Like ancient Roman warriors who converged on the Coliseum to battle to the death, 200 athletes will compete against one another at the Mooberry Track and Field Complex in Pullman, Wash., on Saturday and Sunday.
These athletes won’t be fighting to the death, and there probably won’t be any bloodshed — but there will be dreams dashed and careers started.
And it all starts as the clock clicks to noon.
The Pacific-10 Conference Championships, after five months of indoor and outdoor meets in Seattle, Lincoln, Neb., and Eugene — among other destinations — are finally upon the 24 Oregon women who will make the eight-hour bus ride to the tiny Washington town.
“I’m very excited,” junior Jordan Sauvage said. “The drive will be long and tiresome, but it will be fun.”
Last season, the Ducks finished a paltry eighth in Berkeley, Calif., a disappointment considering the overall talent the team had. However, this year’s squad is much improved, especially in the field events.
“If you look at our marks list at the end of the season, we’re better in 16 of the 22 events,” head coach Tom Heinonen said. “By any measure, we’re a far better team.”
That said, first place is still most likely out of reach for the green and yellow. UCLA and USC — two of the nation’s top powers — go into Pullman with national title aspirations.
In fact, the Trojans and Bruins go into the championships with top-ranked athletes in 14 of the 22 events, a number that is even more impressive because eight of those athletes are top in the nation.
“Our athletes have seen plenty of great competition,” Heinonen said. “However, they know USC and UCLA will battle it out for first place.”
But that doesn’t mean the Ducks won’t stand a chance, at least in individual events.
Junior Amanda Brown, the last Oregon athlete to qualify for the championship when she won the Oregon Twilight on May 11 in the long jump, will start off the day for the Ducks and participates in the first event on Saturday.
“I’m just happy I’m going,” she said. “I didn’t really think I would be going, but I just pulled it through.”
Following Brown in the field events, Oregon’s javelin, pole vault and discus entrants will get a chance to show off their ability.
If there is a group that could bolt the Ducks to the top, the Oregon javelin foursome would be it. Sophomore Sarah Malone, last season’s second-place finisher, has already targeted USC’s Inga Strasiulionyte as the woman to beat.
“If I can beat her at Pac-10s, then maybe I can psyche her out a little bit for nationals,” Malone said. “A conference championship would be awesome. I missed out on it last year.”
But don’t count out Oregon’s pole vaulting squad. Sophomore Kirsten Riley and junior Becky Holliday enter the championships ranked in the top 10 in the conference, with Holliday as high as fourth.
Closing out the top competitors in the field, Sauvage, junior Mary Etter and freshman Katie McKeever will round out Oregon’s field events. Etter will compete in both the shot put and discus, with Sauvage in the hammer and McKeever in the discus.
“I’m looking forward to Pac-10s,” Etter said. “It’s going to be a fun meet. The discus is like top in the nation in the Pac-10 so I’m excited.”
Then come the Duck runners. An unheralded group, they could surprise some people in Pullman.
Junior Eri Macdonald, one of Oregon’s top runners this season, enters the Pac-10s with the nation’s 17th-best mark in the 800. When adjusted against conference opponents, she drops down to sixth.
Senior Jenny Kenyon returns to Pullman after finishing fifth in the heptathlon last week, and will compete in the 100 hurdles. Freshman Laura Harmon and junior Janette Davis will compete in the 1500 and 400, respectively, while senior Carrie Zografos takes her school record in the steeplechase to the championships.
Overall, the Ducks are hungry for a top finish at the final team meet of the season. Pullman, which will also help host the University of Idaho’s graduation — less than 10 miles away — will be a busy place. But the Ducks are ready and willing to focus on the task at hand.
“Pullman is a small town, but it will be hectic there,” Heinonen said. “It’s going to be really busy for a town of Pullman’s size, but we’re ready for that.”