Although the Willamette valley’s usual spring weather—
rain and more rain—has hampered conditioning for Oregon’s
spring sports teams, one thing already seems pretty certain.
Oregon is practically a cinch to successfully defend its North
ern Division track title.
Even hampered by windy and rainy weather Saturday at
the Willamette relays, Oregon far outdistanced its four
Northern Division rivals in first places. Of course it’s haz
ardous to be basing conference championships on early
April performances. But Oregon simply has too much talent
and depth for the cindermen from OSC, Washington. Idaho
and WSC.
Everyone knows that the Ducks have the best bunch of
sprinters and distance runners in the league, just as they did
last year. In fact it was .sophomores and juniors that gave
Oregon the 1954 championship with firsts in the mile, two
mile. 440-yard dash and the mile relay plus strong finishes in
the other running events.
Ducks Better Balanced
Rut Oregon was relatively.weak in the field events last year
with only Captain Boh Faucett’s first in the high jump being a
Duck non-running win. In the shot put. discus and 120-yard
high hurdles Oregon didn’t even place a man in the XD meet.
This season, however, the Webtoots are better loaded in
everything.
Taking a look at Oregon’s performance Saturday com
pared to the other conference teams. Coach Bill Bowerman
has every right to be optimistic. Oregon won or tied for 10*
first places, with, of course, the running teams leading the
way.
Performances in the field events, however, proves that the
Ducks are well set in every event this season. Take the broad
jump, for instance. Last year Ben Johnson was Oregon's only
consistent point-winner and picked up a second in the XD
with a leap of just under 22 feet.
Pedigo Breaks Record
At the relays, however, Martin Pedigo, a sophomore, took
home a first for Oregon in the novice broad jump with a leap
of 22’ 9 3-4”. This leap not only broke the relay record but
was 8 1-2" better than the winning leap by the winner in the
senior division, for lettermen only. Meanwhile OSC took sec
ond and third in the novice division and sixth in the senior
class while Idaho got only a fourth in the senior division.
In the javelin Ed Bingham, another Duck sophomore,
took a first in the spear-throwing event for the second
straight week with a 185’, 5 1-2” toss. This was in the novice
division and was short of the Medford athlete's near-200
foot throw of last week, but OSC’s PCC champ, Jerry
Church, was the only ND man to do better.
In the discus Walt Badorek, a two-vear letterman who has
steadily improved, showed that he will have to be reckoned
with in the XD championships. The Klamath Falls senior took
second behind Washington’s Terry Strom, the only returnee
out of last year’s top four placers in the XD in that event.
Reid Tops 13 Feet
In the pole vault Rob Reid went over 13 feet for the first
time this year as the Canadian junior tied for the top spot in
the senior class. Ken Hickenbottom managed a tie for third in
a field that figures to make the pole-vault one of the closest
events of the season.
Thus things are looking even better than last season for
the Ducks who, with their all-around balance, figure to be
a threat for the PCC title traditionally captured by USC.
The Northern Division championship looks like it’s coming
home again, however, with Oregon fairly certain to win at
least the same number of firsts as in 1954 plus more seconds,
thirds and fourths.
A prediction right now would put Oregon, Washington,
Washington State, Oregon State and Idaho in that order in the
ND meet—the same as last year. But track is subject to upsets
and poor performances just as in other sports. Let’s hope it
doesn’t happen to the Ducks at title time.
Action Begins Today
In Three IM Sports
Spring intramural sports ac
tion will open today with a full
schedule of softball games plus
tennis and golf matches begin
ning play in the three sports.
A fourth spring sport, track,
will be added later to intramural
competition when a schedule is
arranged.
Softball will be conducted on
a round-robin basis with each
team playing four games in its
league oefore the all-league play
offs begin the first week in May.
Postponements will not be per
mitted unless rain forces the in
tramural department to re-sched
ule the games.
Three days of softball are
scheduled each week with ac
tion slated for Tuesday and
Thursday after today of this
week. Today’s games will pit
Delta Upsilon against Sigma
No, Phi Kappa Psi against
Sigma Phi Epsilon, Delta Tau
Delta against Sigma C'hl, Beta
Theta Pi against Phi Delta
Theta, Tau Kappa # Epsilon
against Phi Gamma Delta and
('hi Psi against Sigma Alpha
Mu.
The games will take place on
three fields, the north, south and
upper. The first three games
will begin at 3:50 and the other
three at 4:55. Games will go five j
innings or four if one team is
seven or more runs ahead at that
time.
In tennis the Legal Ragles
and Phi Delta Theta will kick
off court competition at 4 p.m.
Puscas Winner
In Smoker Bout
Jack Puscas used a hard-hit
ting right hand to score a third
round knockout over Gil Durey in
the feature event of the Order
of the O smoker Friday night be
fore a crowd of about 500 in Mc
Arthur court.
Puscas, the Eugene slugger
who went to the finals of the
national AAU tourney last year,
proved to be too tough for Durey,
the Australian featherweight
champ now at the University of
Oregon. Durey gave the North
west champion plenty of trouble
in the second round with a good
left jab but Puscas floored the
Aussie five times in the third
round of a schedule^ four-round
er before closing the door.*
In another feature there was
plenty of action in the tag-team
wrestling match which ended just
as rehearsed. “Heroes” Lon Stin
er and Harry Johnson were the
winners as they conquered the
“villains," Keith Tucker and Jer
ry Nelson.
Two other Oregon football
players got into the act in box
ing but lacked experience to go
with their eagerness. John Woy
at, 165, lost a unanimous de
cision to Karl Ray Steen, Eugene
amateur, while Larry Rose, 185,
pulled out a draw against 175
pound George McKnight.
The only regular wrestling
match ended in a draw as Don
Biehn and Don Dexter, a pair
of 160-pound freshman wrestlers,
fought to a standstill in three
rounds. In other boxing matches
Bob Williams, 152, decisioned
John Coefield, 155, and Ron
Clark, 140, decisioned Gary
Ci'ocker, 143.
Sports Staff
Desk Editor: Jerry Cl^ussen.
Staff: Buzz Nelson, Allen
Johnson and Chuck Mitchelmore.
today with the first match in
the bracket tournament. Thir
ty team* are entered In the
tennis tournament with Alpha
Tail Omegu and Hale Kane
drawing first round byei.
Three matches will be played
each week with Sigma Alpha
Mu and Sederstrom hall meeting
Tuesday and Phi Kappa Sigma
and Beta Theta Pi dashing
Thursday. Matches will be played
on courts four, five and six with
two doubles and one singles
match seeing action.
Each doubles and singles
match will be decided by win
ning two out of three sets with
the best two out of three win
ners deciding the match be
tween the living groups. One
played will not be allowed to
play both singles and doubles.
In golf, Sigma Phi Epsilon and
Phi Kappa Psl are to play the
first match this week with the
r
Sigma AlphH Epsllon-Straub
Frosh anil (,'hl Pal-Sigma Nil
matches also due this, week. The
golf tourney la also a bracket
affair In which 24 teams have
been entered with eight drawing
first-round byes.
Teams will consist of four
players In four twosomes with
all matches to he played at
Oukway golf course, unless
; otherwise agreed la-tween the
teams. Match score cards ure
available at the Intramural of
fice and scoring wili In- by the
Nassau system. All scores will
; be due on or la-fore the sched
uled date of play.
Teams will be out to win
spring sports titles last year
dominated by fraternities. Phi
Delta Theta won both the golf
and track trophies with Alpha
Tau Omega taking the tennis
(title and Phi Kappa Sigma wln
| ning softball.
4
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