Take an average dual meet, add a little corporate sponsorship, throw in two extra top-flight track teams and — voilá! — you have the recipe for a big-time track meet.
What was last year’s Washington Dual is now the Pepsi Team Invitational, and for the Oregon men’s track and field squad, the individual ingredients will be key Saturday against Minnesota, Colorado and Washington. Saturday’s first event is scheduled for noon at Hayward Field, while the first track event is scheduled for 2:40 p.m.
With a pinch of Jordan Kent, a heaping of John Stiegeler, a tablespoon of Adam Kriz and a smidgen of Samie Parker, Oregon head coach (and head chef?) Martin Smith is trying to brew a Pacific-10 Conference champion in Eugene. Saturday’s meet is the first outdoor chance the Ducks will get to score as a team, like they will at the Pac-10s and NCAA Championships.
“One of the things we’re looking for from the team this weekend is being energized about the home meet and the head-on competition,” Smith said. “How we handle that will give us a sense of where we’re at right now.”
The athletes also see Saturday’s meet as a chance to solidify as a team and send a message to the rest of the conference.
“We want to show the Pac-10 what we’re made of this year,” triple jumper Derek Strubel said. “We return a lot of points; we want to win the whole thing. We want to have fun (this weekend), but we’ve got Pac-10s in only a month, so we’ve got to compete well.”
But for the fans, the most exciting thing Saturday could be the chance to see Jordan Kent for the first time in the green and yellow of Oregon. The former Churchill High graduate graced the Hayward track and long jump pit many times as a prep standout, but Saturday he will compete as a Duck for the first time. He’s slated to compete in the long jump at 1:45 p.m., the 4×100 meter relay at 2:40 and the 200-meter dash at 4:05.
Sprinter Samie Parker will also make his outdoor debut Saturday. The football speedster is scheduled to compete in the 100 at 3:35.
The rest of the Oregon men’s field is highlighted by former NCAA champion John Stiegeler in the javelin, Adam Kriz in the throws, newcomer Eric Mitchum in the 110 hurdles and Foluso Akinradewo in the triple jump.
In the field, the tightest competition should come from the pole vault, where Oregon’s Trevor Woods and Washington’s Brad Walker will battle. Walker’s best height this season is just better than Woods’ best. On the track, the most exciting race could come in the 3,000 meters. Duck Ryan Andrus’ best is only one second behind Colorado’s Dathan Ritzenheim and Minnesota’s Will McComb.
As a team, Minnesota provides the greatest challenge to the Ducks. The Golden Gophers were the top-ranked team coming out of indoors, and Minnesota individuals have the best marks in eight of Saturday’s 18 events. Oregon has seven leaders, Washington has two and Colorado has one. The stage is set for a Gopher-Duck battle.
“We’re definitely trying to win,” Strubel said. “The way the coaches look at it is, everything is a stepping stone up to Pac-10s, obviously, but this meet this weekend is probably our second priority right now.”
And if the right ingredients come together, the Pepsi Invitational cookie could crumble in Oregon’s favor.