The start of the indoor track and field season is finally here. Oregon is currently preparing to travel north to participate in the Washington Preview at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle this Saturday.
The Ducks enter the competition looking to capitalize on the high bar set by last year’s performance: the men are reigning two-time defending champions and the women are coming off a second-place finish that snapped a run of four straight NCAA Indoor titles.
“A lot of kids competing, so definitely excited getting out there and seeing where we are,” Oregon head coach Robert Johnson said. “A lot of kids will be donning the big ‘O’ for the first time.”
This first meet will be a chance for the team to shake off the rust and see where everyone stands. Many of the athletes haven’t competed in a serious meet since last spring, so the Preview will be a good chance for the coaches to gauge what needs to be addressed.
“They have been training since October for this,” Johnson said. “A chance for a high-level practice to see where our deficiencies and weaknesses are.”
While much of the focus will be on the newcomers, there are several Oregon stalwarts slated to participate in the proceedings. Jasmine Todd will be coming off a busy 2015 that saw her claim a silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in the 4×100.
“I’m very excited to get this season started,” Todd said. “We have a lot of great things cooking in our kitchen — so excited to see what we produce.”
Joining her on the women’s side are sprinter Ariana Washington, middle distance runners Raevyn Rogers and All-American transfer Brooke Feldmeier, and a pair of All-American distance runners in Waverly Neer and Molly Grabill.
For the men, Tony Brooks-James begin his transition from the football field to the track and OSAA State Champion Ben Milligan will make his debut in the high jump.
School record holder Greg Skipper will participate in the weight throw.
“I had a good summer,” Skipper said, “Started hitting it hard in September. Fall went well.”
Skipper says this is the healthiest he has ever been in his career and is excited to see what the season has in store.
Several Ducks will be competing outside of their normal wheelhouse as the Preview has some unique events that aren’t held in the NCAA meets. The 600 and 4×800 are just two examples. The coaches will be trying to slot in athletes to see how they do.
“We will experiment and play around with some of those events,” Johnson said. “It will be interesting to see how we tackle those rarely used distances.”
Both teams are expecting to do well, with the men coming in ranked No. 3 and the women No. 5. As for any pressure on completing a repeat and meeting expectations set last season, everyone explained the day-to-day mentality of this group.
“Don’t worry about what we did last year, it’s all about right now,” Skipper said.
The Washington Preview is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur
Oregon set to see where it stands at 2016 indoor season opener
Christopher Keizur
January 13, 2016
The start of the indoor track and field season is finally here. Oregon is currently preparing to travel north to participate in the Washington Preview at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle this Saturday. The Ducks enter the competition looking to capitalize on the high bar set by last year’s …
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