The Men of Oregon are competing at Hayward Field this weekend for the second time in as many weeks.
Oregon’s Alexey Shkuratov and Cody Fleming face five other decathletes this afternoon in day one of the Oregon Invitational. They’ll compete in the decathlon, which is scheduled to start at 12:15 p.m.
On Wednesday, coach Vin Lananna said both athletes are near top form, and the real focus is not the invite but the Pacific-10 Conference finals.
“It’s good for them to get one under their belts,” Lananna said in reference to Fleming and Shkuratov. “Our decathletes’ ability to compete is critical to our ability to be successful.”
Fleming returns this season as one of two Ducks who scored at last year’s Pac-10 Championships in the decathlon. It wasn’t the only event he was busy with last spring. The senior from Sparks, Nev., was a Pac-10 competitor in the high jump, javelin and discus as well.
Heading into this season, Fleming was ranked in the top-four for Oregon returnees in these three events along with the decathlon and shot put.Fleming is eager to compete today in preparation for the Pac-10 finals.
“Pac-10s are only a few weeks away, so we’ll really find out where we are this weekend,” he said. “Personally, I think I’m fine. As a team, we’re moving in the right direction.”
The freshman Shkuratov has limited collegiate experience in the decathlon, but he won titles in several events before coming to Oregon. The transfer from Belarusian State University in Minsk, Belarus, claimed first-place finishes in the long jump and 110-meter hurdles at the school’s 19-and-Under Championships in 2005.
He and Fleming are pitted against a trio of Wisconsin decathletes: Ben Roland, Brennan Boettcher and Peter Dykstra. In the decathlon, Roland is an NCAA qualifier and Dykstra took fifth place at the 2005 Big Ten outdoor meet.
Distance runners have the track Friday evening for the 1,500 meters, 3,000-meter steeplechase, 5,000 and 10,000. Those competing will be divided into different sections based on their level of talent. Some events have drawn as many as 92 athletes.
“Let me just say that the events, which are every middle-distance and distance event, are packed.” Lananna said.
Four Ducks are slated to run in the 1500: Michael McGrath, Duke Wasteney, Blake Flanders and Andrew Perri.
McGrath is also scheduled for the 800. He is one of the nation’s top distance runners and was a Pac-10 and West Regional qualifier in the 800 as a freshman.
The sophomore from Portland hasn’t finished lower than second place in the 1,500 this outdoor season.
In the steeplechase, Oregon freshman Chris Winter will try for his second-straight first-place finish at Hayward Field. At the Pepsi Invitational two weeks ago, Winter won the event by nearly four seconds.
Winter will also run a section of the 5,000 with teammate Esteban Trujillo.
Oregon’s All-American and fourth-ranked sprinter Eric Mitchum will run in the 110-meter hurdles and 4×100-meter relay.
His teammates Jordan Kent and Matt Scherer have the 200 and 400, respectively. Scherer is also entered in the 4×400 relay.
Kent will be missing the football team’s intra-squad scrimmage Saturday to compete at the invite. On Wednesday, he said that the wear and tear of being on the football team hasn’t slowed his track progress.
“If I make qualifying marks this weekend, that’s great,” Kent said. “If I don’t, I still have time to qualify for regionals.”

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