Monday
Best Bet
NHL, Western Conference Finals:
St. Louis at Colorado
5 p.m., ESPN
SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
Lorenzo wins Pac-10 decathlon championshin
Lorenzo
captures his
first Pac-10
decathlon
crown after
back-to-back
runner-up
finishes in
1999 and 2000
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
For two years in a row, Ore
gon’s Santiago Lorenzo stood on
the second tier of the Pacific-10
Conference podium, one step
lower than California’s Bevan
Hart. Despite Lorenzo having
one of the best marks in the de
cathlon nationwide, Hart was al
ways a little better. No longer.
On Sunday, Lorenzo climbed
to the top of the podium to ac
cept his gold medal in the Pac
10 Decathlon Championships af
ter scoring 7,617 points to win
the meet.
“This year was my turn,”
Lorenzo said. “Bevan Hart grad
uated and left the field open. I’m
really happy. It was something I
had to win because I was num
ber one in the Pac-10.”
The Buenos Aires, Argentina,
native jumped out to an early
lead on Saturday, winning the
400 meters in 48.97 seconds and
recorded personal bests in the
high jump (six feet, four inches)
and shot put (44-0).
“Everything just felt right,”
Lorenzo said. “It was one of
those days. Having a good start
like [Saturday] relieves a lot of
pressure.”
A slim Saturday lead of 150
points over Washington State’s
Steve Dwyer increased for
Lorenzo to almost 200 points on
Sunday despite winning zero
events.
Lorenzo placed second in the
pole vault with a personal best
15-7 and in the javelin with a
toss of 186-7. His third-place fin
ishes in the 110 hurdles and dis
Turn toPac-10, page 12
LORENZO
Jon House Emerald
Stanford’s Jenni Shideler slides safely into second base as shortstop Kate Peterson awaits the throw Saturday.
UO softball loses three
more to finish season
■ What might have been’:
The Ducks drop their last three
Pac-10 games, ending a season
of misery and disappointment
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
The emotion Rick Gamez hid be
hind his reflective Oakley sunglasses
was openly expressed by senior Tri
awn Custer after the Oregon softball
team lost the final two games of the
season Saturday.
Wiping away the tears of an up
and-down four-years, Custer hugged
her family and smiled for snapshots
and a video camera, trying to make
the best of a tumultuous season.
Custer and the Ducks ended the
season Saturday by dropping both
games of a doubleheader to No. 4
Stanford at Howe Field.
“I didn’t start getting emotional un
til the senior ceremony beforehand,”
said Custer, the
Ducks’ all-time
home run leader
who was beaned in
her final plate ap
pearance. “I’ve been
waiting for this day
for a long time, so it
was nice to have it
get here and play respectable, espe
cially after the season we’ve had. It
was a good way to go out regret-free.
Turn to Softball, page 12
SOFTBALL
Junior Jason Boness
(left) cleared an
NCAA provisional
mark of seven feet,
one and a half inches
to win the Oregon
Twilight meet.
Freshman Sarah
Malone (right) tossed
what could be
the nation’s top
mark in the javelin
at 174 feet.
Cold weather hurts some, helps others at Twilight
■ Unorthodox chilly May weather
hampers marks at the annual
Oregon Twilight meet
By Robbie McCallum
Oregon Daily Emerald
What appeared to be a laid-back Satur
day evening track meet was actually a last
chance, desperation meet for the Oregon
men’s track and field team.
With those athletes who have already
qualified for the Pacific-10 Conference and
NCAA Championships resting up for next
week, the Ducks that were on the verge of
a qualifying mark had one last chance to
prove themselves at the Oregon Twilight at
Hayward Field Saturday.
Unfortunately, qualifying marks didn’t
come easy at the chilly and windy meet.
Junior Jason Boness was unable to clear
an NCAA automatic bar of seven feet, two
and 1/4 inches in the
high jump.
“The 2.20 [meters] is
what I wanted to get but
it was pretty cold and
windy,” Boness said.
“I’m not too worried
about getting into na
tionals. At the conference meet, it’s a whole
new ballgame.”
Boness, who ranks 16th in the nation,
won the high jump on Saturday with a leap
of 7-1 1/2, barely missing on his last at
Turn to Men’s, page 16
■Sarah Malone could rank first na
tionally after her best throw of the
year, while Clare Taylor puts on a
show for the crowd
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
After three hours of competition at the
Oregon Twilight meet Saturday, the crowd
at Hayward Field was thirsty for some real
competition, after most of the Oregon ath
letes blew away theirs.
As the crowd clapped rhythmically for
the racers of the 5,000, Eugene-native
Clare Taylor decided to give her home
town crowd a free show. Taylor went neck
and-neck with Courtney Babcock of the
Mountain West Track Club and ended up
with the fastest American time this year,
and second-fastest in the world.
“I felt confident in my kick,” Taylor
said. “The conditions
were optimal for run
ning well.”
Taylor beat out a field
that included former
Olympian and ex-Duck
Annette Peters, 2000
Olympian Michiki
Shimizu of Japan and Jenny Crain, who
had America’s best time in 2001 heading
into Saturday’s meet, which was held in
cool, windy conditions.
Highlighting the collegiate action at the
Tu rn to Women’s, page 16