Head coach Tom Heinonen knows about turnarounds.
“The year after we won the NCAA track title [in 1985] we scored zero points in the NCAA meet — at that point I thought we would never be a factor again,” Heinonen said. “And then we won two [Pacific-10 Conference] titles [in1991 and 92] and got fourth in the NCAAs [in 1993].”
After finishing last at this weekend’s conference championships at Hayward Field for the first time ever (title-winner UCLA had 167.5 points, the Ducks had 35.5), next season’s Oregon women’s squad seems in need of such a change of fortune.
“It took us eight years to get in this situation; hopefully it doesn’t take us eight years to get out,” Heinonen said. “We’ve gotta find more athletes. It’ll happen, coaches just have to make it happen.”
Judging from the weekend’s results, it needs be a dramatic swing.
The Ducks did all they could against the Pacific-10 Conference’s elite, despite being physically overpowered in almost every aspect of the weekend Pacific-10 Conference Championship meet.
Endia Abrante, who wasn’t listed in the meet’s program because of her right-of-entry status, qualified for the 400-meter final and earned three Oregon points with her sixth place finish (55.43 seconds). But the sophomore was admittedly overmatched against some of the conference’s national-caliber stars.
“I caught a couple people, so I’m very pleased,” said Abrante, who ran her two fastest 400s of the season. “I ran well. My hard work has paid off. No regrets. No regrets.
“Going into it, of course I wanted to win. It just didn’t work out that way. But I’m young, I have a lot to learn. I’m happy to be in the company of these esteemed competitors. It really helps me run fast.”
Arizona’s Carolyn Jackson won the 400 title in 52.23.
And although Oregon’s additional highlights were sparse, they weren’t nonexistent.
Eri Macdonald, one of the Ducks’ eight freshman involved in championship competition, qualified for the 800 final, where she finished last in 2:12.51.
Freshmen Mary Etter and Charyl Weingarten shone in the throws. Etter made up for a rocky first day in the hammer throw and shot put by slinging the discus a personal best 173 feet, 11 inches — announced as the 16th-best mark among the nation’s collegians and likely enough for a spot at the NCAA Championships.
“I did not know what to expect,” Etter said. “I haven’t been throwing well lately. It helps a lot [only having competed in one event Sunday]. You have much more energy going into the event.”
Weingarten also came through with a surprisingly strong showing in the javelin: third place, 146-04.
Maureen Morrison, Oregon’s all-time leading hammer thrower, finished sixth in her specialty, with a toss of 183-10.
Meanwhile Oregon’s big guns — 1,500 runner Katie Crabb, javelin thrower Karis Howell (both ranked top in the conference preceding the meet) and pole vaulter Niki Reed — couldn’t overcome conditions or injuries.
After leading much of the way, Crabb took the brunt of the wind in the 1,500 and finished third in a respectable time of 4:21.41.
And then, some of the Ducks were just unlucky. Redshirt freshman Lucretia Larkin, who’d made a habit of PR-ing every race this season since her return from injury, appeared on her way to another such mark when a competitor tripped and rolled into her lane right in front of the finish line.
Larkin found herself unexpectedly having to hurdle once again before crossing the line with an unappealing time of 14.59.
“It’s really frustrating to see that time up there when I haven’t ran that slow in weeks,” a shaken Larkin said. “But I have to settle for that. I don’t get another chance.”
After consoling one young athlete after the meet, assistant coach Mark Stream waxed positive.
“It was tough,” Stream said. “We’re young. We’re learning. And we’ll get better.”