Now that introductions and first impressions are all out of the way, the Oregon women’s track and field team is ready to get down to business.
The Pepsi Team Invitational on Saturday will give the Ducks a chance to make a statement to the rest of the Pacific-10 Conference that they’re ready to take the next step.
After placing seventh last year, Oregon thinks it’s ready to be a consistent challenger in the conference.
“The women are trying to continue to move the program forward and get up in that upper echelon of the Pac-10,” associate head coach Dan Steele said.
The first step will be to take on the three teams coming in for the Pepsi meet: Minnesota, Penn State and Pac-10 rival Washington. The Huskies, an annual visitor for the meet, will be led by 2006 NCAA 1,500m champion Amy Lia. Amanda Miller and Katie Follett were both All-Americans in the indoor mile last month, as was pole vaulter Kelley DiVesta.
Penn State, third at the Big Ten Conference championships last year, is opening its season this weekend and will bring a handful of its own All-Americans, including sprinter Shana Cox, distance runner Bridget Franek, hurdler Aleesha Barber and heptathlete Gayle Hunter.
Minnesota, which finished just behind Penn State in fourth, features one of the best 800m runners in the country in Heather Dorniden, the 2006 NCAA indoor champion in the event. Javelin thrower Ruby Radocaj is also an All-American and should provide a strong challenge to Oregon’s Rachel Yurkovich, Ashley McCrea and Kara Meeuwsen.
“This is going to be a really competitive meet,” Steele said. “The way the scoring breaks down it’s going to be tight. I don’t know who the favorites are going to be.”
The meet starts at 12:30 p.m. with the women’s javelin. The first event on the track will be the women’s 3,000m steeplechase at 12:50 p.m.
Unlike meets like the Oregon Preview, the Pepsi Team Invitational is scored with each team able to get points from two individuals in each event, or one squad in the relays. The focus of the meet, therefore, is on the team’s success, rather than individual performances.
Sophomore distance runner Nicole Blood enjoys the team-scored meets, saying, “You know that every point counts, it’s not just like a big invite where they don’t really focus on that. Everybody’s performance really counts, so it’s nice to start off the season like that.”
Blood will run some combination of the 1,500m and 5,000m, depending on what the coaches and team need.
“If they need you in an event, everybody’s willing to put forth whatever they need to,” she said.
Steele said the coaches, too, are trying to get the team win for the two-time defending champion Duck women.
“We’re being strategic, we’re trying to score as many points as possible,” he said. “One of the great things about the team scoring event is that this is pure track and field, this is the way it used to be.”
The scored meets also provide the women with a chance to develop a cohesive identity, sophomore Keshia Baker said.
“It brings the team together.”
The visiting teams, particularly teams like Minnesota and Penn State that rarely make it to Oregon, can expect the best atmosphere in the country, Steele said.
“They want to have their kids exposed to what big-time track is all about and nobody does it like Eugene. This is a really great opportunity to experience big-time track and field, the way that I wish it was all over the place.”
No traveling this weekend
The Duck women do not have any athletes entered in the Stanford Invitational, scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Palo Alto, Calif.
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