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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 22, 1981)
spoils_— Distance corps leads Ducks f Defending Pac-10 champion Rudy Chapa is again expected to win the 1,500, followed by Oregon runners fora 1-2-3 punch in the event Alberto Salazar is picked to lead an Oregon sweep of the 5,000 and double back for a 10,000 victory. Oregon takes long road to Pac-10 win By JODY MURRAY Of the Emerald With a strong corp of distance runners, Oregon hopes to take the long road to the winner’s circle today and Saturday at the Pacific-10 Conference track and field championships. The Ducks outclass the rest of the conference in the distance events. It is not beyond pos sibility for Oregon to go 1-2-3-4 in the 5,000, 1-2-3 in the 1,500 and 1-2 in the 10,000. Oregon will need all the points it can get at Stanford Universi ty’s track to break out of what is considered a three-way race between the Ducks, UCLA and Arizona State. “I don’t know everything about UCLA and Arizona State, how healthy they are. But they are the other two that are expected to be the favorites,” says Oregon coach Bill Dellinger. Last year, the Bruins cruised to the championship with Ore gon fighting off USC for second place. The Trojans won’t be al lowed to compete this year because of academic violations. Arizona State will get most of their points from their blazing sprint crew, led by Dwayne Evans, Ron Brown and Howard Henley. The Bruins’ strength is spread a little more evenly, with emphasis in the jumps and hurdles. UCLA received a blow earlier this week, though, when number-two sprinter Larry Goldston quit the team. That will hurt the defending champions in the 400, where Goldston had the Pac-10’s fourth-best time, and the mile relay, which the Bruins were favored to win. While the Bruins and the Sun Devils duke it out in the sprints, the Ducks will try to load up in the distances. In the 5,000, Alberto Salazar leads the conference in 13:34.5, followed by teammates Rudy Chapa (13:53.8), Jim Hill (13:53.8) and Greg Erwin (13:57.7). Only one non-Oregon athlete, Arizona’s Don Janicki, has gone under 14 minutes this year. Erwin has the top mark in the 10,000 (28:58), but will probably run second to Salazar, who has a best of 27:49.3. Hill should challenge Erwin for the runner up spot. Rudy Chapa won the conference 1,500 title in 1979, and seems to be returning to form (3:44.8) just in time to be the event favorite this year. Chapa will be joined by Torstein Brox (3:46.3) and Graydon Pih laja (3:49.7) and Mike Friton (3:44.9), who will attempt a dif ficult double with the steeplechase. Oregon’s defending champ in the 800, David Mack, hasn’t ap proached the 1:47.2 he ran two months ago in the LSU Invitational. To retain the crown, he will need to overcome challenges from Cal’s Mike White (1:48.2), Washington State’s Sotirios Moutsanas (1:48.5) and Washington’s Rob Webster (1:48.7). In the field events, Dean Crouser’s 213-0 mark in the discus is still the nation’s top collegiate throw. But Cal Berkeley’s Dave Porath should put some pressure on the Ore gon sophomore after throwing 209 last weekend at the Mo desto Relays. Porath leads the shot put field at 64-8, followed by Oregon’s Vince Goldsmith (63-1 OVi) and Crouser (62-1 %). Oregon’s Reidar Lorentzen, the defending champ in the javelin, comes into the Pac-10 meet behind Washington State’s Laslo Babits, who sur passed Lorentzen’s 265-0 toss with a 265-5 effort last weekend. Photos by Steve Dykes Vince Goldsmith is expected to add needed points to the Oregon total in the shot put.
