Also competing for Oregon is two-time indoor All-American Jasmine Todd and freshman heptathlete Ashlee Moore.
Women’s 1,500 Meters:
In an all Oregon-Washington 1,500, Annie Leblanc will move up from the 800, an event where she qualified for the NCAA Championships last season. Maddie Meyers could lead the group of Huskies as she comes down in distance after running the 3,000 at the NCAA Indoor Championships last month.
Honorary Captains:
Honorary captains for the meet will be James “Jim” Bailey, Greg Erwin, Karen Meats and Maryl Barker.
Rankings:
In the latest USTFCCCA computer rankings, the Oregon men’s team is No. 3 with the women at No. 6. The Ducks will face Kentucky which has both of its teams ranked in the top 25 as well. The Kentucky women are No. 5 while the men are No. 24.
National Leaders:
Senior Sam Crouser leads the country in the javelin with a throw of 259-0 at the Trojan Invitational to start the season. That distance would have topped any mark throw by any NCAA competitor last season.
The women’s 4x100 relay team of Marybeth Sant, Ariana Washington, Jenna Prandini and Jasmine Todd currently lead the NCAA with a blazing time of 43.31 in the season opener. The time is second in Oregon history.
Athlete of the Week:
Sam Crouser was named the USTFCCCA Division I Men’s Field Athlete of the Week, March 24 for his performance at the Trojan Invitational.
Indoor Honors:
Eric Jenkins was named the USTFCCCA Division I Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year while Robert Johnson and Andy Powell were awarded the Men’s Head Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year awards.
Bowerman Watch:
After UO’s Laura Roesler became the first Oregon woman to take home The Bowerman Trophy in December, fellow NCAA Champion Jenna Prandini is on the preseason watch list for the award this season.
On the men’s side, sophomore Edward Cheserek and senior Eric Jenkins are in the group of 10 on the watch list.
Bright Future:
The 2015 Oregon men’s and women’s track and field recruiting classes were both ranked among the top two in the nation by Track and Field News. The women’s team brought in the top class for the second-straight year No. 1 with five All-Americans. The men’s team was No. 2 with three All-Americans.
