5-20-24 - Emerald Media Group - Duck Season

THE TRACK WADDLING Duck Season

Ducks track and field braved the rain and cold to host the Oregon Twilight meet

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The Oregon Ducks track and field team hosted the Oregon Twilight Meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on May 3, 2024. (Eric Becker/Emerald)

TRACKTOWN DOES ITS BEST TO PREPARE FOR US QUALIFIERS TRACKTOWN DOES ITS BEST TO PREPARE FOR US QUALIFIERS

Eugene is TrackTown; everyone knows it. The town hosting the U.S. Olympic trials for the fifth time in a row only further cements its legacy worldwide.

“We are thrilled once again to be the home of the U.S. Olympic trials,” UO President John Karl Scholz said in a Sept. 21, 2023 press release. “We call it Hayward Magic. It not only inspires breathtaking performances of current and future Olympians, but it also fosters meaningful partnerships in research and teaching and energizes fans, alumni and friends the world over.”

What “Hayward Magic” doesn’t account for is the inevitable strain and stress that will come with packed hotels and tourism spots.

“Although it was only just announced last Thursday,” a Citrus Magazine article said, “it has been assumed long enough by anyone who needs to be there that they [have] already booked all of the good, refundable Airbnbs.”

The strain of few affordable housing options is an irrefutable problem.

“Whoa, that could be bad,” UO student Matthew Licurse said of the conflicting issue.

“It’s hard for my parents to come visit during parents weekend,” UO student Quinnlyn Turnbull said. “I can’t even imagine if there are families and track fans coming to Eugene; it’ll be awful.”

Commencement will no doubt bring thousands of families to town, and that’s on any given year without

Eugene will no doubt be packed, so how will the city prepare for the influx of people?

a U.S. Olympic event happening.

The Hayward Inn and almost all Eugene hotels have no available rooms remaining.

Local shops like Hiron’s have already begun selling supplies such as backpacks for the inevitable rush that comes to town just as students are leaving.

And while UO students’ opinions of the qualifiers range from “there are qualifiers happening?” to “huh?”, the rest of Eugene is doing its best to prepare.

“There’s out-of-towners everywhere,” Eugene resident Jill Cole said with a laugh. “I do own an Airbnb which is nice when crazy stuff like that happens.”

Only making matters more hectic, UO’s commencement ceremony is on June 17, four days before the Olympic Trials begin.

“To ensure operational continuity, the UO will engage in an internal planning process and will work closely with TrackTown USA, which serves as the local organizing committee,” Around the O said in a release announcing the Trials.

Ticket prices have now been announced with tickets for day one of the event starting at $38 on Ticketmaster. Two days later, the cheapest tickets available are $68 apiece.

“That’s definitely a lot,” Cole said. “But I do understand the luster of seeing these athletes do their thing.”

Highlighting the event will be sixtime World Champion and Olympic Bronze Medalist Noah Lyles. An almost sure thing to qualify, Lyles was named last year’s World Athletics Male Track Athlete of the Year.

Alongside him will be twotime World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson, who will first be in Eugene for the Prefontaine Classic on May 25.

The qualifiers also serve as the National Championship for track, so the athletes will be competing against each other in a tremendously high-stakes fashion.

Minimal other announcements have been made available, despite the event being a little more than a month away.

And even once commencement is in the past, there will still be thousands of people trekking to Eugene during a typically slow season when college students are gone.

You got this, Eugene, and even if it’s hectic, the event is only… nine days long.

OREGON’S HEPTATHLON SQUAD REPRESENTS EVERYTHING TRACKTOWN WAS MEANT TO BE

The

Ducks’ women’s heptathlon squad has

dazzled in the

outdoor season

and provides a unique athletic background to the team

One thing characterized by big track meets are large, compound events testing every facet of an athlete’s ability.

In the winter, at the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invitational, the Ducks competed in the Pentathlon, which consisted of 60m hurdles, 800m run, long jump, high jump and shot put.

