The track and field season is almost half-over, and the Oregon women are starting to take aim at a number of NCAA provisional and automatic marks.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, the rest of the Pacific-10 Conference is hotter than the Seattle Mariners in April.
Depending on who you talk to, the Pac-10 is the toughest women’s track conference in the country. While the Ducks once dominated the Pacific schools, they now must watch as UCLA, Southern California and others rocket to the top of the collegiate track world.
So, with less than a month to go before the Pac-10 Championships at California May 19-20, it’s time for a mid-season status report. Consider it a season preview, for what little season may be left.
Without further ado, here are the Pac-10 teams (besides track-less Oregon State) in the order they will most likely finish at the NCAA Championships.
1. UCLA. The Bruins were ranked first heading into the weekend, according to Trackwire’s rankings, and for good reason. The 2001 NCAA indoor champions have been tearing it up across the board outdoors. UCLA has the nation’s top-ranked pole vaulter, Tracy O’Hara, the top-ranked shot putter, Christina Tolson, and the top-ranked heptathlete, Michelle Perry. The Bruins will be tough to beat in the Pac-10 Championships and may run away with the NCAA title as well.
2. USC. Southern California seems to be a hot spot for track this year. While the Bruins own the field events, the Trojans have a lockdown on the sprints. USC athletes are third and fourth on the national list for the 100-meter dash, and second and third in the 800. The Trojan 4×100 relay is the fourth-best in the nation, while the 4×400 relay team is best in the Pac-10.
3. Arizona. They’re running and jumping hard in the desert, and the Wildcats may reap the rewards of a long season by the end. If the NCAA Championships were scored right now, the Wildcats would score 27 points, third-best in the conference. ‘Zona owes a lot of its success to sprinter Brianna Glenn, whose 11.16 in the 100 is only .03 slower than national leader Muna Lee of Louisiana State. Arizona also has top-5 athletes in the pole vault and hammer throw.
4. Arizona State. Desert, part deux. The Sun Devils have a good all-around team, and if they improve on their provisional times, they could do well at the NCAAs. Arizona State is led by Lisa Auguilera, who is fifth nationally in the 1,500 and the 3,000 steeplechase, and sixth in the 5,000. The Devils will try to add good times to Auguilera’s to do well at the Pac-10s and NCAAs.
5. Oregon. The Ducks have Sarah Malone and Mary Etter, who are top-five in the javelin and discus, respectively, but the NCAA marks thin out from there. Niki Reed is eighth nationally in the pole vault and Holly Speight joins her on the provisional list. Only one runner, senior Hanna Smedstad in the 10,000, has scored an NCAA provisional time. Oregon needs to catch up, and quickly.
6. Stanford. The Cardinal does one event, the 5,000 meters, better than anyone in the country. Stanford athletes are first, 20th, 21st, 27th, 34th and 46th nationally in that race.
7. Washington State. The Cougars may surprise some teams before the season is out. WSU has a variety of NCAA provisional marks, but only one that should turn heads: Whitney Evans’ 6-0 1/2 in the high jump.
8. Washington. The Huskies have a strong sprint corps, anchored by Anna Aoki and Kate Bradshaw in the 5,000 and 10,000, respectively. The Ducks found that out the hard way at the Washington Dual at Hayward Field on April 14.
9. California. The Golden Bears don’t go very deep, don’t score very good marks even at the top and will struggle to make any noise in the postseason.
So, while the NBA playoffs heat up and the NHL Stanley Cup swings into action, the Oregon women’s track and field team will shoot for the national stars soon. But the Pac-10 stars may get in the way first.