The track and field outdoor season is in full swing, and it appears as though Oregon women field athletes will remain in the spotlight this weekend.
Hayward Field welcomes Missouri, Indiana, Washington and the fans of Tracktown, USA to participate in and watch the 16th
Annual Pepsi Team Invitational on Saturday. Events are scheduled to start at noon.
The Oregon women are hoping to claim a team win in this meet for the third straight season. Last season, the Ducks
accumulated 184.5 points to claim the team crown, and eight athletes captured
individual event titles.
Two weeks have passed since the women’s squad last competed as a whole.
The wait for sprinter Sofie Abildtrup has been even longer, and the excitement surrounding the start of her outdoor season
is noticeable.
“It’s been almost three weeks, because I didn’t compete at the (Oregon) Preview, so this is my first outdoor meet,” said Abildtrup, who will be competing in her second and last season at Oregon.
The Herning, Denmark, native is already in the Oregon record books for the three sprinting events. She is 10th all-time in the 100-meter dash, seventh in the 200 and third in the 400. The senior said she trained hard during the indoor season but did not go full-throttle because she is more focused on success in the outdoor season.
“Over this season, I’ll probably focus mainly on the 400,” Abildtrup said.
This weekend, however, Abildtrup said she will compete in the 200 and both team relay events but not in the 400.
“The 200 will be a good run for me to get my speed up and prepare for running the 400 later on,” she said.
Abildtrup is expected to be a catalyst for Oregon’s short-distance group, especially after an impressive showcase of talent
last season.
“Last year I didn’t know what to expect and what the competition was like,” Abildtrup said. “I definitely had really good competition last year, and I also surprised myself with the results I got, and I’m hoping to continue in that positive way.”
Abildtrup’s main competition in the 200 will be Indiana sophomore Stacey Clausing and Washington junior Lauran Dignam.
On the field side, Oregon’s throwers are
expected to score more than their share of points this season.
As expected, names like Bree Fuqua and Sarah Malone sat atop the scoring lists for three of the four throwing events at the Oregon
Preview. Fuqua placed first in the shotput and discus events, while Malone out-threw teammate Elisabeth Crumley by eight feet to win first place in the javelin.
Senior Fuqua then set a new Oregon shotput record during spring break at the Montana Open with a throw of 53 feet and nine inches.
“That mark will get her to Regionals, and she’s not done for the year,” Oregon throws coach Lance Deal said. “Bree is a fierce competitor.”
Deal hinted that Brittany Hinchcliffe carries some of these same characteristics to the hammer throw event. Deal, an Olympic silver-medalist in the hammer, said he sees major potential in the redshirt senior who transferred from Washington State.
Malone will be challenged in the javelin event by junior Tiffany Zahn of Washington, who is 20th in the NCAA outdoor rankings. Duck juniors Crumley and Roslyn Lundeen will also compete for high marks in that event. All of the Ducks’ three javelin hurlers have higher personal records than the opponents they will face this weekend.
Oregon is also looking forward to another performance by multi-event athlete Lauryn Jordan. The junior transfer is slated to compete in the 100, shotput and all three jumping events. But what sounds like a heavy workload to most doesn’t faze Jordan.
“I’m used to it; I just like to
go out there and do what I do,”
Jordan said. “It’s preparing me for the heptathlon.”

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