Predictability is fickle in men’s track and field.
The Oregon men should have finished deep in the middle of the Pacific-10 Conference pack at the conference championships two weeks ago. The Ducks should have finished well below ninth at last year’s NCAA Championships.
But instead, Oregon took second at the Pac-10s and broke the top 10 at the national meet in 2001.
So this year, the Ducks are hoping to defy predictability once more at the 2002 version of the NCAA Championships, starting today in Baton Rouge, La.
“It doesn’t take a lot of points,” Oregon hurdler Micah Harris said. “Last year we were ranked ninth in the country? We could definitely be top five. The opportunity is there. We just need to capitalize.”
Harris is one of seven Ducks who will compete in this year’s national meet. He is joined by runners Simon Kimata and Jason Hartmann, vaulter Trevor Woods, hammer thrower Adam Kriz, decathlete Billy Pappas and javelin thrower Nick Bakke. Of the group, only Kriz and Kimata are in action today.
Harris’ words about points ring true. The top eight positions in each event score points toward the team score, in descending order. If three or four of the seven Oregon athletes can score points, the Ducks could end up in the top 10 for the second year in a row. It took 27 points to propel Oregon to ninth last year.
Judging solely from national rankings, the Ducks would score only eight points this year, which would have earned them 29th at the national meet last season. But the Oregon athletes busted predictability last year and at the Pac-10s this year, and at least a few Ducks are talking about doing it again.
“If things go well, I’m looking to score a lot more (decathlon points) than Pac-10s,” Pappas said. “I’m not going into nationals expecting to win. There are a lot of good guys there. But I’m trying to do the best for myself.”
Harris, too, echoed the sentiments that anything can happen at the NCAAs.
“The guys are running the top times in the country, so everybody’s good,” Harris said. “All bets are off. If you’re the first one or the last one to qualify — if you’re not on your ‘A’ game — it’s going to be tough to win.”
The senior hurdler is one of four in the group of seven with NCAA experience. Last year, Harris surprised the field by making the semifinal heat in the 110 hurdles. This year he wants to surprise the field by making the finals, where only eight athletes compete, so he would automatically score points.
“I want to get further than last year,” Harris said. “I want to
improve.”
Pappas and Hartmann are the only two returning athletes who scored in the NCAA meet last season. Pappas finished eighth in the decathlon, while Hartmann finished third in the 10,000-meter race.
Woods joins Harris in looking to avenge last year’s loss. Woods no-heighted despite high expectations heading in, and this year enters with even higher expectations after he broke the fabled 18-foot barrier earlier this season.
But whatever happens, one thing is sure: The NCAA Championships won’t be predictable.
E-mail sports reporter Peter Hockaday at [email protected].