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Wednesday, May 24, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
World’s best headed to Eugene
By Charlie Kanzig
Correspondent
Some of the finest inter-
national track and field ath-
letes descend on Hayward
Field in Eugene this weekend
for the annual Prefontaine
Classic — a world-class,
Diamond Level meet that
honors Oregon’s own Steve
Prefontaine.
Prefontaine was con-
sidered one of the finest
American distance runners
of all time; he died in a car
accident in 1975 at the peak
of his career.
Competitors include two-
time Olympic 5,000-meter
and 10,000-meter champion
Mo Farah of Great Britain,
who trains under Alberto
Salazar’s Nike-sponsored
Oregon Project. He is one
among many of the world’s
best 5,000-meter runners
entered. That alone might
be worth heading over the
hill to the two-day meet,
which begins Friday, May 26
with seven events and con-
cludes Saturday with a full
slate of events, including the
Bowerman Mile, which fea-
tures six men who have run
under 3:51.
Ayanleh Souleiman of
Djibouti is the fastest in the
field with a career best of
3:47, which he ran in Eugene
last year. He is also the world
record-holder for 1,000
meters. Olympic 1,500-meter
champion and former Oregon
runner Matt Centrowitz leads
a quality trio of American
runners in the event that
includes Ben Blankenship
and Clayton Murphy. A
total of nine Kenyans are
included in the 17-man
field.
Among women’s events,
the 800 meters is a truly
world-class field including
Semenya Caster of South
Africa, who is the two-
time Olympic champion.
The women’s high jump
features two Americans,
Chaunte Lowe and Vashti
Cunningham, who rep-
resented the U.S. in the
Olympics in Rio and have
both jumped over 6 feet
7 inches in their careers.
Allyson Felix, six-time
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Olympic champion, includ-
ing the 400 meters in Rio,
leads the field in the 200
meters, along with for-
mer Oregon Duck Jenna
Prandini. Five-time national
champion Emma Colburn
will take on a classy field
in the 3,000-meter stee-
plechase, which includes
world-record-holder Ruth
Jebet who runs for Bahrain
and has clocked a world-
leading 9:01 already this
year.
In other words, this
meet provides Oregonians
with the chance to experi-
ence a gathering of some of
the finest athletes this side
of the Olympics or World
Championships right in our
own backyard.
Ticket information and
detailed biographies of
the entrants, along with
a complete schedule of
events can be found www.
eugenediamondleague.
com.
Softball clinic
on tap in Sisters
Fastpitch Northwest will
hold a Prospect Evaluation
Clinic (PEC) for area high
school softball players on June
23 at Sisters High School.
PECs are for players
who will graduate from high
school in 2018 through 2022.
The PECs are designed to
evaluate and assist players
in their desire to “play at the
next level.”
Performance at the June
PECs determines if a player
will be invited to Fastpitch
N o r t h w e s t ’s C o l l e g e
Exposure Championship
tournament July 18-20 in
C e n t r a l i a , Wa s h i n g t o n .
More than 40 college
coaches will be attend-
ing this year’s tournament.
Physical tests for PEC
participants includes SPARQ
(Speed, Power, Agility,
Reaction and Quickness) and
National Fastpitch Coaches
Association Comparatives,
which includes arm speed,
bat speed and foot speed.
Players are also evaluated on
their hitting, fielding and base
running.
The results and player
information are included in
their National Profile at www.
fastpitchnw.com.
In the last six years,
Fastpitch Northwest has been
a stepping stone for more
than 250 Northwest student
athletes who have gone on to
play college softball.
Fastpitch Northwest assis-
tant Tom Mauldin will be
conducting the camp, which
will last approximately six
hours.
The cost of the PEC is
$135. Advanced registration
is required.
For information, contact
Ken Olson at 360-790-9173
or Mauldin at 541-948-9501.