Willamette Invitational awaits Oregon women
The Ducks compete for
the second time in a week
and seek consistency
Scott Archer
Freelance Reporter
Oregon is back on the trails
again Saturday, exactly one week
after the team competed in the
Sundodger Invitational in Seattle.
Oregon again heads north on
Interstate 5, this time to compete
in the Willamette Invitational in
Salem at Bush Park.
The Ducks look to continue
their early season success. Senior
Magdalena _
Sandoval,
who fin- IWL
ished sec- CROSSCOUNTRY
ond at the __
Sundodger
Invitational, is set to continue af
ter her quality start.
Overall, the team would like
more solid contributions from
younger runners.
"We need to improve on
depth," first-year head coach
Mamie Mason said. "The
Willamette race will give us a
chance to work on that. It's an
adjustment. It's a new program
and my athletes now work with a
new coach."
A feeling-out process must be
expected. Mason has only two col
lege coaching meets under her
belt. The former high school har
rier coach took over halfway
through the summer, meaning
adjustments will have to be made
on the fly.
And although last Saturday's
meet went well for Sandoval,
some things still need to be im
proved on.
"We need to work out some
kinks and get back in the feel of
the more pressure situations,"
Sandoval said.
Despite having two individu
als finish in the top five, the
Ducks only finished fourth last
week, raising some concerns
about where the remaining
points will come from.
Teams are scored according to
how the team finishes. Runners
are scored on their finish — not
counting the noncollegiate run
ners — and are assigned a point
value for their finish in the race.
The best score possible is a 15,
and only the top five times count
toward the score.
Oregon will be without one of
its star runners from last season;
Laura Harmon will redshirt the
season.
Eri Macdonald helped fill the
void left by 1 larmon by finishing
fifth in the Sundodger Invitation
al. Harmon, however, did com
pete last weekend, but was count
ed as an unattached. Her score
didn't count for or against the
Ducks.
Harmon finished ninth overall.
Tournament officials are ex
pecting approximately 1,300 run
ners as teams from all over the
West and Canada are expected to
compete. The day's activities in
clude four separate races: two for
women and two for men.
On the women's side of the
meet, tournament officials have
clumped together Division-I
teams, open and club teams, and
many junior college squads.
Several notable schools com
peting include Marquette, Port
land State, Hawaii and Iowa.
The Ducks will be halfway
through their season after Satur
day's race. Oregon will take near
ly a month off while preparing for
the Pacific-10 Conference Cham
pionship in Pullman, Wash., that
will take place on Nov. 1.
Oregon, depending on how the
team runs, will take part in the
NCAA Western Regional Champi
onships in Portland on Nov. 15.
That will be followed by the
NCAA Cross Country Champi
onships in Cedar Falls, Iowa on
Nov. 24.
The 5,000-meter race in Salem
is set for 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Scott Archer is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
Lauren Wimer Photographer
Sophomore Eleanor Gordon and the rest of the Ducks travel to Salem on Saturday for the Willamette Invitational.
Our Mistake. YOUR PfflCEBREAK!” WE ARE
TWIN MATTS
$109
QUEEN SET
AMERICAN MATTRESS
WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD
KING KOIL
FIRM SUPPORT
TWIN SET s199°°
FULL SET s269°°
QUEEN SET s299°°
10*Year Warranty
-M.—
KING KOIL
SUPER PLUSH
TWIN SET $259°°
FULL SET $299°°
QUEEN SET $359°°
KING SET $459°°
10-Year Warranty
KING KOIL
PILLOW TOP
TWIN SET $299°°
FULL SET *359°°
QUEEN SET s399°°
KING SET $599°°
10-Year Warranty
016893
jl AMERICAN
MATTRESS
MANUFACTURING
4075 w. 1 ith • 343-2690
Monday - Saturday 9-6 • Sunday 11-5
SAVE $$$
BUY USED TEXTS