The Pacific-10 Conference confidently calls itself the “Conference of Champions.” There’s a reason that can be said.
With the 2002 Pac-10 Championships scheduled this weekend in Pullman, Wash., the 200 or so athletes who will grace the Mooberry Track and Field Complex will get a chance to put that moniker to the test.
The NCAA Championships in Baton Rouge, La., are still two weeks away, but with nine squads participating, the Pac-10 version should provide a glimpse into the future.
Last season, USC — the eventual NCAA champion — placed second behind UCLA in Berkeley, Calif. In fact, the Bruins have won the past five Pac-10 titles, and eight of the past nine.
The following is a look at each of the nine squads, listed by projected finish and who to watch in Washington.
USC — Flanked by three-time NCAA champion Angela Williams, the Trojans are the deepest team in the nation in running events.
Williams, who holds the season’s best time in the 100 at 11.06 — and also participates on the nation’s second-ranked 4×100 relay team — is a force, comparable to some of the Pac-10’s former best in Gail Devers and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. In fact, if Williams can improve her time to better than 10.97 — Devers’ best time — she will take home the all-time Pac-10 mark.
Don’t count out the Trojan field squad, though. Inga Stasiulionyte is back in the javelin, is the best in the nation and is already being targeted as the woman to beat in Pullman.
“Inga is the person to beat, and maybe if I can beat her at Pac-10s, maybe I can get in her head a little bit,” Oregon sophomore Sarah Malone said.
UCLA — If anyone can beat the Trojans, the Bruins have the best chance. Mirroring their cross-town rivals with an amazing running program, UCLA — this past season’s Pac-10 winner — is going to have a successful day in the Northwest.
Monique Henderson, one of only seven women to gain an NCAA automatic mark in the 400, headlines the list of Bruin runners, and she’s only a freshman. Tiffany Burgess and Lena Nisson go one-two in the nation in the 800, with Nisson coming back again as the No. 1 athlete in the nation in the 1,500.
Then all you have is the No. 1 athletes in the high jump (Darnesha Griffith) and pole vault (Tracy O’Hara).
Wow.
Washington State — The home squad doesn’t have the impressive list of athletes that the two previous schools do, but the Cougars are nonetheless qualified to contend for first.
The Cougars already saw Ellannee Richardson take first in the heptathlon last week with 5,821 points — best in the nation.
Oregon — If the Ducks can improve upon last season’s eighth-place finish, it will be attributed to a strong field program.
No running athletes rank high on the national lists for Oregon, but the squad features No. 2 pole vaulter Becky Holliday, two top 10 javelin throwers (Malone and Elisa Crumley) and the No. 8 discus thrower, Mary Etter.
However, the disc will be a packed event with six of the top 10 athletes in the nation coming from the Pac-10.
Stanford — A mixed bag and a team that could easily place anywhere from third to eighth, the Cardinal are a balanced group. They feature 800 runner Ashley Wysong, as well as Lauren Fleshman, the No. 6 runner in the nation in the 1,500. Fleshman also competes in the 5,000 run and is tops by 16 minutes in the event.
Watch out for Kathleen Donoghue. The junior, following O’Hara, Holliday and Arizona’s Amy Linnen in the pole vault, could capitalize, should one of the previous three miss at a crucial height.
Arizona — When one thinks of Arizona, Linnen immediately comes to mind. The collegiate record holder — albeit in the indoor season — is currently No. 3 on national outdoor lists; however, that doesn’t take away from her accomplishment earlier this season.
“I felt like I had it in me, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon,” Linnen told the Arizona Daily Wildcat.
Not to be undersold, Brianna Glenn, a participant in the 100, could give Williams something to think about.
California — This may be a low ranking for the Bay Area squad, especially with discus and hammer throw specialist Jennifer Joyce occupying a spot on the Berkeley roster.
“I want to see the team succeed, but we knew we weren’t going to threaten to win the Pac-10 Championships this year,” Joyce told the Daily Californian. “So I’ve been focusing on trying to go out with a bang.”
Another squad that could finish as high as third, the Golden Bears already had a good start in the Pac-10s with the performance of Missy Vanek in the heptathlon. The senior finished second, giving the Bears 13 points — good enough for second place entering this weekend.
Arizona State — Lisa Aguilera is the Sun Devil to watch in the Northwest as the junior will attempt to vault Arizona State from its fifth place finish this past season.
Aguilera has the second-best time in the 5,000 in the Pac-10 this season but is far behind Stanford’s Fleshman overall.
Washington — Simply a case of being grouped in one of the top conferences in the nation, the Huskies look to a disappointing finish for the second straight season.
Ranked in the top 25 in the nation and led by Kate Soma in the pole vault, the Huskies just do not have enough firepower to stay with some of the nation’s best.