As winter turned to spring and the season moved outside, the pentathlon became the heptathlon.

The hurdles are extended to 100m, a 200m run added to the 800m, high jump, long jump, shot put and the final addition, javelin throw. The heptathlon is also a significant mental battle, as it spans over two days, with each event having no leeway to make mistakes.

Each event is scored for an overall total, which is based on how each competitor did in the event. For example, a 0.20 second difference in the 100m hurdles equates to about a 30-40 point difference between the two athletes.

Over the course of the event, those losses add up and those 0.20 seconds mean a whole lot when it’s the difference between gold and silver.

That’s exactly where the Ducks excel.

This weekend marked the final Pac-12 Outdoor Championship, and as history has shown, Oregon is looking to command another heptathlon leaderboard. The Ducks’ team of experienced upperclassmen is both the most successful and the team with the most members.

While one may think that “TrackTown USA” would obviously host the most heptathletes, that logic is mistaken. Heptathlon is not competed at every outdoor track event.

Heptathlons require a lot of different infrastructure for a variety of events to be completed. That means that each meet, even the

Oregon Twilight meet, may not have the capability to host all of those events to score for a heptathlon.

At the same time, the team needs to field athletes for every event, and due to their expansive skill sets, there isn’t always room for them to compete in the heptathlon.

Take heptathlete Colleen Uzoekwe, for example.

Uzoekwe last competed at the Twilight meet and placed first in the meet’s shot put.

Senior Taylor Chocek placed first in the 100m hurdles and was a part of the winning 4x400m relay team at the Oregon Preview, which also included Uzoekwe and another heptathlete, Gianna Bullock.

All three of them are currently competing in the heptathlon at the Pac-12 Championship in Boulder, Colo. Oregon simply has more chances than the other teams for the heptathlon.

The athleticism needed to achieve success in all seven events is incredible, and with the unique capabilities of each of the heptathletes, it provides Oregon with a plethora of athletes for any competitive event.

As the Pac-12 Championship comes to a close, it will almost assuredly be Oregon standing alone at the top, maybe top three or four of the heptathlon leaderboard.

This team has its eyes on the hometown showcase that will be the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in the first weekend of June.

This will end up being the real test for these Ducks, as they tend to compete against each other when in more regional competitions.

As it stands, the Ducks are primed to take at least three out of the top four spots in the conference title and move on to dominate as the season moves forward. All four of Oregon’s heptathletes have the capability to take a top medal in this contest, while the rest of the conference falls behind TrackTown.

THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF HAYWARD FIELD

After nearly a century, Hayward Field is only becoming more iconic

Hayward Field stands alone as the most iconic venue in American track and field history. It’s the home of one of the nation’s most successful programs, regularly plays host to national and international championships and serves as the symbolic home of the sport in TrackTown USA.

But its history stretches back over a century, getting its start as a football stadium until it was renovated into the Hayward Field it is today. It’s time to break down what Hayward Field is, has been and will become.

The history

Hayward Field has stood on Oregon’s campus since 1919, and it’s only grown in stature since then. It hosted its first NCAA Championship in 1962, and has hosted the tournament on 14 occasions since 1962. The nation runs, literally, through Eugene.

The Ducks have dominated here, too. The men of Oregon won back-to-back national titles in 2014 and 2015, led by distance runner Edward Cheserek and hurdler Devon Allen. The wWomen of Oregon haven’t found success on the national stage since 2017, but have dominated the conference scene after winning a three-peat of Pac-12 titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

A renovation aimed at “creat[ing] a ‘theater’ for track and field” commenced in 2018, and its completion in 2020 occurred one year after the century mark of its existence. The new structure, based on a desire for exceptional acoustics and an intimate atmosphere, has already hosted several national and international events, including the U.S. OIympic Team Trials in 2020, as well as the USA Track & Field Championships and the World Athletic Championships in 2022.

