REGIONAL
continued from page 7
well.
"The implementation of regionals also al
lows athletes who might not have qualified
for nationals otherwise, to get one more
competitive meet."
Last season's regional qualifiers brought
mixed reviews from coaches and athletes,
with the biggest gripe usually being the tim
ing of the meet.
"I don't like the regional system at all,"
Oregon throws coach Lance Deal said. "It's
hard on the athletes. When Pac- 10s, region
als and nationals are all two weeks apart from
each other, it's hard to peak and maintain a
high level of performance." '
UCLA men's track and field head coach Art
Venegas said he is also concerned about the
health of his athletes.
"We were opposed to the regional, but
once it passed we wholeheartedly have to
support it," said Venegas, considered one of
the top throws coaches in the country. "It's
important that we do as well as we can, but
we have to be careful of using the athletes
properly in terms of nationals. We'll have sev
eral athletes not doubling or trying to get as
many points as they can because they need to
be ready for (NCAAs)."
Another timing issue that athletes have
with the regional system is the disruption of
their class schedules. The NCAA meet, which
was held in late May in 2002, now falls dur
ing finals week for Oregon students after be
ing forced back due to regionals. Athletes
from Texas, on the other hand, who have
been done with class since mid-May, are
forced to wait around for the national cham
pionship meet to arrive.
"I find it to be a little bit annoying because
it draws the season out a little bit longer,"
Oregon women's javelin thrower Sarah Mal
one said. "My biggest peeve is that now na
tionals fall on finals week. Trying to get
things worked out with your teachers is diffi
• cult."
Malone enters the weekend ranked third in
the nation (179 feet, 7 inches) and second in
the West.
Not all feedback has been negative. Ore
gon pole vaulter Tommy Skipper said he en
joys every chance he gets to step onto the run
way and compete. The freshman has worked
hard lately, winning
the Pacific-10 Confer
ence decathlon and
pole vault champi
onships, but is still in
favor of having the ex
tra meet to improve I
his technique.
"I think it's awe
some," Skipper said.
"We just got out of Pac
10s and there's a lot of
people fired up to
come back and show
they can do better. A
lot of people are hun- 1
gry for that next meet because they didn't do
as well as they would have liked to. That's 1
where I stand personally; I'm hungry to jump j
again. 1 take a week off and that's too long. For |
me, the meet, a couple of weeks later, works
out perfectly."
After competition this weekend, Bockel
man said the regional system will be reviewed
by the NCAA to search for needed improve
ments. This year's regional sites include Flori
da (Gainesville) in the East, Louisiana State in
the Mideast, Texas A&M in the Midwest and
Cal State Northridge in the West. The cham
pionship meet will be held June 9-12 at Mike
A. Meyers Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Bockelman said that after two years of the
system being in place, many of those who
were stuck between supporting and opposing
the regionals will likely lean towards favoring
the system.
Oregon enters competition this weekend
with several athletes in position to advance |
to the NCAAs. Jumps coach Bill Lawson said |
there's nothing an athlete or coach can do to |
change the system at this point and it will
likely be the schools who can best adapt that
will come out victorious.
"I think the good coaches will prevail,"
Lawson said. "The good coaches, who sys- 1
tematically peak their athletes correctly, with
out injury, are going to be the one's who get
them through to the national meet. I've never 1
been a big fan of the regional qualifying sys- |
tern, however, we're learning to work within
that system and we're going to take as big an
advantage with it as we can."
Contact the sports reporter
atjonroetman@dailyemerald.com.
o
Oregon Media Services
Oregon jumps coach
Bill Lawson said the
regional system
presents coaches with
challenges and
whoever makes the
best of the situation
will come out on top.
The regional system
began last year and is
held in tour separate
quadrants-the West
(Cal State Northridge),
Mideast (Louisiana
State), Midwest
(Texas A&M) and
East (Florida).
SPORTS BRIEFS
Wenslow earns
CoSIDA award
Oregon golfer Therese Wenslow
was named to the CoSIDA Academic
Ail-District VIII At-Large second team
Thursday.
The Bunkeflostrand, Sweden native
was Oregon's No. 3 golfer during the
2003-04 season, claiming a 77.1 scor
ing average. She carried a 4.02 grade
point average in business administra
tion this year.
White resigns from
Oregon softball
Oregon assistant coach Mike White
resigned his post with Duck softball
Thursday, citing a desire to spend time
with his family and pursue other in
terests, which includes running his in
vestment company.
'This has been a great opportunity
for me," White said in a release. "To be
a part of an Oregon program that has
steadily become one of the nation's
top teams is an honor. There is a solid
foundation and I have confidence in
our pitching staff and our team that
they will continue to build on what
success we have started."
The pitchers White tutored in his
two seasons at Oregon include 2003
third-team All-American Andrea Vid
lund and 2004 first-team All Pacific
10 Conference pitcher Ani Nyhus.
Current sophomore Amy Harris set
the single-season strikeout record
with 180 in 2003, which was then
broken by Nyhus with 202 this past
season.
"Having Mike as a part of the re
building process was invaluable to
our program," Oregon head coach
Kathy Arendsen said. "His experience
as a premier player has helped devel
op continued success over the past
two seasons and our players respect
him. We hope to have him involved
in our program as we more forward."
White, who was born in Welling
ton, New Zealand, became a United
States citizen in 1994 and went 2-0
with a 0.89 ERA for the USA team at
the 2000 World Championships. That
club earned a bronze medal.
White, 42, and his wife, Lisa, have
three daughters: Nyree (11), Kenzie
(8) and Sidney (7).
"Our family will stay in Eugene be
cause we are happy here," White said.
"If it is possible, I would still like to
stay connected with the Oregon pro
gram in some capacity."
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