Turns out that the track and field NCAA Championships were quite symbolic of the Ducks’ outdoor season.
The conditions were rough and the outcome wasn’t perfect at the national contest, which took place Wednesday through Saturday. Three Oregon men — Steve Fein, Santiago Lorenzo and Jason Boness competed in their respective events, the 1,500, decathlon and the high jump.
The good news was that each Duck earned All-American honors.
But, be it human error or mother nature or both, Oregon faced problems.
“There was too much drama out there tonight,” Boness said in a released statement about how a sudden thunderstorm hindered performances in the high jump. “I was disappointed with [my] final height, but since we were out there for more than three hours, it wasn’t an easy evening for any of us.”
Fein, who said before the meet that he’d like to finish his event in the top five, never advanced to the 1,500-meter finals after failing to place high enough in the preliminary heat with a time of 3 minutes, 45.63 seconds.
The senior still won All-American status because his time was among the top of American finishes. Five of the 1,500 finalists were from other countries.
When Lorenzo completed the first half of the decathlon on Friday, he was in seventh place with 3,869 points — one point ahead of his halfway score at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships.
Lorenzo moved up two places and finished fifth with 7,543 points after setting a personal-best time of 4 minutes, 30.11 seconds in the 1,500, despite hot, humid weather that peaked at about 95 degrees.
“I think I did OK pointwise,” Lorenzo said. “It wasn’t my best decathlon; it was 100 points under my [personal best]. It wasn’t very good, but it happens.
“I was feeling good all the way through, but the scores weren’t coming.”
Boness, who leapt 7 feet, 5 1/2 inches at the Pac-10 Championships, had yet to finish in the high jump.
But before he could, the North Carolina weather went bad.
Stormy weather conditions delayed the high jump for three hours while the athletes cleared the field — hardly ideal conditions when trying to focus for the biggest collegiate track meet on the planet.
Boness cleared the bar at 7-2 1/4 inches, but could not jump any higher with conditions being as they were. His height tied him for seventh place with Tennessee’s Tim Bell and SMU’s Mustapha Raifak.
The sophomore’s height was the best finish for a Duck in the NCAA high jump since Chris Nelson tied for fourth (7-2 1/2) in Eugene in 1996.
“When I went higher [than 7-2 1/4], I had problems with my plant foot and matching my speed to my technique,” Boness said. “It seemed like once I seemed to fix one thing, something else went wrong.
“All in all, I did the best I could with the conditions, and no matter how hard you try to ignore them, they still affect you.”
Oregon’s three All-American finishers capped an outdoor season that said goodbye to the old and hello to the new.
One of the old was senior Nat Johnson. Although he did not compete at the NCAA Championships, he was as critical a component as any to the Ducks. He competed in four events at the Pac-10 Championships, held at Hayward Field two weeks ago — the long jump, triple jump, 4×100 relay and 4×400.
It was a bittersweet senior season for Fein. After finishing third at the NCAA cross country championships last fall, Fein had his eyes on the 5,000 NCAA title. However, sinus infections and training complications took their toll on Oregon’s top distance runner and he missed most of the outdoor season.
Fein didn’t leave without giving Tracktown fans something to remember. He ran his first-ever sub-4:00 mile at the Oregon Twilight meet, then made a valiant effort in his second-place finish in the 5,000 at the Pac-10 Championships.
And plenty of underclassmen showed promise for the future.
Freshman Foluso Akinradewo had a strong first year in the triple jump, finishing seventh in the Pac-10 meet. Sophomore John Bello continued to improve in the discus, finishing fifth in the conference. Freshman Terry Ellis had a strong season in the 100-meter hurdles.

Two of the season’s most exciting moments were created by Ross Krempley. The sophomore had back-to-back, down-to-the-wire finishes at home in the 800 at the Oregon-Washington Dual and the Oregon Invitational.
The acquisition of Boness ensured that Oregon should have a national contender in its hands for the next two seasons.
Fein has one more season of indoor eligibility remaining, and Lorenzo and Boness will both return next season.
“Fifth place is a good start for me,” Lorenzo said. “It was good for the team, and I scored a lot of points for the school.”