If there were a conference and non-conference schedule for the Oregon men’s track and field team, the switch would occur now.
After five meets, the Ducks have three automatic NCAA qualifiers, three provisional qualifiers and 23 Pacific-10 Conference Championship qualifiers. Now, Oregon will look to qualify the remaining athletes for the Pac-10 meet and improve NCAA Provisional marks.
Not counting this weekend’s Oregon Invitational, the Ducks have only two competitions before the Pac-10 meet in Berkeley, Calif. The team will split up next weekend in Stanford, Calif., Austin, Texas, and Irvine, Calif., before the Oregon Twilight meet May 12, in which only a few Oregon athletes will compete.
“I pretty much consider the Invitational the start of the regular season,” junior high jumper Jason Boness said. “Any meet before this is just sort of pre-season.”
Boness, who has competed in only three of Oregon’s five meets this season, will be looking to clear seven feet, one and 3/4 inches in the high jump this weekend and possibly jump an NCAA Provisional mark.
Junior decathlete Santiago Lorenzo is also gearing up for the home stretch of meets. The Buenos Aires, Argentina, native has already qualified for nationals in the decathlon with a personal best 7,726 point effort at the Texas Relays. Lorenzo will compete in the 400 meters, 110 hurdles and the pole vault this weekend.
“This will be my last meet before the Pac-10s,” Lorenzo said. “I already have my mark, and I’ll want to rest up before nationals. [Decathlons] are so demanding on your body … you only want to do three or four a year.”
For the next four meets, technique and form will be the focus for all Oregon athletes.
Form charts
If the Pac-10 Championships, May 19-20 in Berkeley, Calif., were today, the Ducks would finish fifth with 91.33 points, which would be their highest finish since 1998. Last season Oregon placed seventh. The last Oregon team to win a Pac-10 title was in 1990.
Oregon decathlete Santiago Lorenzo knows he still has plenty of work to do in each of his 10 events before the May 30 NCAAs.
On paper, Stanford would win the meet with 126 points, with UCLA, Southern California, Arizona State and Oregon within striking distance.
The Ducks would score well in the throws, hurdles and distances. A surprise mark came from sophomore Foluso Akinradewo, who has the second-best mark in the triple jump at 50-6.
Add form charts
If the NCAA Championships were today, the Ducks would finish tied for ninth place. Based on current NCAA marks, Oregon would score 24 points in four events.
Sophomore John Stiegeler remains the nation’s top javelin thrower, while decathlete Lorenzo ranks fourth nationwide. Redshirt freshman Jason Hartmann would also score points in the 10,000 meters with the eighth-best mark.
Considering Boness’ career best of 7-5 in the high jump, he would place second. Louisiana State and Texas Christian would tie for the national championship … if the meet were today.
In the polls
Following a lull in competition, the Ducks fell to No. 19 in the Trackwire.com top-25 poll. Oregon was ranked as high as 11th but has since refrained from competition. The rankings are based on personal bests, NCAA qualifying marks and a progression of marks of a select 15-20 athletes from each Division I school.
Student and teacher race
Oregon javelin and hurdles coach Dan Steele, the 1992 NCAA champion for Eastern Illinois, is scheduled to compete in the elite division of the 400 meters Saturday at the Oregon Invitational.
Steele is coming off a fifth-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials last July in Sacramento, Calif.
The Moline, Ill., native will compete against pupil Lorenzo in the race.
