Sports Editor:
Hank Hager
hankhager@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
-Oregon Daily Emerald
SPORTS
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Oregon hurdler quietly gets job done
A.K. Ikwuakor has spent most of his first
season at Oregon succeeding under the radar
By Jon Roetman
Sports Reporter
A.K. Ikwuakor is having one of the more successful seasons
of any Oregon men's track and field athlete.
It's just that nobody outside of the program knows about it.
The sophomore transfer from Colorado specializes in the
110 and 400 meter hurdles, scoring points for Oregon in both
during the Pacific-10 Conference Championships 10 days ago.
His accomplishments, however, have gone mostly unnoticed
as the Ducks feature two of the conferences best hurdlers.
While Ikwuakor placed third at Pac-lOs in the 110-hurdles
with his second fastest wind legal time of the season (14.26
seconds), most of the recognition went to teammate Eric
Mitchum, who won the event with a time of 13.62.
While Ikwuakor scored a point for the Ducks by finishing
eighth in the 400 hurdles (54.46), the attention went to team
mate Brandon Holliday, who finished fourth with a personal
best time of 50.52.
"I've taken a lot of second places be
- hind those guys, but I consider myself
|y| jT jpjj f CJ lucky to compete against some of the
best in the country," Ikwuakor said. "I
• just went to Pac-lOs looking to score
some points. I didn't want to be in the
spotlight or anything, I just wanted to
get the job done."
Ikwuakor's contributions to the team don't go unnoticed
by his teammates.
"He's the silent hero of this team," Mitchum said of Ik
wuakor. "He doesn't get the pub(licty) that Brandon and I get,
but he's always here doing his job."
While Ikwuakor hasn't experienced the success of Mitchum
or Holliday, Oregon sprints coach Dan Steele said all the 6
foot-4 speedster needs to do to run similar times is improve
on his technique.
"A.K. believes he can beat those guys," Steele said. "But
technically, he's not good. He has a long way to go, but he
does have the ability to do some phenomenal things on the
track to keep him in races.
"When he gets his timing down, he can rip through those
hurdles faster than anyone on the team. The problem is,
when his timing isn't there, he tends to get off balance and
lose his rhythm."
Ikwuakor will focus solely on the 110 hurdles for the NCAA
West Regional Qualifier this weekend. He will enter the event
as the fifth seed, and if he can hold his ground, he will make a
trip to the NCAAs.
While he hasn't bettered the times he set during his fresh
man season at Colorado (14.10 in the 110 hurdles, 51.99 in
the 400 hurdles), he said qualifying for nationals would make
the season a successful one.
"I'm going to say my season was average or great," Ikwuakor
said. "I might not have hit my times from last season, but I'm
Turn to QUIETLY, page 10
Lauren Wimer Senior photographer
A.K. Ikwuakor, seen earlier this year, scored points in two events for Oregon at the Pac-lOs.
Erik R. Bishoff Photographer
Daria Panova, seen here earlier this season, lost in the first round of the NCAA Individual
Championships on Monday. It came after she helped lead the Ducks to the NCAA team tournament.
Panova, Dieskova
downed early in
NCAA Individuals
The two losses force the Ducks out of the NCAA
Individuals on the first day in Athens, Ga.
By Clayton Jones
Freelance Reporter
Daria Panova's quest for an NCAA Individual Tennis Champi
onship was cut short Monday when Middle Tennessee State's
Manon Kruse upset her, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the first round of the
NCAA Individual Championships in Athens, Ga.
_ Panova, the 12th-ranked player in
■ i &*** the nation, started to falter in the sec
s'-^ U IV. ond set after the score was tied at four.
| kNNIS 41st-ranked Kruse took control af
_ ter that, losing only one game the rest
of the match.
"I had a chance in the second set when it was tied at four, but I
didn't serve well the rest of the match," Panova said.
Panova and Kruse had to wait for the match to start because an
Turn to DOWNED, page 8
Hank Hager
Behind the dish
Williams
comes
full circle
at Oregon
She epitomized the Jody Runge era at
Oregon.
Fiery, hard-working, not afraid to say
what was on her mind, Shaquala
Williams was an integral part of Oregon
lore during an eight-year NCAA Tourna
ment run.
Williams was talented. Maybe ar
guably the best player to come to the
Ducks in the last decade.
There was something about her that
suggested Pacific-10 Conference Freshman
of the Year. Or Pac-10 Player of the Year.
How about Associated Press Honor
able Mention All-American? Does that
sound good?
With Williams, it did. Whether that
came during her freshman, sophomore
or junior seasons. And all three did, in
that order.
That was then, almost a distant mem
ory for an Oregon team that has missed
the postseason for two straight seasons.
And this is Williams now, a veteran of
the WNBA but one that is ready to pack
it all in for something different, some
thing outside the realm of athletics.
Try Shaquala Williams, Oregon law
student.
It fits.
And it will have an expected three-year
ring to it when she steps onto campus as
a first-year law student in August.
Turn to HAGER, page 9