The Oregon men and women face off against Kansas State, Indiana and Utah State tomorrow in the Pepsi Team Invitational, beginning at 11:20 a.m. However, to borrow from the basketball cliché, the men will rest some of their starters.
Galen Rupp, Andrew Wheating and Ashton Eaton will not compete in the meet, opting instead to rest for later, unspecified events.
No matter, say the Duck women.
“We are tired of the guys being in the limelight, getting all the attention, and so we’re after it,” senior thrower Rachel Yurkovich said.
The men, ranked No. 3 in the preseason U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll, appear in great shape to challenge for the NCAA outdoor track and field national title. Combined with cross country and indoor track national titles from earlier this year, that trophy would bring Oregon what is known as the Triple Crown – a feat only Arkansas and UTEP have ever accomplished.
The Oregon women were also ranked No. 3 in the nation by the USTFCCCA, and they have big plans of their own.
“I’m hoping we can win a Pac-10 title, and I think we have the ability to do it,” senior Keshia Baker said. “We have the talent, and we have a lot of experienced people coming back that’s competed at nationals and they know what we need to do, so we can be there.”
“There’s a lot of us watching the guys’ side last year, just thinking, We really, really want that,” Yurkovich said. “We are hungry for it. It’s gonna be exciting.”
Baker, for her part, was the second leg in the women’s 4x100m relay team that broke the 1993 school record of LaReina Woods, Camara Jones, Lisa Bedwell and Jamila Godfrey at the Stanford Invitational last Saturday, clocking an NCAA regional qualifying time of 44.64. The day before, Yurkovich uncorked a throw of 190 feet, 11 inches on her second attempt to win the women’s javelin, two inches shy of her school and Pacific-10 Conference record.
“The women’s program is very exciting right now,” associate director of track and field Dan Steele said. “In many ways, it’s more exciting than the men’s program because the men are established and the women are redefining themselves and developing that championship identity. I think it’s a lot of fun for us to watch that happen.
“I wouldn’t bet against them. They looked great this weekend, and they’ve got the right attitude.”
Throwing the distance
The group of athletes who are making the largest contributions for the Duck men and women have been the javelin throwers. Ashley McCrea, Cyrus Hostetler and Alex Wolff have all recorded personal bests in the first two weeks of the outdoor season, and Yurkovich appears poised to break her school record tomorrow.
“It’s always a good thing to open up with a PR,” Wolff said.
The athletes have credited volunteer assistant coach Christina Scherwin for helping them to early-season success. Scherwin, a native of Denmark, is a two-time Olympian (2004, 2008) and seven-time Danish national champion in the javelin. She also holds the NCAA Division III javelin record from her time at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Penn.
“She knows exactly what we need to be doing,” Wolff said. “She’s great to work with.”
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