HOWELL
Kevin Calame Emerald
Oregon’s Karis Howell nev
er imagined she’d be a
thrower. At least not until
her sophomore year of high
school, when someone suggested
she try the javelin.
“It was kind of a fluke thing,” the
redshirt junior said. “I was always
a sprinter and a hurdler. I did vol
leyball and basketball. And then
people started saying, ‘Why don’t
you throw the javelin?’ And I was
like, ‘I’m not a thrower. Why
would I throw things?”’
Well, to win. Howell achieved
All-American status and won the
Pacific-10 Conference as a fresh
man in 1997-98. Injury sidelined
her until this season, but that time
off gave her the opportunity to pol
ish her fundamentals and reener
gize for this season.
“I definitely looked forward to
this year, about being back and
just having fun with throwing,”
Howell said. “I think that's die
biggest thing about it, not stress
ing too much.”
Healthy once again, the Vancou
ver native hasn’t seemed to sweat
much this season. She’s the Pac-10
leading javelin thrower with a
throw of 166 feet, 4 inches — five
feet further than her next closest
competitor. Moreover, Howell is
the only non-UCLA representative
to hold that top-billing in a field
event heading into this weekend’s
championship meet.
“I hadn’t really thought about it
like that, but I guess it’s kind of
nice,” said Howell, noting she’ll
have to fend off the advances by
last season’s champ, Seilala Sua
of UCLA.
Also nice is having three team
mates join her in action. In addi
tion to Howell, Oregon boasts the
sixth, eighth and llth-best javelin
throwers in the conference. -M.S.
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Courtesy of USC
Because she was busy
watching TV when the
phone rang eight years ago,
Angela Williams tossed the re
ceiver to her father instead of an
swering it herself. So when John
ny Williams answered, his
surprise at who was on the other
line left him stumbling through a
short conversation with that per
son — who happened to be the
fastest woman in the world.
Florence Griffith Joyner told
Johnny that she would like to
meet the then-12-year-old
Williams, and that she wanted to
give Williams some advice and
encouragement. Flo Jo even
wanted to make some special out
fits for her.
“She said she wanted me to
break records when I got older,”
Williams said in a 1999 Los Ange
les Times article. “I was excited.”
Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Gail
Devers also embraced the up-and
coming star.
Angela became the first high
school girl to break the 11-second
barrier with a wind-aided 10.98.
She’s now a 20-year-old sopho
more at Southern California, is
currently the Pacific-10 Confer
ence’s top 100-meter runner
(11.03 seconds) and third-best in
the 200 (23.32). She won the 100
at last season’s NCAA Cham
pionships. And the 5-foot,
2-inch speedster is hop
ing to make this sum
mer’s Olympic
team. Never in
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UCLA’s Damesha Griffith
knows a little something
about success.
Her aunts are the late Florence
Griffith Joyner and Jackie Joyner
Kersee. But beyond Damesha’s
genetics, the sophomore’s jump
ing prowess can be linked her
work ethic. But that too can be
traced to her familial surround
ings. In high school, Darnesha
lived with A1 Joyner and Flo Jo,
with whom she used to go on
runs. She’s even been through
some of Al’s legendary high-pow
ered workouts.
That’s likely why as a Trabuco
Hills senior in 1998, Darnesha
was able to so adeptly make use
of a one-time California Southern
Section ruling that allowed her to
compete in two meets on one
day. In a matter of hours, she
leapt to second place in the long
jump with a leap of 18-“8 at the
Arcadia Invitational after first
winning the county champi
onships with a jump of 18-2.
Darnesha is focused on the
high jump. And it’s paid off. Her
mark of 5-10 3/4 earned her first
place at the U.S. Junior meet last
year. And she’s ranked first in the
Pac-10 in her event with 6 feet, %
3/4 inches heading into this
weekend’s championships. -M.S.
£ £ r | lhere was a guy in
Hawaii named Ed
JL die,” Oregon’s sopho
more sprinter Endia Abrante ex
plained. “He used to always go
out to the big waves. He was nev
er fearful. He would always go
out and do what he loved - surf
ing. Unfortunately he died, so
they have bumper stickers and
stuff in remembrance that say:
‘Eddie would go.’”
So it was no shock when a few
years ago, members of Hawaii’s
growing track and field commu
nity began donning shirts that
read, “Eri would go.”
Eri Macdonald, a freshman
from Honolulu, is the sixth-best
800-mqter runner (2:08.62) in the
Pacific-10 Conference and one of
the Ducks’ top young guns.
The phrase suits her because
she’s game for a variety of events,
excelling in the 800 and as a
member of the 4x400 relay team.
And also because she can’t ever
be counted out.
“I know if she’s coming in with
100 or 200 meters to go, she’s
gonna win,” middle distance run
ner Erinn Gulbrandsen said.
“She’s so incredibly fast, just has
that incredible finish.”
Indeed Macdonald, so incon
spicuous off the track, has been
winning races since high school
I’ve been run
ning I’ve had a
kick, I guess,” said
Macdonald, whose
father broke Steve Pre
fontaine’s American
5,000 record.
This weekend’s competition
could be a case in point to Macdon
ald’s natural late-charge approach.
“Eri is ready to run well,” head
coach Tom Heinonen said. “She
can make the finals. I think the
prelim race will be to her liking
because they tend to be big kick
races — and she can kick with
anybody. She’ll be ready to
strike.”
But of course.
As for the shirts? Abrante still
has hers. .r~*
“I’ll show up occasionally
to practice with it, and she just
blushes because everyone asks
‘What’s the shirt?’ So I just have to
explain it.”
Because it just fits. -M.S.
JA'WARREN
1.U:
Ia’Warren Hooker knows what
it takes to win a Pacific-10
Conference championship.
