Oregon daily emerald., May 13, 2002, Image 9

Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamjude@dailyemerald.com
Monday, May 13,2002
Oregon Daily Emerald
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OREGON TWILIGHT
Kent takes
spotlight
at Twilight
■ While the current Ducks chill,
the future Duck thrills the crowd
at Saturday’s Oregon Twilight
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
If Jordan Kent is to be the savior
of Oregon men’s track and field, he
got off to a good start Saturday at
the Oregon Twilight.
He started by saving the day.
After a mostly anemic perform
ance from the Ducks at Hayward
Field, Kent, a senior at Churchill
High and Oregon’s top recruit for
next year, won the 200-meter dash
and the long jump in front of
3,346 fans. Hours after stepping
off the track, Kent attended his
senior prom.
“I just wanted to go out there and
: , ,tyrji my ngrvousness intjQ„pdrena
line,” Kent said. “I just really want
ed to have fun tonight.”
Kent hasn’t lost a 200 this season,
and that streak wasn’t broken by the
best efforts of current Duck speed
sters Sarnie Parker and Allan
Amundson. Parker and Kent battled
until the final 50 meters, when Kent
legged out the split-second victory.
“I was watching it unfold in
front of me,” said Amundson, who
finished fifth. “Those guys are
blazing.”
Kent ended the race with a
wind-aided time of 21.20 seconds,
which would have been a Pacific
• 10 Conference qualifier without
the wind and without Kent’s non
collegiate status.
“It’s too bad it was wind-aided,
but I’ll take a 21.2 any day,” Kent
said.
In the long jump, Kent won with
a wind-aided leap of 23 feet, 11
inches.
Turn to Men’s, page 12
Jonathan House Emerald
Jordan Kent, a senior from Eugene’s Churchill High School who has signed with the Ducks, won the
long jump and the 200-meter dash at the Oregon Twilight on Saturday.
Jonathan House Emerald
Oregon redshirt athlete Niki Reed goes up for a height at the Oregon
Twilight on Saturday. The senior competed unattached.
UO women impress
in final home meet
■The Oregon Twilight, the Ducks’ last home meet,
caps off a successful year for women’s track
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
The 3,346 in attendance Saturday at the Oregon Twilight
were able to see the Ducks in action for the final time this
season at Hayward Field. And Oregon didn’t disappoint.
Highlighted by Mary Etter and Amanda Brown’s two
wins each, the Oregon women took first in 11 events,
sweeping the throws and garnering one very important
Pacific-10 Conference qualifying mark.
Brown, who had failed to claim a qualifying mark in ei
ther the long jump or triple jump, did so confidently in the
former event.
With the West grandstand looking on, the junior jumped a
season best in the event, taking first with a mark of 19 feet 2
1/2 inches. She is the last Duck to claim a Pac-10 mark.
Making her accomplishment even more fulfilling,
Brown had suffered a hamstring injury before the season,
relegating her to lower marks while recovering.
“It feels so good to get that” Pac-10 mark, she said. “I
had kind of given up on myself on the year, and it was
Turn to Women’s, page 12
Oregon softball, McMurren finish season with win at Stanford
■ Senior Connie McMurren throws
a 4-0 shutout in her final game for
Oregon as the team ends its season
By Chris Cabot
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Oregon softball team closed its
season on a good note Saturday with a
4-0 win over No. 8 Stanford.
Before their final game victory in
the second game of a doubleheader
that improved their record to 24-30
overall and 2-19 in the Pacific-10
Conference, the Ducks dropped Game
1, 10-1, to Stanford (43-18 overall, 7
14 Pac-10) and a 3-2 contest to No. 5
California (48-19, 12-9 Pac-10) on the
road Friday.
“This is an amazing testament to this
^team,” Oregon head coach Brent Rincon
Sajid. “They truly never gave up and
were always ready to come out and win.
They just were not going to be denied in
the second game.”
In her final collegiate pitching per
formance, senior Connie McMurren
threw a gem against the Cardinal. Al
lowing just four hits
while striking out
two, McMurren
threw her 12th career
shutout — placing
her fourth all-time at
Oregon. McMurren
finished her career
with 439 strikeouts.
Oregon scored its
first run in the second when Rachel
Tommasini drove in Lakeesha Eversley
with a sacrifice fly. Eversley knocked in
the Ducks’ second run in the fifth with a
single that scored Lynsey Haij.
Turn to Softball, page 12
The Oregon softball
team closed out its
season with a 4-0
win over No. 8
Stanford on
Saturday. The
victory gave the
Ducks a final record
of 24-30 overall and
2-19 in the Pacitic
" 10 Conference. /