Oregon has a reputation as a “big-meet” track and field team. Assistant athletic director Vin Lananna has gone many lengths to cultivate this reputation, training his athletes to peak at the biggest meets in their seasons.
So it comes as no surprise that, in the biggest meet to date of the outdoor season, the Duck men and women put on a show for the fans in Berkeley, Calif. The women set a Pacific-10 Conference Championships record with 215 points, winning 12 of 21 events and — yet again — setting themselves up as national title contenders. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rewarded them with a No. 1 national ranking for the performance. But let’s set them aside.
The women performed wonderfully, but the men were pleasant surprises. USC threw everything it could at the Ducks, but two inspirational performances ensured the Trojans would come up short. Ashton Eaton finished with 39.5 individual points (good for ninth place, ahead of Arizona, with 26 points, and Oregon State, with 6.5 points), winning conference titles in the decathlon, 110-meter hurdles and long jump.
Most surprisingly, however, redshirt junior A.J. Acosta came up with 19 team points while executing a grueling distance triple. Acosta finished fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday and finished second (to teammate Matthew Centrowitz) in the 1,500 meters on Sunday. But with the team title still in doubt, Acosta was entered in the 5,000 meters. With some inspiration inscribed on his wrist, he gutted through the race and wound up finishing third.
The San Diego native had told reporters the previous week he was willing to “put the load on his back.” He certainly did. Track message boards were engaged in fierce debate all weekend as to the magnitude of Acosta’s accomplishment at Pac-10s, with consensus built on the general difficulty of running 11,000 meters (including a 1,500-meter heat and clearing standards in the steeplechase) in a single weekend. Lananna was quoted as saying, in a moment of candor, “I hope I’m not arrested for abuse.”
With the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships coming up on June 9, the Ducks are looking to put on a show for the hometown fans. They continue to build the résumé of a potential title contender. Factors outside the men’s team’s control help its case with each passing day.
At the Big 12 Conference Championships in Columbia, Mo., the top-ranked Texas A&M men’s team was edged by Nebraska (118 points) and Oklahoma (114) for the conference title. The Aggies scored 110 team points. At the Southeastern Conference Championships, Florida (124 points) topped LSU (100) to capture the conference title. The Gators, the 2010 NCAA indoor national champions, look to extend their good fortune to the outdoor NCAAs.
Therein lies the crux for the Ducks, who beat USC by 12.5 points — rarely will these three schools go head-to-head in individual competitions. Florida and Texas A&M — ranked No. 1 and 3, respectively by the USTFCCCA after this weekend — will see a lot of each other in sprints, jumps and relay events. Oregon will have excellent representation in the decathlon (Eaton) and middle distances (Andrew Wheating, Centrowitz).
The Ducks’ plans are beginning to take shape. Wheating, who won his third straight 800 meters Pac-10 title on Sunday, is expected to perform an 800-meter/1,500-meter double at NCAAs. Centrowitz will most certainly be entered in the 1,500 meters and could also double at 5,000 meters. Mac Fleet had a relatively disappointing Pac-10s (sixth at 1,500m), but he too could contend.
Enter Acosta. Not necessarily as an athlete, but a symbol. Should Oregon come away from the outdoor track and field season as national champions, credit one athlete with stepping up and exerting himself for the good of the team. Scoring at NCAAs is no easy feat, let alone in multiple events. But the Ducks are hungry.
Acosta, set back by inconsistent performances over the first month of the outdoor season, came to Pac-10s with something to prove and made his point. The men of Oregon, who came so close at nationals last season, know the stakes. And Lananna will have them in racing shape.
So, what could the big-meet Ducks accomplish on the biggest stage of the season?
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