It looked like John Stiegeler’s first-place javelin throw would be one of the few bright spots for the Oregon men’s track and field team this weekend.
Instead, Stiegeler, the NCAA champion in the javelin last season and the current national leader, scratched from the Texas Relays with a knee injury Saturday. An Oregon athletic official said Stiegeler will undergo an MRI today to determine the severity of the injury.
Before scratching on his fourth throw Saturday, Stiegeler won the javelin toss at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, with a heave of 242 feet, 11 inches. The throw beat Scott Russell of Kansas by almost four feet, but was four feet short of Stiegeler’s national best of 247 feet.
That 247-foot throw was good enough to land Stiegeler an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships May 29-June 1. Unless his injury is season-ending, Stiegeler will defend his NCAA title at the meet in Baton Rouge, La.
Oregon sophomore Adam Jenkins was the only other Duck to compete in the javelin toss at the Texas Relays, and he finished 12th with a throw of 194-1. That throw fell short of his season best of 207-3.
In other Oregon action, Jason Boness finished second in the high jump with a leap of 6-11 3/4. That jump didn’t improve his season-best and Pacific-10 Conference championship-qualifying jump of 7 1/2.
The only Oregon athlete to improve or match his season best on Saturday was Trevor Woods in the pole vault. Despite windy, cold conditions, Woods matched his season best and NCAA provisional mark with a vault of 17-6 1/2.
“I didn’t feel on today but I hung in there, and that gives me confidence that I can still put up decent marks when I don’t feel it physically,” Woods said. “There were a lot of good vaulters that were affected by the swirling winds, so I can’t really be disappointed even though I wanted to go higher.”
Woods hit his first two heights — including the 17-6 1/2 height — on his first vault each time, but failed on three attempts at 17-10 3/4. He finished fifth in the competition.
The Ducks were also in action Friday. Triple-jumper Fuluso Akinradewo jumped well past his season best with a leap of 49-7, good enough for eighth place overall. The jump improved his Pac-10 mark and moved him closer to the NCAA-provisional distance of 51-6 1/4.
More pole vaulters competed on Friday, with Cody Howell and Jason Slye taking third and fifth, respectively, in the vaulting “B” section. Both vaulters leaped heights of 16-8 3/4, and both were outdoor season bests for the two Ducks. Both vaulters qualified for the Pac-10 Championships with the vaults.
A full contingent of Oregon athletes will return to action in the Washington Dual meet next weekend at Hayward Field. The head-to-head matchup with the Huskies will be the second outdoor home meet of the season for the Ducks, and is one of only three remaining home meets. The Washington Dual will start at noon Saturday.