The present

It’s become a facility for all ages. In the past year alone, Hayward Field has played host to the Oregon Relays, one of the state’s high school championship meets, and the Eugene Marathon. Runners finished the half and full marathons on the track last month, entering along Agate Street and taking the final 200m alongside the grandstands.

It’s an unmistakable landmark — the torch that anchors the northeast corner of the facility is visible across the campus, and students spend sunny afternoons in the

shadow of the stadium’s arching roof. It’s as much a part of the land as Autzen Stadium or Matthew Knight Arena: a modern-day beacon of speed and endurance.

The future

Hayward Field is set to host the NCAA Championships for the 15th time this June, followed by the U.S. Olympic Trials later that month. Eugene will become the center of American track and field once again — and fans will be able to watch the nation’s best athletes compete in a world-class facility.

UO is undoubtedly the center of the sport for collegiate athletics, too. It boasts a pull that the best recruits have to acknowledge. The Ducks are expected to compete every year for the national championship, and a simple walk through Hayward Hall delivers on that promise — the rows of accolades stretch the length of the museum.

Opposite the public viewing area is the athletes’ training facility. It’s visible through the windows that open onto the recreational playing fields west of the stadium, but inside, it’s a haven for the students who ply their trade in Eugene. Included, too, is the university’s Department of Human Physiology, where Oregon’s best can work alongside the student-athletes whom their work benefits.

For the fans

Included in the stadium’s renovation was the creation of a museum in the belly of the facility. Open to the public four days a week, Hayward Hall houses the program’s trophies and exhibits that illustrate the iconic history of the ground.

Its entrance at the intersection of East 15th Avenue and Agate Street is framed by the names of the donors who fully funded the reconstruction. A walk through the hall is a stride through history: exhibits featuring former head coach Bill Bowerman’s innovations and Duck athletes’ achievements lie opposite NCAA Championship trophies and Olympic mementos within touching distance of visitors.

The front row of seats sits just feet from the outside lane, too. It’s all in service of bringing fans as close to the action as possible — and with all the action coming to Eugene, there’s no better place to see it.

OREGON TAKES ON THE twilight

The Oregon Ducks track and field team hosted the Oregon Twilight meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on May 3, 2024

OREGON’S FRESHMEN HAVE

MADE

ON THE TRACK AND FIELD TEAM OREGON’S FRESHMEN HAVE MADE AN

IMMEDIATE IMPACT

AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT

ON THE TRACK AND FIELD TEAM

The Ducks had a wealth of talent come in with their most recent freshman class

Bringing in new freshmen who can pick up where the University of Oregon’s track and field team has famously left off from previous seasons is an important step in keeping the program on the right track.

This year’s freshmen crop includes 37 freshmen, 10 women and 27 men. Twenty-one of the 37 freshmen between the men’s and women’s teams are distance runners, making up the majority of the freshmen class.

Some of these athletes have made an immediate impact on this season already for the Ducks. For the men’s team, Osawese Agbonkonkon has the highest mark on the team in the high jump this season, Benjamin Balazs recorded the best mark on the team for the 3000m steeplechase and Austin Milton had the best mark on the team in the javelin throw this season, according to the Track and Field Results Reporting System.

on the team or as part of a relay group. Eight freshmen competed in individual events for Oregon this season, but many of the events were still dominated by juniors and seniors on the team.

The Ducks have been led all season by a host of impressive upperclassmen, but the freshmen’s ability to come in and compete right

on the team, the development of younger athletes was able to be the focus over immediate production, which allowed any production to be a welcome surprise.

This permitted the freshmen class to shine this season with little to no expectations of them.

With the Pac-12 Championships happening recently, there were many standout performances from the Ducks as a team. Some of these performances came from the freshmen; one of the most notable came from Clute, who finished second in the women’s 3000m steeplechase on May 11.

In the relay events, Rodrick Pleasant was a part of the 4x100 group with the best time and James Harding and Rheinhardt Harrison were a part of the groups with the best times in both the 4x800 and Distance Medley Relay.

