The Oregon men’s track and field team has had to endure the departure of head coach Martin Smith, sift through the controversy which surrounded the distance program and carry the expectation of still performing at a high level this season.
On Sunday, all distractions were forgotten as Oregon received a total team performance and took home the 2005 Pacific-10 Conference Championship title on Sunday at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles.
Sunday’s 152-134 1/2 defeat of UCLA marked the fifth time the Ducks have won the title since the conference expanded to 10 teams in 1979.
In addition, it was the 10th time that the Ducks and Bruins have finished first and second in the final standings. Since 1979, UCLA has taken home the conference crown 12 times and both teams have combined for 17 titles in 27 years.
This year was no different as both teams battled until the final event for the crown. Multiple times throughout Sunday, Oregon and UCLA found themselves trading the top spot.
The Ducks received top performances among the 24 entrants in all events. Oregon got championship performances from sprinters Eric Mitchum and Kedar Inico, who won the 110-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash, respectively.
Mitchum successfully defended his 110-meter title from last season by beating UCLA’s Jonathan Williams with a time of 13.59 seconds (wind: 0.5). Mitchum shaved a 10th of a second from his preliminary heat time, which was a 10th of a second better than William’s final time of 13.81.
Inico was the only competitor in the 400 final to break 46 seconds, recording a time of 45.61, which pushed Inico to third all-time in school history in the 400.
“Kedar’s win in the 400 was a big turning point,” Mitchum said. “In the 110 hurdles, my start was good, and from there I got faster and faster. The special part was that we came together as a team.”
In addition to the two individual championships, the Ducks also received a number of top finishes from all of the events, including second place in the hammer throw, javelin, triple jump, 4×100 relay, 4×400 relay and the 10,000-meters.
Those top finishes were much needed after Oregon pole vaulter Tommy Skipper received a no height in the pole vault competition.
The defending Pac-10 champion failed on each of his attempts at his opening height of 17 feet,
4 1/2 inches.
“Tommy’s more disappointed than anyone about the misfortune in the pole vault, but he tried to come back from knee surgery in March and put us in position to challenge in the team race,” Oregon assistant coach Bill Lawson said. “Unfortunately it didn’t work out as expected, but this a meet that depends on the entire 24-person roster in 21 events, and the other two vaulters scored in that event so they deserve some credit against the nation’s deepest pole vault field.”
In the other field events, Oregon javelin thrower Lars Mueller Laursen finished second behind California’s Paul Teinert, who won the event with a throw of 235-11.
The junior made his 2005 outdoor season debut on Saturday and with his mark of 222-2, Laursen moved into 10th all-time in school history.
Oregon also got a second place finish from senior hammer thrower Paul Etter after his personal best throw of 201-11.
Also in the field, Oregon senior jumper Leonidas Watson turned in solid second and third place performances in the triple and long jump.
“It takes me a little time to warm up sometimes,” Watson said. “But once I got going, I was having a lot of fun.”
On the track, Oregon benefited from its depth around the track, headlined by the performance by freshman distance runner Galen Rupp. The Portland native, along with teammate Eric Logsdon finished in the top six in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meters — Arizona’s Robert Cheseret won both events.
On Saturday, Rupp dueled with Cheseret in the final mile of the 10,000 meters. Rupp separated himself from the pack with a 62-second lap heading into the last 1,600 meters. Cheseret was the only other runner to keep up with Rupp and in the final three laps stalked the Oregon freshman until he passed him with 500 meters left.
“I knew it would be tactical coming in, so I tried to be patient and stay back, although it was a little hard to wait so long,” Rupp said. “I wanted to test (Cheseret) sometime near the end to go for a chance (at the win) and see how he would react. He’s strong, tough and fast, and he showed it at the end. After he passed me, I knew I had to be smart and not push it too hard. I had planned to go with a mile to go, and that’s when I went.” In the end, Rupp finished second.
The Ducks also got second-place finishes from their relay teams, finishing behind Arizona State both times.
Other top finishes for the Ducks include A.K. Ikwuakor (third, 110-hurdles; fifth, 400-hurdles), Jordan
Kent (fifth, long jump; fifth, 100-meters), Richard Del Rincon (fourth, 100-meters) and Matt Scherer (fourth, 400-meters).
The Ducks will now have a week off before the NCAA West Regionals, May 27-28.

[email protected]