The Pacific-10 Conference championships are finally here – at least for Oregon heptathletes. Senior Lauryn Jordan and freshman Kalindra McFadden kick off the conference competition Saturday and Sunday in a field that features five heptathletes ranked in the top 10 among collegians this year.
First, the Oregon Twilight will open this weekend’s activities tonight at Hayward Field. Women’s action begins at 4:30 p.m. with the javelin and closes at 8:05 with the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Many of Oregon’s top performers, ranging from middle distance runner Rebekah Noble to throwers Britney Henry and Rachel Yurkovich are expected to perform.
The timing of the Twilight meet, right next to Pac-10s, coincides with what coach Vin Lananna is calling the championship portion of the season. Today, he said, will be a final warm-up for Oregon’s athletes.
Several women athletes, notably Noble, Zoe Nelson and Yurkovich, will be going through this portion of the season for the first time.
Being at home and performing in front of fans has positives and negatives, Lananna said.
“It’s an advantage depending on how you control the emotion,” Lananna said. “I think there will be a lot of excitement, a lot of enthusiasm. There has been a lot of anticipation.”
The decision on Noble’s event is likely to be decided today.
“Pac-10s are next weekend so that makes it even a little more decisive to know what we are going to run,” Noble said. “(I’m) not sure, maybe (800 meters) or (1,500) – one of the two.”
Lananna wants her to run an 800, but it will depend on the wind conditions, much like two weeks ago at the Oregon Invitational when Noble switched to the 400 at the last minute.
“We want a good tune-up for her, so whatever is going to make the most sense there is what we’ll pick for this weekend,” he said.
Sara Schaaf, with the second best Oregon time in the 800, is tentatively set to run with Amber McGown and Kasey Harwood. Harwood is also in the 100-meter hurdles and 400 hurdles, but like other Oregon athletes entered in multiple events, she may not compete in each one.
The Oregon women sent a small contingent to the Western Oregon Twilight last weekend. Harwood chipped 1.61 seconds off her season best in the 400 hurdles with her 60.23, meeting the qualifying mark of 60.82. Amanda Santana, who is entered in the 100, finished second with 61.90, which is .06 faster than her season best of 61.84 from the Oregon Invitational.
Dana Buchanan made her second appearance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at Western Oregon and is entered in the event today. Last time Buchanan ran it at Hayward, she earned first place with 10 minutes, 33.77 seconds in the Pepsi Invitational.
Amanda Fitz-Gustafson met the regional standard in the same race and is racing today.
In throwing events, Henry, Brittany Hinchcliffe and Megan Maloney are set for the hammer. Jennifer Greenspan is entered in shot put and Lucy Cridland in the discus. Ashley McCrea and Elisa Reynoso join Yurkovich in the javelin.
The heptathlon this weekend, which marks the beginning of the Pac-10s, creates an opportunity to meet personal goals and get the team off to a good start. Oregon last won in 1992.
McFadden and Jordan earned NCAA provisional marks of 5,428 and 5,426 points, respectively, in mid-April at the Mount SAC Relays. The marks fell just short of the automatic standard of 5,500 points, but both scores are ranked in the top-10 nationally.
Jordan enters Saturday fully rested, having only done the triple jump two weeks ago. She rested last weekend.
“I’ve been having good practices all week, so I’m pretty excited about that,” Jordan said. “I started off pretty shaky indoors, so it is finally coming around.”
Leaders in the Pac-10 rankings, Arizona State’s Jacquelyn Johnson (5,797 points) and Washington State’s Julie Pickler (5,734), are returnees from the 2005 Pac-10 Conference Championship. Johnson, a sophomore, won the 2004 Pac-10 and NCAA heptathlon titles prior to taking a year to play for Arizona State basketball team. She returned to the track this year and made an impact in the indoor season with a win in the five-part event.
While other competitors are traveling, Jordan and McFadden can enjoy the comforts of home and Hayward Field.
“Where you practice is where you perform the best I think,” Jordan said. “I think it is an advantage being here. I run better on this track.”
