First, it was the wind. Then came the rains. And finally, in the middle of March, snow descended upon Hayward Field on Saturday.
And guess what? There was even time for the skies to open up and let a little sun shine through into the Willamette Valley.
Well, for at least a few moments anyway.
It seemed like nothing could stop the Oregon women’s track and field team at the Montana-Weber State Triangular. The Ducks swept through the day, defeating Montana, 124-69, and Weber State, 111 1/2 to 77 1/2.
“I really liked the way our team competed today,” head coach Tom Heinonen said. “It’s so encouraging for the rest of this year. They competed in almost every possible type of weather, and we had good stuff happen in all event areas.”
And what about the weather that left snowflakes on the ground and athletes shivering?
“I’ve been here 26 years, and I’ve never seen anything like that,” Heinonen said.
One Duck runner, Laura Harmon, was unfortunate enough to have to endure the snowy weather. However, the flakes that made it tough to see for more than a few feet didn’t stop her. She took first in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4 minutes, 40.13 seconds.
“It was a little cold, a little wet, and the snow was sticking to my eyelashes,” Harmon said after the event, shivering and covered with snow flakes. “But it was really fun. I actually enjoyed it.”
One teammate even joked that Harmon deserved the “iron man” award for having to tough the treacherous weather that made Hayward Field a sloppy mess. The all-weather track was soaked, and field events continually had to be stopped to clear away the water.
Janette Davis took the 400 dash with a time of 54.31, while Ann Sullivan, competing for the first time this season due to shin splints, won the 100 hurdles in 14.51.
Eri MacDonald sported a time of 1:11.98 in the 800, good enough for first, and Carrie Zografos came from behind to take the 3,000 in 9:49.94.
Sarah Malone led the Duck field stars in the javelin, recording a season high mark of 171 feet 3 inches. Two weeks ago in Linfield, the sophomore threw at 170.
“Luckily, I was able to get my good (throws) off before the rain,” she said of the downpour that would drench Hayward Field right after she finished. “I’m happy with (the mark). It’s kind of an affirmation that Linfield wasn’t a fluke.”
Clarice Hayward-Lee took first in the triple jump at 36-3, and Mary Etter tore the field events apart. She took the discus (157-4), hammer (167-4) and shot put (47-7 3/4).
About the only thing that didn’t go right for the Ducks came in the pole vault. Because of the poor weather, junior transfer Becky Holliday was not able to make her much-anticipated first vault at Hayward Field as a Duck.
“I love competition,” she said, disappointed in not being able to vault. “But that’s Oregon for you. It’s not worth it to get hurt.”
Oregon’s Georgette Moyle was able to tie for first in the event with Montana’s Amy Weddell. The two were able to vault at a height of 11 1/4 before the snow began to fall, eventually canceling the rest of the event.
At the end of the day, Heinonen and the rest of the Ducks were confident in their abilities.
“We don’t have many scoring meets, and there weren’t many people here, but we wanted to make a good showing for them,” Heinonen said in reference to the 2,352 in attendance. “When you win scoring meets, it adds another dimension to your team that gets people fired up.”