With two weeks left before the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships, the Oregon men and women will split their squad for a final tuneup.
Ten Ducks will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Tyson Invitational Friday and Saturday, while the rest of the squad will head up to Seattle for Saturday’s Husky Classic.
At the Tyson Invitational, Ashton Eaton and Jamesha Youngblood will each compete in the championship-level long jump sections, and Youngblood will also triple jump.
The other men competing in Fayetteville, Ark., are Phil Alexander (400m), Chad Barlow (400m), Marcus Dillon (400m) and Jared Huske (60m hurdles). The men’s 4x400m relay team is entered in the same heat as the 2007 NCAA outdoor champion Baylor, third-place LSU and the Kentucky squad that has the nation’s fastest time this year.
The women entered at Tyson are Keshia Baker (400m), Irie Searcy (400m), Mandy White (60m and 200m) and Amy Skofstad (long jump). The women have a 4x400m relay team entered as well.
Among the Ducks in Seattle are six NCAA provisional qualifiers. For the women, 800m runner Zoe Buckman, miler Alex Kosinski and pole vaulter Melissa Gergel will try to improve on their qualifying marks. Kosinski, who has the sixth-fastest time this year, is .05 seconds behind teammate Nicole Blood, who will not compete this week. A.J. Acosta is entered in both the mile and the 3,000m; miler Matt Centrowitz will try to lower his time in that event; and Kenny Klotz, ranked third in the 5,000m, is entered in both the 3,000m and 5,000m. Michael McGrath, who ran a 3:59.25 mile on the Washington track last year, will try to meet the qualifying standards to secure a second-straight NCAA indoor championships appearance.
Three football players are entered in the Husky Classic as well. Wide receiver Derrick Jones is scheduled to run the 60m, running back Andre Crenshaw will compete in the long jump and offensive lineman Mark Lewis will throw the shot put.