Heck, the junior multi-sport
athlete already owns two such ti
tles. Back in 1998, Hooker swept
the 100- and 200-meter titles at
the conference meet.
The performance garnered him
Pac-10 Male Athlete of the Year
honors.
But it was his 1999 campaign
that has him craving for this
weekend. It was an up
and-down spring for the
Ellensburg, Wash.,
native. He was
sidelined until
mid-April
with a
stress
l mm.l law.
fracture in his left shin and was
unable to defend his 1998 NCAA
Indoor 55-meter championship
he won as a freshman. That was
the first NCAA track title the
Huskies had won since 1988.
Perseverance is a key word for
Hooker, however, as he impres
sively capped his season at the
1999 Pac-10 meet by finishing
third in the 200 and fourth in the
100.
After taking last fall off from
football to fully recuperate from his
injury, Hooker has exploded this
spring. He was recently awarded
the Pac-10 Men’s Track Athlete of
the Week award for the third time
this season, but this time it was for
annihilating a 10-year old school
record in the men’s 400 meters at a
Kevin
clip of 44.91.
His time is the fifth-fastest time
in the world this year, and more
important to him, it qualifies him
for the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Not too shabby for a wide re
ceiver. -J.S.
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He has yet to run a 5,000
meters this outdoor sea
son.
But hey, better late than never.
Oregon senior Steve Fein, who
finished third at the Oregon Twi
light mile last Saturday with his
first-ever sub-4:00 mile, is one of
the Ducks’ three wild cards in
the 5,000, his marquee event.
He said he’s ready.
“Conference races are always
a little different,” Fein said. “I
think it’s going to come down to
the last mile. I plan on being up
there, and I think with the
speed that I have right now, I
have a legitimate shot.”
Fein capped off one of the most
successful cross country seasons
in recent Oregon history with a
third-place finish at the NCAA
Championships last fall. Sinus
complications prevented him from
racing most of the outdoor season,
but he said he has been training
hard the past month. .
“Obviously I had a lot of high
goals coming into this season,”
Fein said. “Unfortunately, I’ve
had to alter those goals.”
Fein wants to capture an
NCAA-qualifying mark in the
5,000. But if all else fails, his ef
fort in the Twilight mile automati
cally qualified him for the 1,500
at the NCAA Championships.
“It takes a lot of pressure off of
the Pac-lOs,” Fein said. “Our ma
jor goal at the Twilight was just to
get me back on the track and get
my feet wet in a race before the
Pac-lOs. It was nice to come away
with an NCAA qualifier.” -S.P.
Oregon’s
Jason
Boness
has raised eyebrows and
cheers from TVacktown fans
all season long with his explo
sive high jumping ability.
This weekend, Boness gets his
long-awaited chance to pit him
self against other Pacific-10 Con
ference jumpers.
Boness began the season
ranked No. 4 nationally among
returning collegiate high jumpers.
The sophomore has lived up to
his billing, clearing a season-high
7 feet, 3 inches last Saturday and
nearly breaking the Oregon
record of 7-5.
His personal best, set last May,
is 7-4 1/2. Boness said that even
tually — maybe even this week
end — he will set a new record
height for Duck athletes.
Boness is one of Oregon’s few
NCAA qualifiers, and he has as
good a chance as any to win the
Pac-10 high jump title.
The All-American transfer
from Northern Iowa finished 10th
at the NCAA Championships his
freshman season.
Boness followed first-year Ore
gon field coach Bill Lawson,
Boness’ assistant coach at North
ern Iowa, in joining the Ducks.
The large number of Eugene track
and field fans also allured the
Casper, Wyo. native to Oregon.
Boness and teammate Steve
Fein are the Ducks’ two qualifiers
for the 2000 Olympic Trials to be
held in Sacramento, Calif., in
July. -S.P.
In basketball, Stanford boasts
the most talented set of twins
in the Pacific-10 Conference in
big men Jason and Jarron Collins.
And in track, the Cardinal is
fortunate to have the most talent
ed set of twins in the nation, sen
iors Brad and Brent Hauser.
The duo will be on hand this
weekend at the Pacific-10 Confer
ence Championships with high
expectations. They are twins in
tent on wins.
But don’t expect them to be in
timidated by the Hayward Field
crowd. On the contrary. Running
unattached at the USA Track and
Field Championships on Ore
gon’s track last summer, Brad fin
ished second in the 10,000
(28:24.32). And then, just more
than a month ago at the Hayward
Relays on April 10, the two
played their usual part on the tal
ented group of distance runners
who went about their business,
dominating the distance medley
relay (9 minutes, 44.60 seconds)
and the 3,200 meter relay
(8:43.67.)
Brad will try to continue his
record-setting ways in the 5,000
meter run after setting a Cardinal
record with a run of 13:29.71,
good enough for the No. 1 Pac-10
time on the year.
Brent, on the other hand, owns
the Pac-lO’s fastest time this sea
son in the 10,000 meter race with
a blistering time of 28:23.37. Al
though the run was the second
best in Stanford school history, it
is the best in the nation among
collegiate runners this year.
As if having this sensational
duo wasn’t enough, the Cardinal
distance corps will be headlined
by the flamboyant and confident
Gabe Jennings, The sophomore
from Wisconsin is an admitted
perfectionist who didn’t think
twice about missing his high
school graduation to compete in a
meet. Jennings also ran a Pac-10
best this season in the 1,500 me
ters with a time of 3:37.33. The
run not only gave him a Cardinal
record, but it was the fastest
American time all year in the
event.
Obviously, the threesome’s sea
sons will not come to an end this
weekend. They have already
qualified for the NCAA Champi
onships in Durham, N.C.
And what a show that will be.
-J.S.