INSIDE: CLASSIFIEDS, MARKET RECAP & WEATHER
B
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021
bendbulletin.com/sports
COLLEGE
TRACK & FIELD
MEN’S COLLEGE
BASKETBALL
Alpine Skiing
Ducks men’s milers
set indoor records
The top-ranked
Oregon men’s track and
field team continued to
rewrite the collegiate
record book Friday after-
noon.
Two weeks after the
men’s distance medley
relay team ran the fast-
est time in NCAA history,
the Ducks’ distance crew
pulled off an even bigger
stunner.
Senior Cooper Teare
and sophomore Cole
Hocker recorded the two
fastest indoor collegiate
miles, with junior Charlie
Hunter just seconds be-
hind, during the opening
day of the Tyson Invita-
tional in Fayetteville, Ark.
Teare finished in 3 min-
utes, 50.39 seconds, just
a couple steps ahead of
Hocker, who finished in
3:50.55.
Both times broke for-
mer Oregon star Edward
Cheserek’s previous col-
legiate record of 3:52.01
from 2017.
Hunter, who ran a
then-NCAA-leading
and Australian record of
3:54.54 on the same track
during the Razorback In-
vitational on Jan. 30, reset
his personal best with a
time of 3:53.49.
Those four are now No.
1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6,
respectively, on the colle-
giate all-time list.
Teare also became the
seventh-fastest man in
the indoor mile in world
history, and Hocker
eighth fastest.
The men’s invitational
mile on Friday was Ore-
gon-only race and set up
to get Teare and Hocker
the U.S. Olympic Trials
standard in the 1,500 of
3:37.50. Mission accom-
plished and then some,
as Teare’s time converts to
3:33.32 and Hocker’s con-
verts to 3:33.47.
On Saturday, Hunter
overcame teammate Luis
Peralta and ran right to
the top of the Ducks’ re-
cord book in the 800 me-
ters during the final day
of the meet .
Hunter’s time of 1 min-
ute, 45.59 seconds was
good enough for the win
and the school record,
bettering Andrew Wheat-
ing’s previous record of
1:46.36. Hunter also be-
came the No. 5 collegiate
performer all-time in the
indoor 800.
The victory was one of
three individual wins Sat-
urday for the Ducks, who
finished fifth in the men’s
team standings with 60
points and third in the
women’s standings with
62 points.
Texas (82) and Arkan-
sas (140) won the men’s
and women’s titles, re-
spectively.
Freshman Emmanuel
Ihemeje continued his
impressive Oregon debut
with his second straight
win in the men’s triple
jump.
Ihemeje jumped 53
feet, 7¾ inches to get the
victory. The only other
mark in Oregon history
longer than that came
when Ihemeje set the
school record two weeks
ago at the Razorback Invi-
tational when he jumped
53-10¼.
Hannah Reinhardt
won the women’s 5,000
in a personal best of
16:01.67.
— The (Eugene)
Register-Guard
SOFTBALL
INSIDE
• Ducks continue hot
start in opening week-
end tournament. Sports
briefing, B2
Duarte’s 3
lifts Oregon
to 63-61 win
over Arizona
BY JOHN MARSHALL
AP Basketball Writer
Rest and
recovery
Gabriele Facciotti/AP file
Tommy Ford, of Bend, prepares to start the second run of a World Cup giant slalom in Santa Caterina Valfurva, Italy, in December. On Jan. 9,
Ford suffered multiple injuries during a crash at a World Cup race in Adelboden, Switzerland.
After a violent crash cut short his stellar World Cup season,
Tommy Ford has been home in Bend nursing multiple injuries
INSIDE
BY MARK MORICAL
The Bulletin
T
• Switzerland’s Corinne Suter takes gold in
women’s downhill at world championships
in Italy, B3
ommy Ford has
no memory of the
horrific crash that
ended his World
Cup skiing season on Jan. 9.
He does remember waking up in
a Bern, Switzerland hospital, and
learning of the injuries to his head,
right knee and left wrist.
“I don’t remember the crash at
Sarah Anne Brunson/U.S. Ski Team
all or the next hour,” Ford said in
an interview with The Bulletin
last week. “I don’t remember the
helicopter ride that I apparently
had.”
Bend’s Tommy Ford, left, celebrated with
girlfriend Laurenne Ross after Ford won
a giant slalom World Cup race in Beaver
Creek, Colorado, in December 2019.
Ford, who can get around on crutches
but cannot stay on his feet for long, has
been back home in Bend for the past
few weeks, getting help and support
from his parents and his older brother.
“You learn what a support system
is, or become more aware of it, when
you’re less capable,” Ford said.
