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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 7, 1984)
sports___ Clouds aside, Pepsi meet shines bright By Steve Turcotte Of the Emerald After more than 17 and one-half hours of com petition, 87 events and cloudbursts galore, the in itial Oregon Pepsi Relays were history. Some of the stars of track and field made ap pearances, others did not. But the 1,000-plus athletes who showed up at Hayward Field Friday and Saturday got an opportunity to compete in a relay meet that could soon rival such prestigious stuff as the Drake Relays and the Penn Relays. "I think for the first time around, we are off to a great start," said Oregon Athletic Director Rick Bay. "I'm real enthusiastic about (the meet). I real ly like the concept." Bay admitted there were things his ad ministration could have done differently, but for the most part the two-day affair ran smoothly and on time. "Now that we have held this thing once, that helps," Bay said. "With Pepsi, it gives us money and a chance to bring in some star quality athletes and that's always a big thing." Despite Pepsi's appeal, some athletes didn't show, like Nebraska's female sprinters and ex Oregon half-miler David Mack. Some did, though, like Henry Marsh, the American record-holder in the steeplechase, Meg Ritchie, America's top female thrower, and distance runners Craig Virgin and Frank Shorter. The meet also gave Oregon athletes a chance to qualify for the NCAA championships while competing against top collegians. Saturday, Kathy Hayes and Eryn Forbes each took a shot at qualifying in the 5,000 meters — and both were successful. Hayes won the race in 15:48.43 while Forbes clocked a 16:16.67 to finish fifth. For Hayes, it was her first 5,000 of the season and just her third race this year. * "I really wanted to go under 16 minutes even though it was my first 5,000 of the season," Hayes said. "I was a little scared in the beginning because it seemed too fast, but then after a while it felt more comfortable." Ranza Clark and Claudette Groenendaal, who both ran an 800 relay leg in Friday's two-mile relay, looked sharp in Saturday's 1,500. Clark won the race with a late surge in 4:15.19 while Groenen daal clocked a lifetime best of 4:18.14. "Both Ranza and Claudette are way ahead of where they were last season at this time," said Oregon women's coach Tom Heinonen. The NCAA qualifying didn't limit itself to just the Duck women — Oregon's men also got into the act Saturday. Dub Myers, the fifth-place finisher in last year's NCAA 1,500, used his powerful kick in the last 200 meters to win the 1,500 in 3:41.28, just edg ing out Bob Verbeeck of Converse West. "I wanted to make sure I was in the middle of the pack after three laps because I didn't want to lead," said Myers. "On the last lap, I used the first 200 to get into position and then the last 200 to kick. Myers' 58-second last lap enabled him to break his old PR of 3:41.92, set in last year's NCAA meet. "It was nice to get the qualifying mark because now I won't have to worry about it," Myers said. "I had three chances to do it but I wanted to get it out of the way today." In the men's 5,000, Marsh laid back in the pack before unleashing a furious kick in the last 200 meters to win in 13:45.2. A pair of Ducks followed Marsh home and got NCAA-qualifying marks in the process. John Zishka, who ran a 13:51.8 to finish seventh, and Mike Blackmore, who was timed in 13:53.9, were well under the standard of 13:57. "The main goal out there was to get the mark," Zishka said. "I wanted to get it out of the way so I could concentrate on the rest of the season instead of having to worry about qualifying." In field events, Ritchie, the world-class weight thrower, won the shot put in 57-V/i and the discus in a Hayward Field record 213-4. Friday was full of NCAA-qualifying clockings for Oregon as well. Matt McGuirk took advantage of a fast pace to finish fifth in the steeplechase in 8:36.63 and qualify for nationals and the Olympic Trials. McCuirk's time was a personal best, but he wasn't awestruck by it. "It didn't seem like the race was all that hard," McGuirk said. "I think I can still go faster." In the women's 3,000, Deanna Schiedler clocked a personal best of 9:28.25 to finish second and qualify for nationals. Schiedler, an 800-1,500 runner in high school, didn't expect the qualiying to come in the 3,000. "I had only run one 3,000 in high school and I didn't do it very well," said Schielder, who also ran the 1,500 Saturday in 4:32.99. "I'm really inex perienced at the 3,000, but I think that is going to be my race. I don't think I have enough speed to qualify in the 1,500." Meet officials even did some name-dropping Friday. Mary Decker made her first appearance of the season on the track, taking part in the women's invitational two-mile relay. Decker, who ran a 2:00.9 800 leg, led her Athletics West team to a victory over Oregon. The Ducks battled with AW for seven of eight laps before Decker left Grace Bakari in her wake. The Ducks did receive some excellent perfor mances in that relay, though, as Brenda Bushnell ran a 2:08.8, Clark a 2:06.6 and Groenendaal a 2:06.9. Things were fairly even when Bakari and Decker took their batons, but mismatch time ar rived quickly. Still, Heinonen defended his strategy of anchoring with Bakari. "The goal in any relay is to hang in there as long as you can," said Heinonen. "I thought we matched up as well as we could. Grace is just not ready to go out and run a 59-second first lap in an 800 — but she had the courage to do it." Photo by Steve Crowell Oregon's Kathy Hayes continued to rebound from a stress frac ture at the Pepsi Relays Saturday, qualifying for the NCAA 5,000 meters with a first-place 15:48.43. McAdoo leads Lakers past Dallas; Suns, Knicks win DALLAS (AP) — Bob Me Adoo came off the bench with two steals and six points in overtime Sunday to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 122-115 victory over the Dallas Mavericks and a three-to-one lead in their National Basketball Association playoff series. Kareem Abdul-)abbar led the lakers ■ with 32 points, but it was McAdoo and Mic hael Cooper who shined in overtime. Cooper had four points in the extra period, while Earvin "Magic" Johnson added a basket, and Abdul-jabbar made two free throws. Mavericks' center Pat Cummings sent the game into overtime at 108-108, hitting a a left-handed hook with 31 seconds to play. Dallas' Mark Aguirre had the team-high of 32 points. Guard Rolando Blackman had 21. James Worthy scored 19 and Cooper 17 for the Lakers. Johnson had 14 points and an equal number of assists. Aguirre led the Maverick scoring in the first half with eight of 12 from the field and three free throws for 19 points. in Phoenix, Ariz., Maurice Lucas sank two free throws with four seconds left in overtime as the Phoenix Suns beat the Utah Jazz, 111-110, SYS NEW YORK PEZA free campus delivery WEEKLY SPECIAL Just ord.r any .ta. d.||c(ous p|m and raca|M 2 FREE Topplngsf °Ur ol°\!^lReaular or Sicilian crust TwSnZZh 5°?r#: 5;30"Wldnlght 1211 Alder I^onday-Thursday aiq<>f °n Campus • 686-9598 p<»#e 8 1 Eagle’s Eye Sportswear 10 to 5 Monday-Saturday Wednesday until 7 Jgjilfie jF)l€.kb£t A Fashionable Experience l A s I 11 1 V 1 \ 1 H \ \ I S l 1 I t t \ \ I ' O K I 4 . O \ 4 S . \ /-./if. Cash For Textbooks Mon - Fri. Smith Family Bookstore 768 E. 13th 1 Block From Campus 345-1651 Monaay, May 7, 1984