Day one of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin began with a bang for the Oregon women’s track team.
The Ducks’ 4×800 relay team took second place in the event with a time of eight minutes 50.01 seconds. The Texas-San Antonio entry took first almost a full five seconds ahead of the Ducks.
The squad — featuring juniors Eri Macdonald and
Carrie Zografros, sophomore Annette Mosey and freshman Laura Harmon — highlighted the day for head coach Tom Heinonen. However, to say that the squad was unable to post impressive marks would be an incorrect statement.
Junior Jordan Sauvage threw a career best of 177 feet 1 inch in the hammer to place eighth in the event, won by Nebraska senior Melissa Price. Junior Mary Etter was not far behind at 16th, with a distance of 161-10.
Ending the day for the Ducks was junior Alicia Snyder-Carlson in the 400 hurdles. She placed sixth in preliminary heat four with a time of 1:08.16, failing to make the final race.
On the men’s side, Adam Kriz took seventh in the hammer throw at a distance of 197-09, a career best for the junior from Toledo, Ore. His grandparents, residents of nearby San Antonio, saw him compete for the first time.
“You have to do well in front of grandma and grandpa,” Kriz said. “I also like this hammer throw area, itself. The fans are up close behind you, and it’s almost claustrophobic. You get a lot of energy from the fans. Plus there’s a lot of great talent, including the national leader, so you know it’ll be a quality competition.”
After the first day of competing, the Ducks have made an impressive statement to the rest of the field. However, today’s events will give the teams a chance to really shine.
Also on the men’s side, NCAA champion John Stiegeler began his quest for first in the javelin throw. Along with sophomore Adam Jenkins, the Ducks look to excel in the event.
Oregon will also debut at the relays in the men’s triple jump and pole vault.
On the women’s side, the team’s field events should lead the way. Junior Charyl Weingarten leads a contingent of javelin throwers who have become one of the best in the country.
“We really want to show off our javelin throwers,” Heinonen said.
However, the Ducks will be without freshman Roslyn Lundeen, already an NCAA provisional qualifier. She “tweaked her elbow” on her sixth and final throw in Tempe, Ariz., last week, according to Heinonen, and did not make the trip to Austin.
Sophomore Sarah Malone and freshman Elisa Crumley look to pick up the slack left behind by Lundeen when they make their first throws on Saturday.
Etter continues competition at the relays in the shot put and discus, the two events she earned provisional marks in last week in Tempe.
Finally, junior Becky Holliday looks to record her qualifying mark in the pole vault after no heighting last week.
“Becky was really off and that was frustrating for her,” Heinonen said. “That happens in the vault.”
However, Oregon is strong in the vault with sophomore Kirsten Riley teaming with Holliday to become a formidable force.