The Oregon Invitational, held Saturday at Hayward Field, was a veritable stomping ground for Oregon’s throwers and jumpers. Of the 10 field event competitions during the 10 1/2-hour event, the Ducks took first six times, added two second-place finishes and a third. To say it was a good day for the Ducks would be an understatement.
“The (javelin) throwers, they were certainly solid,” head coach Tom Heinonen said. “And Becky (Holliday) did a really good job under trying circumstances. I liked the hammer throw with Jordan Sauvage throwing a really solid 175 (feet).”
Holliday took the twilight section of the pole vault with a jump of 13-5.25, but failed to clear 14-2 in three attempts. However, she continued her hot streak and is doing so in a convincing fashion.
“It’s disappointing,” the junior said. “I should definitely be able to hit 14 right now. I really wanted 14-2.”
The Ducks were able to get a preview of next season with Niki Reed competing against Holliday. Reed, who is redshirting the outdoor season, competed as an unattached athlete, but failed to clear a height.
Competing in one of the final events of the night, sophomore Sarah Malone continued her winning ways, throwing the javelin for a mark of 170-5, good enough for first place by more than 15 feet. Oregon teammates Elisa Crumley and Charyl Weingarten finished two-three in the event.
Rounding out the day in the field events, juniors Sauvage and Mary Etter competed seemingly all day for the Ducks, participating in the shot put, discus and hammer. Etter took the shot put (47-07.75) and discus (173-02) in the day session, but fell to sixth in hammer in the afternoon. Sauvage won the hammer by a full six feet with a throw of 175 after finishing third in the discus earlier in the day.
Oregon’s field competitors may have earned the glory, but the Ducks’ track athletes earned a ton of respect. Highlighted by Eri Macdonald’s second place finish in the twilight session of the 800, Oregon held its own against some of the best in the country.
After a collision in which almost half the field was affected, Macdonald jumped to her feet and was able to take second, albeit two seconds behind Weber State’s Allison Adams. Macdonald earned a time of 2:12.79 but wasn’t happy with her finish, despite the collision.
“I think we were all too excited and trying to run too fast and moving up when we didn’t need to,” Macdonald said of the collision. “I did what I could. I’m not happy with my time at all.”
Oregon’s inspiration award of the night could easily go to senior Jenny Kenyon. Participating for the last time at Hayward Field in an Oregon uniform, the Newbury Park, Calif., native finished second in the twilight version of the 100 hurdles, and helped the Ducks to a first place finish in the 4×400 relay.
The next time she will compete, Kenyon will be in Pullman, Wash., at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships.
“I was coming around the last turn (in the 4×400), and I was like, ‘I’ve gotta give it everything I have,’” she said. “It’s definitely closing this part of my life which is really sad.”
Continuing Oregon’s hot streak as the host squad, junior Janette Davis took first in the 400 with a time of 55.29, third in the 200 (24.93), and was also on the 4×400 squad that placed first. Although her mark in the 400 was not near her personal best, Heinonen singled her out as having an impressive day.
“I was really happy for Janette Davis because she’s had a rough time for the last several weeks,” he said. “She ran a really good, tough, strong race and ran a good 200, and then a great relay split. And she handled it all really well. She can have a great conclusion to her season.”
The Ducks now look forward to next week when the team will participate in a quadruple meet in Lincoln, Neb. Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas State will join Oregon in the one-day event, set for Saturday.