The 31-year-old Ford — a two-time
Olympian who was born and raised in
Bend — was in the midst of a banner
2020-21 season, posting four World
Cup top-10 results in giant slalom, in-
cluding a podium finish in Santa Cater-
ina, Italy.
He had qualified for the alpine skiing
world championships, currently being
staged in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
One of the top ranked racers at the
World Cup giant slalom race in Adel-
boden, Switzerland, Ford crashed three
gates from the finish after going wide
into rough snow beside the course, ac-
cording to the Associated Press.
His skis touched and he fell forward,
sliding down the hill first on his neck
and left shoulder.
Ford knocked over a course-side
worker before coming to a stop close to
safety nets beside the finish.
See Ford / B3
TUCSON, Ariz. —
Oregon’s final shot was
supposed to be by Will
Richardson in the lane.
When things broke down,
the Ducks worked the ball
around to Chris Duarte.
Left open, the senior
guard delivered, giving
Oregon a six-game winning
streak against one of the
Pac-12’s top teams.
Duarte hit a 3-pointer
with 15.6 seconds left, Eu-
gene Omoruyi scored 19
points and the Ducks held
on to beat Arizona 63-61 on
Saturday.
“The play broke down.
We were trying to get Will
in the paint to make a play,”
Oregon coach Dana Alt-
man. “Will made a good
read and Chris made a big
shot.”
The Ducks and Wildcats
have played some high-
level, high-scoring games in
recent years.
The Ducks (12-4, 7-3
Pac-12) made the last stand.
With Oregon trailing 61-
60, Richardson drove along
the baseline and kicked the
ball out to the wing, where
Duarte knocked down a
3-pointer in front of the
Ducks’ bench. Oregon in-
tentionally fouled with 1.1
seconds left and Arizona
got the ball to Kerr Kriisa,
who missed a 3-pointer af-
ter being harassed by L.J.
Figueroa.
“It was a contested shot,”
Arizona coach Sean Miller
said. “The problem with
Chris Duarte’s shot in front
of their bench, it wasn’t con-
tested. He was wide open.
He makes a contested shot,
which he probably would
have, that’s fine, but you can’t
be wide open and he was.”
Azuolas Tubelis had 20
points to lead the Wildcats
(14-7, 8-7).
See Ducks / B3
TENNIS | AUSTRALIAN OPEN
NASCAR | DAYTONA 500
Is facing a Grand Slam great a
dream come true? A big loss? Both?
BY HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer
Ahead of his match against
Rafael Nadal at the Austra-
lian Open, Cameron Nor-
rie hit what sounded like all
of the right notes, the sorts
of sentiments that express a
healthy blend of respect and
confidence.
A bit intimidated, but not
too intimidated. A bit in awe,
but not too in awe.
It is a tricky balance when
someone of Norrie’s ilk —
ranked 69th and, until this
week, the owner of a grand
total of six wins in Grand
Slam matches — goes up
against someone of Nadal’s
stature on one of their sport’s
biggest stages.
Facing a great — any mem-
ber of the Big Three, say, or
Serena Williams — at a major
tournament offers plenty of
opportunity, of course: a mo-
ment in the spotlight; an en-
counter with an idol; a way to
measure yourself against the
best; a chance for a career-al-
tering result.
Or, more than likely, a
lopsided loss. And to some,
John Raoux/AP
Denny Hamlin, left, and Kyle Busch joke around in the garages during a
Daytona 500 practice session on Wednesday in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Andy Brownbill/AP
Cameron Norrie hits a forehand to Rafael Nadal during their third-
round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, on
Saturday.
that’s OK.
Norrie, a 25-year-old left-
hander who went to Texas
Christian University and rep-
resents Britain, spoke before
taking on Nadal at Rod Laver
Arena about the prospect of
“an unbelievable experience.”
About needing “to go after it
and enjoy every minute” of
Saturday’s third-round en-
counter.
He acknowledged Nadal is
“a legend” in one breath, and
in the next called the 2009
champion at Melbourne Park
“just another player” and
vowed to “show him what
I’ve got.”
See Tennis / B3
Denny Hamlin looking for
historic 3rd straight victory
BY JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
— Denny Hamlin, considered
perhaps the best NASCAR
driver without a Cup Series
championship, can look past
that hole on his record. He in-
stead points to a pair of South-
ern 500 trophies, a Bristol
night race victory, three road
course wins, six at Pocono and
the big daddy of them all, the
Daytona 500.
Hamlin has won NASCAR’s
crown jewel, the one race that
can define a driver’s career,
three different times and the
last two years. On Sunday, he
will attempt to become the first
to win three consecutive Day-
tona 500s, a feat that would
forever dull the disappoint-
ment of his championship fail-
ures.
See Daytona / B2