Oregon Daily Emerald
Friday, May 20, 2005
“Isiah Thomas is building a championship
team.... Too bad it’s in San Antonio. ”
Charles Barkley on Nazr Mohammed
■ In my opinion
STEPHEN MILLER
OFF THE CROSSBAR
State is last
hurrah for
high school
track talents
Everything to do with high school is in
the past.
The mediocre SAT scores good enough for ad
mission to Oregon are now just forgotten numbers.
But there’s no reason — other than a Thirsty
Thursday hangover — why we members of
higher education can’t revisit the days of
jammed lockers, spitwads and ice cream
scooped mashed potatoes.
How, you ask?
Well, though none of the items mentioned
above will be available, it just so happens that the
2005 Oregon Tfack and Field State Champi
onships is in Eugene for Class 3A and 4A compe
titions. Hayward Field, which recently received a
facelift in the form of a distinguished entrance,
will hold the prep showcase today and Saturday.
This is where the cream-of-the-crop prep ath
letes can show that their talents extend beyond
accurately tossing apples out of school bus win
dows and consuming mounds of concession
stand hot dogs.
“In high school, State is like what Nationals is
to (collegiate athletes) now,” said Oregon thrower
Bree Fuqua, who won five prep state titles in
Montana. “State was always a really big deal. It
was your last meet of the year and it’s where
everything comes together. ”
“When you sit down at the beginning of the
year and write your goals, every kid writes down
where they want to place in State. For the kids
that are here this weekend, it’s probably a culmi
nation of their entire season in that one meet, def
initely for the seniors.”
That makes it sound like there’s a lot at stake,
and there is.
“College coaches just iook at the State results,”
Fuqua said. “They just check all the State results
and see how people competed at big meets, be
cause it tells them a lot about what kind of com
petitor they are. It’s kind of a big deal in more
ways than some of the kids think about, but
hopefully it’s just fun for them and competitive.”
For those without the added pressure of try
ing to impress collegiate coaches, it’s the end of
the road — their 15th minute. Oregon senior
Sarah Malone has some advice for competitors
at State: “Take it all in. For most athletes, it’s
their last hoorah.”
For those wanting to advance to the next level:
“Enjoy the easy ride while you can; it’s a lot dif
ferent and a lot harder in college,” Malone said.
Malone competed at the State Championships
all four years of high school. She said it was “a
preview of what life was going to be like from
then on.”
The Newberg High School graduate said she
will be at Hayward Field this weekend to wel
come two javelin throwers from her alma mater
who will be filling her shoes. Seniors Rachel
Yurkovich and Cyrus Hostetler both have plans
to compete for Oregon next season. Yurkovich
holds a 15-foot advantage as the state’s top fe
male javelin thrower. Hostetler owns the third
best toss in the state and is only three inches off
the top mark.
Plenty of other former Oregon prep champions
are currently competing for the Ducks.
MILLER, page 10A
UO kicks off inaugural World Cup
Eight teams anil compete in this weekend's soccer tournament, which
will donate all its proceeds to the National Parkinson's Foundation
BY ION ROETMAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
Fundraising, education and soccer passion
will collide in Eugene this weekend as the
Warsaw Sports Marketing Club and the Korean
Student Association host the inaugural Univer
sity of Oregon World Cup.
The two-day event will feature eight teams
composed mostly of University students and
members of the surrounding community and
will be held at the main turf field next to the
Student Recreation Center. All proceeds will
benefit the National Parkinson’s Foundation.
The eight teams will be split into two groups
of four, with play starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Play will continue through Sunday, with the
top two teams from each group advancing to
the playoffs.
SOCCER, page 12A
THE FIRST STEP
Zanf. Rite | Photographer
The Oregon softball team (34-23 overall) begins its quest for the Women's College World Series in Norman, Okla., at 3 p.m. today against Sun Belt Conference
champion No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette (50-8). The Ducks are making their third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament and are led by ace Amy Harris and her 1.16 ERA.
It will be the last chance for seniors such as Erin Goodell, above, to make it to the World Series after being only one game away the past two seasons.
■ Men's track and field
Personal bests reign at Pac-10 tourney
Danii i i i Hickey I Photo editor
Oregon sprinter Kedar Inico, right, along with teammate Matt Scherer scored critical points for the Ducks in the
2005 Pacific-10 Championships last week. Inico took home the 400-meters title with a personal best time of
45 minutes, 61 seconds.
Paul Etter in the hammer throw
and Kedar Inico in the 400 led
Oregon in its 152-point fin ish
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
Oregon’s 2005 Pacific-10 Conference champi
onship last week paid tribute to the depth and tal
ent the Ducks have showcased all season.
In Los Angeles, Duck competitors finished in
the top five in 16 of the 21 events, all scoring four
points or more, en route to a school-record
152 points tallied at the conference meet.
Buoyed by the strength of the sprint corps for
much of the season, Oregon got strong and unex
pected performances from the field events, led by
the return of Lars Mueller Laursen. The Copen
hagen, Denmark, native finished second in the
javelin, behind California’s Paul Teinert, after sit
ting out the entire outdoor season recovering
MEN, page 10A