The national rankings are impressive.
But to prove those rankings on the national stage would be even more convincing.
Oregon track athletes Mary Etter, Katie Crabb and Steve Fein will get the opportunity to do just that today in the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Durham, N.C.
The three are the first Ducks out of the seven Oregon competitors to compete against the nation’s elite.
Etter gets things kick-started as she competes in the women’s discus at 4:30 p.m. The redshirt-freshman is seeded 16th in the nation after heaving a personal best discus throw of 173 feet-11 inches at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships last week.
She has been known to be “unpredictable,” but that’s what makes her appearance at the NCAAs so intriguing.
She’s “kind of like a firecracker in a heated box,” throws coach Sally Harmon said. “You just don’t know when it’s going to go off. And that’s exciting.”
Harmon then goes on to compare her with a famous box-office hit.
“You know that movie ‘There’s Something About Mary’?” Harmon asked. “That’s her. There’s something about Mary. She’s very exciting.”
Two other Ducks who are “very exciting” in their own right are 1,500 meter runners Fein and Crabb.
Fein, ranked sixth in the nation, will get the shot to make up for an up-and-down spring when he competes in the 1,500 Qualifying at 7:55 p.m.
The senior will see a familiar face in South Alabama freshman David Kimani. Back in the fall, the two were a part of a memorable three-man finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in which Kimani took first and Fein captured third.
Third-place was not exactly where Crabb envisioned finishing at her final Pac-10 meet, but at 8:10 p.m. tonight she has the chance to atone for the slight disappointment in the 1,500 Qualifying run.
At stake is the prestigious All-American honor that eighth-seeded Crabb has set as her personal goal.
“She’s got a great chance,” head coach Tom Heinonen said. “She’s got to run smarter and finish strongly, and she’ll be fine.”
Santiago Lorenzo and Niki Reed will compete on Friday while Jason Boness and Karis Howell have to wait until Saturday to show what they can do.