There is no question now as to the ability of Tom Heinonen’s athletes.
They can fly, they can jump, they can throw with some of the best collegiate athletes in the nation.
Now, the question is, how far will they go?
After a 105-95 win over Pacific-10 Conference foe Washington last weekend in Eugene, the Ducks travel south to the City of Angels. Eighteen Oregon athletes will participate in three meets this weekend, the most notable being the Mt. SAC Relays, held in Walnut, Calif., near the bustling city of Los Angeles.
All of this comes at the right time for Oregon.
“There’s a lot of stuff going well right now for us,” Heinonen said.
The Ducks have earned nine NCAA provisional marks this season, and have already begun a process to improve last season’s 60th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
For starters, junior Eri Macdonald has come out from beyond the shadows to become a force for the Ducks. Her mark in the 800 (2:06.37) vaulted her into 10th place nationally.
The Honolulu native looks to improve upon that this weekend when she competes at Mt. SAC on Saturday.
Then there is the Oregon javelin foursome. All four have earned NCAA provisional marks, are in the top 30 in the nation, and all but freshman Roslyn Lundeen will participate this weekend.
Sophomore Sarah Malone also has one of the two NCAA automatic bids the Ducks have earned this season.
“Our javelin throwers have really hit the ground running,” Heinonen said.
With a squad that features 16 juniors and 16 freshman, the Ducks are relatively young. Their top junior, Becky Holliday, is a transfer who is still adjusting to Division I competition.
Two of the team’s pole vaulters, Lundeen and Elisa Crumley, are freshmen. Both have posted marks that are good enough to be in the top 10 in the nation.
Finally, freshman Katie McKeever is coming on strong of late, competing in the shot put, discus and hammer in her first season as a Duck.
It may still be too early to tell if the key athletes are maturing, but the team’s marks, with the exception of the Washington Dual, have been improving on a consistent basis.
“If you equate good marks with maturing, then yes, we are maturing,” Heinonen said.
Now, the Ducks go up against the best of the best. Holliday, almost unequaled in the nation, will take on some of the nation’s finest in the pole vault.
The javelin squad is expected to finish high at Mt. SAC, while junior Mary Etter will pull a busy weekend.
Etter starts off at the Pomona Pitzer Invitational today, competing in the shot put and discus throw. In the shot, she will be accompanied by McKeever. In the discus, McKeever and junior Jordan Sauvage will attempt to earn high honors as well.
After competing in the two events today, Etter will compete in the hammer throw at Mt. SAC on Saturday, again accompanied by Sauvage. Finally, she ends her weekend with more attempts in the shot put and discus.
With the Ducks spread out through the three meets, including the Long Beach Invitational, personal marks become more important.
“Last week was for the team. It made everybody’s performances important,” Heinonen said. “Now, we’re back to individual track and field. We’re back to track and field as it is these days.”
But that doesn’t make the events any less important. With world-class athletes on the docket in every competition, Oregon will be challenged intensely.
More important will be Oregon’s ability to compete in pressurized settings in unfamiliar territory.
It is all about “learning to compete against people we’ll never see again,” Heinonen said.