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Emerald sports quotes of the week: Feb. 10-16

Every Sunday, The Emerald sports staff will collect their favorite quotes from the previous seven days. Athletes, coaches, media or anybody with a quote pertaining to Oregon sports can be included. Below are The Emerald’s favorites from the week of Feb. 10-16.

Acrobatics and tumbling

“We told Rachael when she came here, ‘We don’t want you to come here as Erin’s little sister. We want you to come here as Rachael Block and become Rachael Block, and be whatever that means.’ She has no pressure to live up to her sister or anything. We just want her to be Rachael and keep doing what she’s doing.”
— Head coach Felecia Mulkey on freshman Rachael Block fitting into the team.

“I was honestly really nervous. At first it was hard to relax, but the hardest thing was just getting used to the format and knowing what I was going to do at what time and where I needed to go.”
— Freshman base Krista Phillips after Oregon’s 280.075-274.380 win against Baylor on Thursday. It was Phillips’ first collegiate meet.

“I’ve never lost since I’ve been here. So, as a team, I’ve never had to go through losing one yet. It’s bound to happen sometime, but we’re hoping not this year.”
—Junior base Tara Lubert, after Thursday’s win against Baylor. The win was Oregon’s 22nd straight win.

Baseball

“His stuff is big league ready already. His slider’s been compared to the Jimmie Sherfy slider from the left side. And when a lefty’s bringing 94-95 with that kind of slider, it’s tantalizing.”
—Third baseman Scott Heineman on freshman pitcher Matt Krook.

“Your confidence is nowhere close. If you’re a normal athlete and something tweaks or feels iffy, you kind of stop doing it. But when you’re coming back from surgery, it feels tweaked the entire time.”
—Former Oregon pitcher Christian Jones on the mental toll of the Tommy John surgery rehab process.

“I remember Kerry Wood telling me it felt like his hand wasn’t attached and that’s exactly what it is.”
— Will Carroll, on the loss of proprioception (the body’s ability to sense its position, location and movement) after Tommy John surgery. Carroll, the lead sports medicine writer at Bleacher Report, said this in an interview with The Emerald.

“He’s probably as well prepared for this as anybody. He’s done his research in terms of the whole surgery process. He knows about the rehab process. He’s gone to the finest clinic in the country. So he mentally got himself prepared for this early on and now I think it’s just a matter of supporting him.”
— Pitching coach Dean Stiles, on Cole Irvin’s mental preparation going into the Tommy John surgery rehab process.

Men’s basketball

“It’s been a long but quick four years. It’s my last Civil War, so I definitely wanted this game and to just beat out E.J. in the wins category, feels good because I’m gonna put that in his face. So one more game for me I think and I finally got him.”
— Guard Johnathan Loyd, on tying E.J. Singler as the winningest player in Oregon history on Sunday.

“It kind of gets contagious, I feel like, with our team. For a while there, we were 100 percent and you didn’t want to be that guy to miss, so I feel like we were putting pressure on each other. But at the same time, we have a long week to be in the gym and got to work on that.”
— Forward Mike Moser on the team’s excellent first-half shooting against Oregon State on Sunday.

“I look at the team and I miss (basketball). I don’t want to hang up my shoes.”
— Oregon football linebacker Tyrell Robinson on not getting a call from basketball coach Dana Altman to play this season.

Women’s basketball

“I know when (a double-double) happens that I’m working hard and playing my role for my team. I’d rather have a win than my individual stats. It does suck, and it was fun while it lasted. But that just shows I need to get in the gym and shoot more free throws. Individually it’s not about me. Not getting a double-double showed that I didn’t do what I needed to do to help my team win today. It’s just about getting back in the gym, working hard and coming out with a team win.”
— Forward Jillian Alleyne on her 18-game double-double streak coming to an end this past Monday against Colorado.

“I think we all want to pay tribute and we do it by our dress and our protocol before the game. But I think Kay Yow would say, once they throw the ball up, go play the game. I think we kind of put that aside then and try to win a game. And that’s as much a tribute as the pink we wear.”
— Head coach Paul Westhead on the team wearing pink Nike gear during Friday’s game to honor The Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

“It was just really rough as a kid because I didn’t know what was going on. And so she just wasn’t there a lot and I couldn’t see her, so my dad was the one who basically had to take care of me and my sister when she was sick.”
— Center Megan Carpenter, on her mother being diagnosed with breast cancer twice when Megan was young.

