Oregon daily emerald., May 23, 2002, Image 9

Sports Editor:
Adam Jude
adamjude@dailyemerald.com
Thursday, May 23,2002
True athlete,
true passion
■ From high expectations to disappointment to
enjoyment: In the end, Annie Pogue has no regrets
By Adam Jude
Oregon Daily Emerald
Annie Pogue is indefinable, yet recognizable.
Enigmatic yet charismatic. Maybe even a bit
problematic.
However you choose to define her, and re
gardless of how she chooses to define herself on any giv
en day, Pogue’s traits mold one undeniable figure: a true
athlete.
Pogue is described in Oregon’s 2000 track and field media
guide as one of the school’s “most explosive athletes.” Not
surprising considering her double duty with the volleyball
and track teams.
Yet, as she wraps up her fifth and final year at Oregon, she
never fulfilled her athletic eligibility. But that doesn’t mean
she didn’t want to.
In retrospect, the 23-year-old Pogue says everything has
worked out for the best. She has no regrets about her time in
Eugene, even after being excused from the volleyball team
in the spring of 2000.
“It was kind of an awkward situation,” Pogue said of Ore
gon’s coaching change, which replaced Cathy Nelson with
former Idaho mentor Carl Ferreira in January 2000.
Despite ranking fourth on the team in kills and second hit
ting percentage in 1999, Pogue said she did not fall into Fer
reira’s new plan for the team. “We didn’t get along,” she said
of her relationship with the new coach.
Subsequently, Pogue was one of several players from Nel
son’s roster released by Ferreira, which also included Carli
Halligan.
“We were both really bummed out,” Pogue said, also re
ferring to Halligan. “At that first fall camp when we weren’t
playing any more, we made the team a care package and
watched a whole practice. At that time, it was really hard for
us, and we were heartbroken.”
The disappointment, however, didn’t last long. Pogue and
Halligan joined the school’s Club Sports volleyball team,
where they won the club national title in 2001 and 2002.
Turn to Pogue, page 12
Emerald
In 1999, Annie Pogue (16) was one of the top offensive threats for the Oregon volleyball team. After
being released, however, she joined the Club Sports team and won two national championships.
Bakke, Holliday both wait on NCAA bubble
Brandon Holliday is 24th nationally in the 400 hurdles, and today he will
find out whether he’s headed to Louisiana for the NCAA Championships.
■ Six Ducks expect to make the
NCAA Championships, but two
athletes learn their fate today
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
In March, the term “bubble” is
thrown around in reference to college
basketball teams that are on the brink
of making the NCAA Tournament.
Now, several athletes from the Ore
gon men’s track and field team are on
the bubble.
Nick Bakke, the Oregon sopho
more and surprise winner of the Pa
cific-10 Conference javelin title on
Saturday, sits in 22nd position na
tionally after his 21-foot personal
best. He and hurdler Brandon Holli
day will wait anxiously today for the
NCAA to hand down final decisions
on who will qualify for the national
championships.
“Right now it’s up in the air,” Bakke
said Wednesday. “I’ll be training right
up until I know.”
The NCAA takes at least 16 ath
letes in each event, often more if the
marks in that event are particularly
good. Five Oregon athletes are safely
within the 16-athlete limit, while Ja
son Slye and Eric Logsdon are
ranked 31st and 35th, respectively,
and are too low on the list to expect
qualification. But Bakke and Holli
day, who are ranked 24th nationally,
can only keep all fingers crossed that
their fields are expanded.
“I’ll be disappointed if I don’t go,
but I won’t be heartbroken because I
ended the season with a bang,”
Bakke said.
Holliday and Bakke might have an
other chance to move up the list, if
them are unable to
compete. Coaches
will confirm ath
letes from their
teams this morn
ing, and those de
cisions will affect
the lists below
them. Oregon
coach Martin Smith will have to de
clare John Stiegeler unfit to compete
in the javelin because of an injury, so
Bakke will at least move to 21st on
the national list. He could move up
further if other teams have similar
situations.
Even if Bakke misses the cut, he
says he’ll hold on to his Pac-10 cham
pionship.
“I haven’t had time to sit down and
think about it,” Bakke said of his title.
athletes above
Turn to Track, page 10
Track star
Jones opts
for return
to ‘Pre’
■ Marion Jones, a veteran of the
Prefontaine Classic, is a last
minute addition as she looks to
add a seventh title to her resume
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
Marion Jones is six-for-six in
events she has competed in at the
Prefontaine Classic Grand Prix.
Since 1998, the Los Angeles native
has won two 100 titles, two 200 ti
tles, and has even two more in the
long jump at Hayward Field.
And until Wednesday, it was
thought that her
perfect record
would stay the
same until the
29th version of
the Pre Classic.
Not anymore.
The 26-year
old graduate of
North Carolina
was announced
Wednesday as
the top entrant in
the 100, amid speculation she would
fail to make an appearance at Hay
ward for the first time since 1997.
In a Prefontaine field that in
cludes distance runner Hicham El
Guerrouj, pole vaulter Stacy Dragi
la and hurdles legend Gail Devers,
Jones stands out. In addition to the
six top finishes at the Prefontaine
Classic, she has won five Olympic
medals — all coming from the Syd
ney Olympics in 2000.
Just before Jones proved her suc
cess in Sydney, she won the 100 at
the Prefontaine, but with a time that
wasn’t satisfactory.
“There weren’t too many things I
liked about the 100,” Jones said after
the 2000 Pre. “The start was horrible,
and the transition was not very good
... but that all has to get better.”
It did, and Jones went on to be
come the world record holder as the
woman with the most medals at a
single Olympics.
The 2000 woman of the year, as se
lected by the Associated Press, ESPN
and Reuters, Jones holds the Pre
fontaine record in the 200 (21.81) —
set in 1999 — and the long jump (23
11.75), earned during her inaugural
trip to the meet in 1998.
She also holds the Hayward Field
record in both events.
In her quest to win her seventh ti
tle at the Pre Classic, Jones will run
against the No. 2 sprinter in the
world, LaTasha Jenkins, and Ja
maica’s Tanya Lawrence, the eighth
best in the world.
The 29th annual Pre Classic begins
1 p.m. Sunday at Hayward Field.
ESPN2 will show a delayed broad
cast at 8 p.m.
E-mail sports reporter Hank Hager
at tiankhager@dailyemerald.com.
JONES