On the women’s team, the freshmen have made less of an immediate impact on the top end. Katie Clute holds the best time for the 3000m steeplechase, but no other freshman recorded a top time

away for both the men’s and women’s teams is a promising sign for the future of the programs. Although the women’s team was led by juniors and seniors in almost every event, that is not meant to detract from the performance of the freshmen, but rather a testament to the strength of the team as a whole.

With a lot of the top finishers in events this season coming from upperclassmen, and specifically seniors – the strength of this freshmen class will be on full display next season. With the talent currently

A strong showing from the field portion of the women’s team this season was spearheaded by the upperclassmen, as the freshmen on the team have only competed in track events this season. That means there will be a large hole to fill when many of those seniors graduate, whether or not any of the current freshmen will help fill in or if that duty will be left to some of the older members of the team.

However, what has been clearly shown is that both teams are in good hands with the next generation of Oregon track and field athletes. While some events will take more of a hit than others after graduation, the prestige of the Ducks in the sport will continue to be known as they make their move to the Big Ten Conference.

BREAKING DOWN THE OREGON TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES TO WATCH OUT FOR THIS SUMMER

Though the city of Eugene is TrackTown USA, track and field is an international sport. Ten out of 100 athletes on the Oregon track and field team represent countries outside the United States.

Several Oregon athletes have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in June and have the opportunity to head to the 2024 Olympics in Paris this summer. With a couple of the biggest track and field events approaching, multiple Ducks have an opportunity to represent both Oregon and their home countries this summer.

CHAMPIONS IN THE PAC-12 AND INTERNATIONALLY

DUCKS ACROSS THE POND

REPRESENTING THE “DOWN UNDER”

In addition to the Oregon athletes competing in Europe in the offseason, the Ducks also have Archie Noakes and Tomas Palfrey competing for Australia and James Harding representing New Zealand.

Palfrey earned points for the men of Oregon at the conference championships with his seventh-place finish in the 800 meters. In Australia, he secured multiple U20 titles in the New South Wales and the Australian 800 meters and 1,500 meters. Noakes is a three-time Australian U20 champion, but his titles came in distance running events like the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

The women of Oregon clinched a third straight Pac-12 Championship on May 12. International athletes were featured heavily among the list of Ducks, who scored points and won individual titles.

The team of Shana Grebo, Ella Clayton, Katriina Wright and Shaniya Hall won the women’s 4x400 relay at the 2024 Pac-12 Championships on May 12. Both Grebo and Clayton have experience representing their countries at international events.

Grebo won the Pac-12 Championship in 2023 for the women’s 400-meter hurdles. Coming from Ille-et-Vilaine, France, Grebo was dubbed the 2021 French Champion in the 400-meter hurdles.

Grebo also represented France in Eugene at the 2022 World Athletic Championships, where she helped it to a fifth-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. In July, she has a chance to run for France once again in her home country at the Olympics. Meanwhile, Clayton was a champion in the 2022 Canadian U20 Championships in the 200 meters and 400 meters. The Ducks’ junior sprinter also helped them to a Pac-12 Championship in the 2023 4x100 meter relays.

One of the individual Pac-12 champions on the men of Oregon is Rafael Raap. He finished first in the men’s decathlon on May 11 with a score of 7,719 — his collegiate best. Raap has had as much success with the Netherlands as in his first two seasons with the Ducks. He was the runner-up in both the decathlon and the heptathlon in the 2020 Dutch Combine Events. Raap also finished sixth overall in the 2019 European U20 Championships.

Similarly to many athletes on this list, Harding participated in previous World Athletic U20 Championships. In 2022, he finished sixth in the 800 meters. Harding also set a New Zealand record in 2022 with his time in the 800-meter event.

MORE NAMES TO WATCH OUT FOR

Silan Ayyildiz, who was born in Turkey, has been a key newcomer for the Ducks in 2024. The transfer from the University of South Carolina broke three different program records for the Gamecocks as a freshman. Ayyildiz finished as the Pac-12 runner-up in the 1,500 meters in her first season with Oregon.

