Those who go to Oregon’s second home meet of the season this Saturday may be in for something special.
But don’t blink, or you might miss it.
No, Oregon’s relay teams aren’t quite that fast, but some of Stanford’s are. And if Cardinal head coach Vin Lananna decides to let his second-place NCAA Indoor team run wild at the Hayward Relays, the Ducks could have fast times awaiting them.
The Cardinal’s distance medley relay team took first place at the NCAA Indoor meet last month in a world-record time of 9 minutes, 28.83 seconds. Oregon sprinter Ross Krempley describes Stanford’s 4×800 relay team as “crazy.”
Can the Ducks’ relay squads possibly match up with that?
Maybe Oregon can’t break a world record… but, Oregon’s 4×400 relay team did almost make the NCAA Indoor meet, missing a provisional time by about one second.
“We’re really close, we could [qualify] in both of them, really,” said long jumper Nat Johnson, who plans to compete in the relays. “We have some good people running on our team. I think we could have some good times, we could go to nationals with the relays.
“It’s been a great year of training and there will be a great crowd. We really want to show them what we’ve been training for.”
Head coach Martin Smith sees the Hayward Relays as an opportunity to show the home crowd the Ducks’ dedication.
“What we want to try to accomplish is to compete with great athletic concentration and focus in our attempt to improve,” Smith said. “We want to work hard and get better each week as the season develops.”
Stanford won’t be Oregon’s only competition. The meet, which kicks off with the discus at 10 a.m., also features Brigham Young, Colorado, Air Force, CS Fullerton, Colorado State, Minnesota, Portland, Washington and Northern Arizona.
Brigham Young tripped up in the NCAA Indoor meet, finishing 34th. However, led by senior Kyle Grossarth’s victory in the 400-meter hurdles in 51.18, the Cougars rolled through competition at the UTEP Invitational in El Paso last Saturday claiming four wins.
Colorado started its season slowly with a fourth-place finish last Saturday in Tucson, because it did not have entries in all events. At the Big 12 Conference Championships, the Buffaloes finished sixth thanks to the performance of their distance runners.
Northern Arizona packs a balanced attack across the boards. For the upcoming Big Sky Conference championships, the Lumberjacks have already qualified athletes in the javelin, steeplechase, 1,500 meters and 100- and 200-meter dashes.
Idaho and Brigham Young should supply competition in the lower-distance relays, the 4×100 and 4×800.
“[The competition will] be strong,” Smith said. “It’s still very early in the track season, but this is our second meet with major division-1 talent. The combination of visiting teams and individuals provide strong competition for our athletes.”
When Smith mentions his “athletes,” remember that Oregon has more than a few relay teams. Transfer high jumper Jason Boness competes at home for just his second time, and Johnson makes his return to the long jump after an injury-filled season.
“The big crowd enjoys the relays, but it’s a good chance for me to long jump in front of the crowd,” Johnson said. “I haven’t done that for two years, so I’m looking forward to it. The relays are always fun.
“I think I’m just as serious about it as I am with long jumping, even though my first love is jumping.”
Oregon jumper Folusa Akinradewo, arguably the team’s top triple-jump recruit in more than a decade, also competes in his second home event. His best in the triple jump is 49 feet, 3 inches.
Thrower John Bello makes his return to Hayward after a strong performance in last season’s Pac-10 meet. Bello, a sophomore, is expected to lead the Ducks in the discus and shot put this season.