Women’s track eyes future
■ Despite a young team,
Oregon had high hopes for
this season that were not met
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon women’s track and
field was once synonymous with
success and dominance.
From 1981-85, the Ducks won
the Pacific-10 Conference every
year and finished in the top five
at the NCAA
Champi
onships,
even win
ning the na
tional title
in 1985.
This year,
as the Ducks
were in the middle of rebuilding,
Oregon hit the opposite end of
the success spectrum.
The Ducks finished eighth in
the Pac-10, not their worst-ever
finish, but very close to last sea
son’s last-place showing. Then,
at the NCAA meet — at Hayward
Field, no less — Oregon scored
only two points and finished
60th overall in the country.
It was the Ducks’ worst show
ing since they failed to send any
athletes to the meet in 1986.“We
had hoped for more at the
NCAAs,” Oregon head coach
Tom Heinonen said.
So how does Heinonen meas
ure a season filled with disap
pointment, low scores and shat
tered dreams?
“I think we made what people
might view as small strides to
wards success,” Heinonen said.
“There were significant things
that happened, that those inside
the program know we’re poised
to make a much bi'ggef stride
soon.”
The future is relatively bright
for the team. A slew of new re
cruits — especially in the field
events — should continue to
build on the Ducks’ newfound
field success.
And this year’s team is young,
without a doubt. Of the four ath
letes who qualified for the
NCAA Championships, one was
a freshman, two were sopho
mores and one was a junior.
Heinonen said he takes comfort
in knowing those four will only
be more mature next year.
Mary Etter, a sophomore dis
cus thrower, was one of those
Adam Amato Emerald
Oregon’s Charyl Weingarten is one of the many Ducks with high hopes for next year.
four athletes who should come
back stronger next year.
“It was a big shock,” said Etter,
who didn’t make the finals in
her event. “When you go
through 11 months of rigorous
training and all those meets, you
don’t expect that. Next year, I’ll
probably prepare a little more.”
Niki Reed, who also didn’t
make the finals of the pole vault
despite being ranked 10th in the
nation heading in, said she will
redshirt next year’s outdoor sea
son.
Other top returners include
Sarah Malone and Charyl Wein
garten in the javelin, Jordan Mc
Daniels in the throwing events,
Eri Macdonald in the distances,
Ann Sullivan in the hurdles and
Amanda Brown in the long
jump. Of that group, Malone and
Weingarten are the only athletes
with NCAA Championship expe
rience.
Malone and Reed are the only
two Oregon athletes with a little
season left. The pair of perform
ers will compete at the U.S.A.
Track and Field Championships
in Eugene in two weeks. Reed
said she is looking forward to
the event.
“It’s another big meet to try
and do well at,” Reed said. “It’s
encouraging to see other women
jumping 14 and 15 feet. It lets
me know it’s possible to do it.”
Etter’s season best is just short
of the qualifying mark for U.S.A.
meet, but she still may ^et a
chance to compete.
While it’s hard to measure
team success on the track, this
season Oregon undoubtedly
failed the team test. Weak show
ings at the Pac-lOs and NCAAs
made the message clear for the
Ducks: Rebuilding takes its toll.
“It’s easy to talk about getting
back on track,” Heinonen said.
“Now we’ve got to go out and
show what we’re capable of. I
think there’s some determination
there to do that.”
Oregon will host the U.S.A.
Championships June 21-24 be
fore preparing for next fall’s
cross country season.
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