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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2001)
Thursday Best Bet NHL Playoffs: San Jose at St. Louis 4:30 p.m., ESPN SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com Three football players test speed with track Emerald Wesly Mallard prepares to tackle Arizona’s Michael Jolivette. His tackle made highlights everywhere when he knocked Jolivette’s helmet off. ■ Both football and track coaches form an arrangement to let a few speedsters pull double duty By Jeff Smith Oregon Daily Emerald At 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oregon football players Wesly Mallard, A.K. Keyes and Samie Parker walked off the practice field after participating in their team’s second scrimmage of the spring. Less than 24 hours later, the three were lined up in the lanes of Hayward Field and trying to help the Oregon track and field team beat the Huskies Saturday at the Washington Dual. After four football practices in five days, the quick turnaround to the fast lanes pro vided more challenges than a few of the players were expecting. “It was very tough on my legs,” said Keyes, a corner back from Los Alamitos, Calif. “It was tiring, but I had a lot of fun. I ran track in high school three years ago and I love it and miss it a lot.” Keyes, Mallard and Parker were three of the four members on the Ducks’ 4x100 meter relay team that finished in 42.30 seconds, just behind the Huskies and their time of 41.54. But considering that the relay team had only prac ticed twice together — once on football’s day off Wednesday and the other just prior to the meet — the results were quite impressive. “Hey, we got it around the track and there were no dropped batons, so you can’t say anything bad about that,” said Mallard, a soon-to-be senior linebacker. Mallard and Keyes also were among the six competi tors in the 100-meter dash. While the two looked the part and certainly ran fast, they were overshadowed by another football/track player. Washington’s Ja’Warren Hooker, who has played two seasons on the gridiron as a wide receiver, showed off his world class speed and won,the event with a time of 10.32. Keyes finished third in the event at 11.08, while Mal lard finished in 11.47 to beat out a Husky to take fifth place. “It was definitely a different experience and a dif ferent way of competing, but I had a blast,” said Mal Turn to Football, page 16 Tom Patterson Emerald Wesly Mallard, usually covered in pads and a helmet, tested out track Saturday for the first time since he ran it in high school five years ago. Brutal schedule is beginning to frustrate Oregon (( We’re not quitting. We know we have it. Lisa Wangier Oregon sophomore _ »* * r ■ Despite struggles, the Oregon softball team is not giving up as No. 15 Washington and No. 1 UCLA come to town By Adam Jude Oregon Daily Emerald Almost exactly one year ago, the Ore gon softball team was in almost the ex act same situation as the team is in now. Heading into a weekend series at Cal ifornia and Stanford on April 14, 2000, the Ducks had dropped five straight and were clinging to the hopes of a postsea son berth. Lo and behold, Oregon swept the then-No. 8 Bears and No. 9 Stanford, climbing back into the hunt with a 29 17 overall record. This season', the Ducks (25-26 overall, 1-7 Pacific-10 Conference) have had their bumps and bruises, but they’re not giving in just yet. A couple of wins against No. 1 UCLA and No. 15 Wash ington this weekend would do a lot for a shaken Oregon squad. “We’re not quitting,” said sophomore Lisa Wangler, the team’s top hitter with a .390 average. “We know we have it, it’s just not coming together for us. Not everyone is on the same page.” Turn to Softball, page 16 Senior catcher Kelly Planche watches as Oregon State’s Shelly Prochaska slides in safely at the plate. Senior first baseman Triawn Custer (back ground) lies on the ground after committing an error. Oregon is hoping that its restful week will help it bounce back this weekend at Howe Field.