Stanford? Again?
While the Oregon men’s track and field season may be winding down, competition is not. The Ducks compete in Palo Alto, Calif., today at the Cardinal Invitational, facing mighty Stanford for the second time at Angell Field.
“I always like going down to Stanford,” middle-distance runner Ross Krempley said. “If you beat someone from Stanford down there, it feels good.”
Only one more meet remains after this weekend. The final meet, the Oregon Twilight on May 13, is usually the best meet of the year for Oregon athletes to garner high-level marks.
The Pacific-10 Conference Championships take place at Hayward Field starting with combination events on May 13 and 14, followed by everything else on May 20 and 21.
But nobody likes to wait until the last minute to get Pac-10 and NCAA marks.
Nat Johnson is listed to compete in the long jump. However, due to fouling on too many jump attempts throughout the season, the senior said he may look for his first NCAA mark of the season in the triple jump.
If practice is any indication, Johnson would be suited just fine. Earlier this week, he said he triple-jumped his way to 48 feet — off of five steps. To put that in perspective, the Pac-10 qualifying mark is 47 feet, 7 inches.
Johnson isn’t new to the triple jump. He said he came to Oregon thinking he would specialize in that event but then became involved with other areas of track and field.
“I haven’t done it before because it doesn’t work well with being a sprinter. I’m always excited to compete for a crowd, and using the triple jump as an outlet is a good way to do that,” Johnson said.
There will be plenty of running events. The football trio of Ricardo Cottengim, Jermaine Hanspard and Samie Parker represent the Ducks in the 100 meters. Sprinter Howard Moore will replace Hanspard’s spot in the trio for the 200 meters.
Moore also makes his return to the 400 meters after competing in the 200 at last Saturday’s Oregon Invitational.
After racing for a lifetime best in the 800 last Saturday, Krempley steps out of his comfort zone to compete in the 400.
“I had two emotional runs, and I feel like the 800 is on for me,” Krempley said. “It’s rational for me to run the 400, because still in my head, I think everything is going great in the 800. I’ll think that going into the Pac-10’s.”
Krempley said he’s not thinking of the 400 as a way to hold himself over until the Pac-10’s. He’s hoping that his recent momentum will aid him in the shorter race.
“I hope it can carry over to the 400,” he said. “I want to get a low 47. If I get a 46, I’ll be just as happy as [last Saturday].”
This season has not been as kind to Oregon’s distance corps as it has to its sprinters. Senior Steve Fein, who has yet to run a 5,000 in the outdoor season, is not listed to compete in any event at Stanford.
That’s not good, considering time to qualify for the postseason is running out.
Todd Humcke is scheduled to run the 1,500, and Adam Bergquist, Andrew Bliss and Michael Kasahun the 5,000. Bliss’ seasonal-best time of 14:6.49 is an NCAA-provisional mark.
As usual, Oregon should find most of its success on the field. Johnson probably will double in the long jump, along with Moore and Colin McArthur.
Currently, 21 Ducks have Pac-10-qualifying marks. Only three have provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in Durham, N.C. on May 31 through June 3. The three are Bliss, Boness and decathalete Santiago Lorenzo.