“Everybody on the court knows exactly what the problem is. We break down on the defensive end in the last four minutes of the game. Scoring is not our issue.”
— Guard Chrishae Rowe, after Oregon’s 88-78 loss to USC on Friday.

Club sports

“It’s second nature and it’s not a big deal, at least for us. People watching the game, they say, ‘Oh, that’s a great pass,’ but we’re just so used to knowing where each other are that it’s just normal.”
— Club hockey forward Dan Sulitzer, on the chemistry he has on the ice with his brother and teammate, Alex.

Other

“Hopefully in the grand scheme, and this is the dream, is that basically we are going to create a lot of opportunities for women that are related to U of O in several ways to connect and network and sort of build on the connection to the university and have that emanate out into the professional world.”
— Janell Bergstrom Cook, the director of the Women in Flight initiative.

“Do football players at the college level not play pickup basketball? Why not have them play basketball, if they’re good enough to do it, in a controlled environment where you have coaches (provide) techniques for where you’re less likely to get injured?”
— Wyatt Investment Research editor Chris Preston, on two-sport college athletes.

“If a basketball player is playing football and there may be a certain situation where they think, ‘I can’t get injured here, I need to tip toe gingerly,’ you’re more likely to get injured that way.”
—Preston, in an interview with The Emerald.

“Arik’s a really big teddy bear. He looks like a big tough guy, a big strong kid, but he’s really a tender-hearted kid.”
— John Deponte, the high school football coach of Oregon defensive lineman Arik Armstead, in an interview with The Emerald.

Follow Chris Mosch on Twitter @chris_mosch

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Oregon baseball: Freshmen break game open in 10-5 win against Hawaii

Late game heroics were unnecessary in the second game of Oregon’s opening series, as the Ducks doubled up on Hawaii with a score of 10-5.

The Ducks capitalized early on miscues, scoring three runs in the first two innings, with two of them being unearned runs as the result of errors by Hawaii shortstop Austin Wobrock.

Each team plated a pair of runs to make the score 5-2 before Hawaii tied it up with a three-run fifth inning. The Warriors had runners on first and second with one out when coach George Horton lifted reliever Stephen Nogosek for Darrell Hunter.

The first batter Hunter faced reached on an error to load the bases. Hunter walked  to force in a run and the next batter, Marcus Doi, singled home two runs through the left side.

The game remained tied at 5-5 until the seventh inning, when Oregon broke the game open. Tyler Baumgartner and Mitchell Tolman were on second and third with one out when freshman A.J. Balta, pinch-hitting for Nick Catalano, drove them in with a single to left-center field. Balta promptly stole second and scored when fellow freshman Austin Grebeck singled to left field.

The Ducks added two insurance runs in the ninth inning, including their fourth unearned run of the game and sixth in two games.

The bats came alive for Oregon on Saturday after managing just three hits in the season opener. Baumgartner led the way, going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Tolman, Grebeck, Kyle Garlick and Josh Graham each added a pair of hits for the Ducks. Oregon was also active in the running game, as Payne, Tolman, Garlick and Balta each stole a base. It was Payne’s second steal in as many nights.

Jordan Spencer lasted just 3 and 1/3 innings for Oregon, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out three and threw a total of 82 pitches.

Picking up the win was Darrell Hunter, who pitched 3 and 1/3 innings of relief, giving up one run (zero earned) and striking out four. Gordon Cardenas allowed four runs in three innings of relief for Hawaii and took the loss. Porter Clayton recorded the final four outs for Oregon to notch his first save of the season.

Oregon and Hawaii will square off for the third game of the series on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. PST. Freshman Matt Krook is slated to make his Oregon debut and will be opposite Hawaii’s Scott Squier.

Follow Chris Mosch on Twitter @chris_mosch

 

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Tommy John surgery: A look at what Oregon’s Cole Irvin could expect over the next calendar year

At the start of the 2013 MLB season, one-third of all pitchers on an MLB roster had previously undergone Tommy John surgery. If Oregon’s Cole Irvin ever makes it to the big leagues, he’ll join the list of players who have been able to overcome baseball’s most daunting procedure.

Irvin was arguably Oregon’s best starting pitcher last year, posting a 2.48 ERA and 1.09 WHIP during his freshman campaign. In mid-January of 2014, his elbow flared up and he was shut down by the Oregon coaching staff.

After getting an MRI, it was determined he had torn his ulnar collateral ligament, and after getting multiple opinions, he decided to opt for Tommy John surgery. The surgery was performed on Feb. 10 at one of the most respected clinics for the procedure – the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic.

