Haloti Ngata sat on a bench Saturday, mentally preparing himself for competition. He stood up moments later, donning Oregon green and yellow, and received an ovation from the crowd at Hayward Field.
Hayward Field?
Ngata stepped out of the realm of Duck football and into the world of Oregon track Saturday when he competed in the shot put at the Pepsi Team Invitational.
The 6-foot-4, 339-pound defensive lineman last competed in the shot put as a sophomore in high school, but he was talked into competing for Oregon by strength and conditioning coach Jim Radcliffe.
Ngata finished sixth with a top throw of 45 feet, 10 3/4 inches. The sophomore from Salt Lake City finished second among Oregon competitors, less than two feet behind freshman Brandon Tower (fifth, 47-9 3/4).
“I could have done better,” Ngata said. “It definitely wasn’t to the best of my ability, but it was all right.”
Despite a so-so performance, Ngata said he was happy to be out competing in front of Oregon fans again after missing all but one game of the football season with a knee injury.
“It felt great,” Ngata said. “I’m on a different team but it was nice to have fans cheering for me again.”
Ngata’s future in the event is unknown, but he said he’d like to keep at it if he continues to improve.
“If I progress and start getting better throws (I’ll stay with it),” Ngata said. “Otherwise it will just be another hobby.”

Gilliam impressive
Another Oregon football player who had a solid performance at Saturday’s meet was freshman Ryan Gilliam.
The 5-foot-9, 158-pound freshman from Tallahassee, Fla., competed in the 100-meter dash and took second with a windy time of 10.72 seconds.
Gilliam’s time was only .04 seconds off the pace set by Patrick Davidson of Washington (first, 10.68).

Dotts disappointed
The positive tone set by Oregon’s team victory at the Pepsi Team Invitational overshadowed the disappointment of junior transfer Roderick Dotts.
Dotts made his Oregon outdoor debut in the 800 Saturday, finishing sixth with a time of 1:53.06, more than three seconds behind Minnesota’s Trent Riter (first, 1:49.75).
Last year Dotts recorded the 17th-best time in the nation (1:48.41) among college athletes in the 800 while attending Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kan.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” Dotts said. “It was a horrible race. During the last 100 meters I sort of ran out of gas.”
Dotts struggled through knee and hamstring injuries during the indoor season but said he had since recovered. The only explanation he could give for his struggles on the track was the difficulty he’s had adjusting to the added pressure of running at a Division I school.
“I thought I was back,” Dotts said. “I don’t know what’s going on. Last year at this time I was running 1:48.”

Observant Skipper
Along with competing in three different events for Oregon Saturday, freshman Tommy Skipper had time to make a couple of observations.
With the success that the Ducks experienced at the Pepsi Team Invitational — along with the rest of the season — the Sandy native said Oregon is on its way back to becoming an elite track school.
“I think that Oregon track and field is coming back,” Skipper said. “With the guys we have, Leonidas (Watson), (high jumper) Jeff Lindsey, this is early in the season and we’ve had a lot of great performances. The training is tough right now and pretty intense. Once the training load gets a little lighter I think you’re going to see even more great performances.”
Skipper also spoke of the importance of giving back to the Oregon fans who come out to cheer for Duck athletes.
“You have to show a little enthusiasm while you compete,” Skipper said. “There’s a lot of young kids out here and one of these days they’re going to be out here for Oregon track and field and that’s what inspires them to do great things in their life. If I can be any type of inspiration to anyone I want to do that.”