Distance runners Sergio Del Barrio (Spain) and Klaudia Kazimierska (Poland) both competed in the European U20 Championships. Del Barrio is a U20 European Champion in the steeplechase and the European U18 Champion in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, while Kazimierska has finished in the top five in the 1,500 meters in the European U20 and U18 Championships.

The freshman Kobe Lawrence, who represents Jamaica, rounds out the list of international athletes on Oregon’s team this season. His season with the Ducks was highlighted by a lifetime-best performance at the Oregon Twilight to win the shot put.

The Ducks will return to Eugene on June 5 for the NCAA Championship, which will be hosted at Hayward Field. Eugene will also host the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in June. Several alumni are expected to compete for a spot on Team USA, as well as current shot put and discus thrower Jaida Ross.

YOU KNOW HIS FIELD, BUT WHAT WAS BEHIND HAYWARD’S GREATNESS?

BILL HAYWARD IS MORE THAN A NAME

From the airport to the local pizza joints, there’s a phrase that resonates with Eugene just as much as the Ducks or marijuana.

“TrackTown USA.”

It’s everywhere, you can’t avoid it. It’s one of the first things you see when you step into Eugene, and it’s one of the last things you see when you leave. Heck, there’s even a rock on campus with its namesake.

But if Hayward Field is so well known nationally and globally, does Eugene even know the full story of the man behind its namesake?

The short answer is no. Most fans, Oregonians and students know the field, and that’s about it.

And you really can’t blame them; if you Google “Who was Bill Hayward?” the web thinks you’ve misspelled the coach’s name and shoots out results in favor of a labor activist in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Nothing else about Bill Hayward is forgettable.

After growing up in Toronto, he headed west at the turn of the century and coached at nearby Albany College (now Lewis and Clark), defeating Oregon in 1903.

In proper Oregon fashion, the school hired him the next year, and from there his legacy was cemented.

He mentored four world record holders, six Americanrecord holders and nine Olympians. He was also on the Olympic Track & Field Coaching Staff six different times.

Perhaps most notably, he coached the inventor of the jog, Bill Bowerman. Hayward did it all: He not only was the head of the track and field program but also served as the athletic trainer and coached basketball.

Per different plaques in the Hayward Hall museum located at the center of the pillar outside Hayward stadium, he was in the middle of taping ankles during the halftime ceremony, naming the then-football stadium after him.

“A legend that will forever grace Oregon, Hayward was the grandfather of Oregon track and field,” reads his UO sports history page.

He deserves to have a worldrenowned track stadium named after him: He practically made the sport.

“44 years, that’s how much of himself that he put into this,” a plaque inside the Hayward Hall museum reads. “Bill Hayward, the Grandfather of Oregon Track and Field.”

That same museum houses a plethora of information and plaques to honor its namesake. One of the biggest is placed at

the back and showcases the greatness that Hayward’s legacy has made possible.

“Where else could a small town become the Track & Field Capital of the world? Or a teacher of athletes teach America how to jog … Or a team of Queens reign with a triple crown? Where else could History be made and the future of the sport be created at the same time? Nowhere else. Only at Oregon.”

Only because of Bill Hayward.

Fast-forward to 2024, and his field is set to host the U.S Olympic qualifiers for the fifth time in a row and eighth overall.

“We are thrilled once again to be the home of the U.S. Olympic trials,.” University of Oregon

President Karl Scholz said in a press release sent out Sept. 21, 2023. “We call it Hayward Magic. It not only inspires breathtaking performances of current and future Olympians, but it also fosters meaningful partnerships in research and teaching and energizes fans, alumni and friends the world over.”

Hayward Magic. That seems like a resumé you should be able to Google.

Hayward field, located on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Ore. Above: (DL Young/Emerald), Behind: (Serei Hendrie/Emerald)

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