Hayward hosts high-powered championships
■ The Oregon men and women’s track and field teams
face some of the nation’s best this weekend at the Pac-10
Championships at Hayward Field
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
The best track meet in the
world this weekend is at Hay
ward Field.
All nine Pacific-10 Conference
schools with men’s and women’s
track and field teams will be rep
resented.
Heading into the meet, the
Stanford men and UCLA women
are favored, although Southern
California is the reigning men’s
champion. The UCLA women are
aiming for their fourth straight
conference title.
Oregon’s men’s squad hopes to
capitalize on strong efforts by sen
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r
ior Steve Fein (5,000 meters) and
sophomores Jason Boness (high
jump, 7-3 1/2) and Ross Krempley
(800, 1:49.76) to place as high as
possible.
The Duck women hope the
campaigns of senior 1,500 meters
runner Katie Crabb (4:19.88) and
a strong cast of throwers are
enough for them .to improve on
the fifth-place performance
they’ve had for three vears run
ning.
But even at home in the friend
ly, familiar confines of Hayward
Field, Oregon has its work cut out
for it.
“The level of competition is go
ing to be extremely high,”
women’s head coach Tom
Heinonen said. “Our athletes
have to be ready to compete well
in the face of some competition
that is truly overwhelming. That’s
not easy, but I think our kids can
do it.”
The No. 2 Stanford men come
with an excellent — and colorful
— distance corps. The Cardinal
hope that a few good runs out of
those guys is enough to claim its
first-ever Pac-10 championship.
The No. 5 Trojans field an po
tent arsenal of sprinters and
throwers, including the Pac-lO’s
top-ranked pole vaulter Dennis
Kholev (18 feet, 3 inches), triple
jumper Djeke Mambo (53-10 3/4)
and hammer thrower Norbert
Horvath (228-2). Expect sprinters/
football players Sultan McCul
lough (10.22 in the 100) and Ka
reem Kelly (10.33) to figure into
the scoring as well.
Fourteenth-ranked Arizona’s
Esko Mikkola aspires to become
the only Pac-10 javelin thrower to
win consecutive conference titles.
No. 24 Arizona State has
Dwight Phillips, who’s attempt
ing to repeat as long and triple
jump champ.
Bolota Asmeron, a 5,000 spe
cialist (13.32:48), leads No. 16
California.
The No. 18 Bruins need Jess
Strutzel to continue his domi
nance of the 800 (1:49.76).
Washington’s Ja’Warren Hook
er — now focused solely on
track, rather than football and
track — leads the Pac-10 in the
200 (20.23) and 400 (44.91) and
ranks second in the 100 (10.18).
Thrower lan Waltz stars for No.
20 Washington State, with a best
in-conference mark in the shot
put (63-3 1/4) and a second-best
mark of 197-2 in the discus.
Competition will be stiff. But
Oregon’s athletes said they won’t
mind. They wouldn’t have it any
other way.
“Having Pac-lOs at home is go
ing to be exciting,” said the
Ducks’ primary thrower, sopho
more John Bello. “It’s our chance
to show people what we can do
against all the other Pac-10
schools. That’s going to be fun for
me.”
The women’s field is as stacked
as the men’s. Not surprisingly,
UCLA leads the charge. In fact,
the Bruins have posted the con
ference’s best marks in seven of
the eight field events this season.
The only athlete to be ranked
first in a field event
who isn’t a member of
that illustrious UCLA
squad is the Ducks’ red
shirt junior Karis How
ell, who won the
javelin in 1998 as a
sophomore.
She’s joined by six
fellow throwers in the
javelin, discus and
hammer throw.
“We’re pretty strong
in all of our throwing
events,” Howell said.
“And if some amazing
things happen, we
could really push the
points for the team.
That’s definitely possi
ble.”
The fourth-ranked
Women of Troy
will try to fend off
other teams’s
prowess in the
field by scoring as
much as possible
in the sprints and
hurdles. Angela
Williams is the
Pac-lO’s fastest
woman going into
the meet, with a
100 time of 11.03.
Natasha Danvers
is the conference
leader in the 100
(13.19) and 400
meter hurdles
(57.61).
If No. 3 UCLA’s
junior Christina
Tolson (56-10 3/4)
can hold off the
rest of the confer
ence in the shot
put, the. Bruins’
will claim their
11th straight title
in that event.
No. 15 Arizona will
be led by sprinter/
long jumper Brianna
Glenn. The versatile
sophomore ranks sec
ond in both the 100
and 200 in addition to
holding third in the
long jump. The No. 17
Cardinal star a group
of- distance runners,
including Lauren
Fleshman, who ranks
first and third in the
5,000 and 3,000, re
spectively.
Oregon’s Endia
Abrante, one of sever
al underclassmen who
constitute the Ducks’
24-member limit for
this meet, applied her
usual sprinter’s men
tality toward the situa
tion.
“The other teams in
the Pac-10 might be
Kevin Calame Emerald
(top) Endia Abrante runs the 400 and both relays, (mid
dle) Steve Fein competes in his first 5,000 of the season,
(bottom) Jason Bonness is favored to win the high jump.
underestimating us, Abrante
said. “This is where we take the
next step, take that deep breath
and say this is for the team, and
for the personal goals. This is
where we really show what we
can do.”
The Oregon women already
upset heavily favored rival Wash
ington in an.April dual, the same
day the men narrowly lost in the
day’s final event.
Both the men and women are
going to need similar — and prob
ably better — efforts at the Pac-10
Championships.
“We’re fighters,” Crabb said.
“Everyone gives it their all, com
petes with a lot of heart. Yeah,
we’ll get after it this weekend.”
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