The general timetable for recovery from the surgery is nine to 12 months, and pitchers often vanish from the public eye during that time. However, the rehab process is one of the most tedious and mentally strenuous times for any athlete.

“It’s nowhere close to what a lot of people have to go through in their lives, but it was definitely the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to mentally go through,” said Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Daniel Hudson, who is nearly eight months removed from his second Tommy John surgery in less than two years.

The surgery replaces the torn ligament with a tendon harvested from elsewhere in the patient’s body, so the first few weeks following surgery are spent doing exercises that teach the transplanted tendon how to become a ligament.

Former Oregon pitcher Christian Jones underwent Tommy John surgery prior to the 2012 season and recalls doing exercises such as touching his thumb to his pinky, small wrist curls and making the “OK” sign and “the Spiderman hand” sign.

After about three weeks, Jones started range of motion exercises where he would try to touch his shoulders and extend as far as he could. These were done every day for the next three months with shoulder and back exercises gradually built in after about six weeks.

Jones started playing catch at 30 feet four months and 10 days after his surgery and very slowly worked his way up to long toss. He continued to play catch and do rehab exercises until throwing flat ground (pitching, just not on a mound) at about nine-and-a-half months. After starting bullpen sessions at 10 months, he was finally able to pitch in an intrasquad game 10 months and three weeks out of surgery.

A month later he pitched his first post-surgery game for Oregon, throwing three scoreless innings of relief in the February season opener against Hawaii.

While Jones had a successful 2013 season for Oregon, he admits that he didn’t feel completely comfortable pitching until mid-October, about 20 months after his surgery.

“For the longest time, throwing did not feel normal at all,” Jones said. “I thought that I was throwing wrong.”

The reason Jones felt this way was that following surgery he was in the process of regaining proprioception  the body’s ability to sense its position, location and movement.

“The nerves have to learn where things are,” explained Will Carroll, lead sports medicine writer at Bleacher Report. “It took a long time for Peyton Manning to figure out where his hand was because his nerve had been impinged for so long. It’s the same exact thing.”

Individuals regain proprioception at different rates based on their rehab. Hudson says that getting back the feel for his mechanics and pitches has not been a problem.

While the physical effects of the feelings Jones described are significant (Carroll writes, “A 1/8th inch difference in release point can mean an eight-inch difference in pitch location as it crosses the plate.”) there is also a mental toll.

“Your confidence is nowhere close,” Jones said. “If you’re a normal athlete and something tweaks or feels iffy, you kind of stop doing it. But when you’re coming back from surgery, it feels tweaked the entire time.”

For Hudson, the length of the rehab process is the most mentally taxing aspect.

“Every single step (of the process) that you take feels like it takes forever,” Hudson said, “especially when all the guys are getting ready to go out and compete in games and I’m just sitting there playing catch with my trainer.”

The rehab process is so grueling that for a few hours after Hudson found out he’d need surgery for a second time, he was unsure he’d be willing to go through rehab again. Ultimately, the drive to get back on the mound overcame the temporary temptation to walk away from the game.

“After I talked to my wife for awhile and my family they made me realize that if I didn’t try again, I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror again in a few years,” Hudson said.

The return rate of pitchers from Tommy John surgery is between 85-90 percent, with the majority of failures being cases of young high school or college pitchers who hang up their spikes because they don’t expect to pitch at the professional level. Setbacks during the rehab process happen, but complete failures such as Hudson’s first case are extremely rare. (He required a redo of the procedure.)

The next calendar year will undoubtedly be a dreary and challenging process for Irvin, but those around him are confident that he has the mental makeup to make it back.

“He’s probably as well prepared for this as anybody,” pitching coach Dean Stiles said. “He’s done his research in terms of the whole surgery process. He knows about the rehab process. He’s gone to the finest clinic in the country. So he mentally got himself prepared for this early on and now I think it’s just a matter of supporting him.”

Follow Chris Mosch on Twitter @chris_mosch

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Oregon slips past Hawaii 3-2 in baseball season opener

It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but Oregon edged out Hawaii by a score of 3-2 to earn its first win of the season on college baseball’s opening night.

Both teams showed their jitters early on, as they combined to commit five errors through the first five innings. Both teams would benefit in the form of unearned runs.

Oregon’s Kyle Garlick drew a one-out walk in the top of the fourth and later advanced to second on a passed ball. With two outs, freshman catcher Jack Kruger hit a routine pop up to second base that was dropped by Hawaii second baseman Steven Ventimilia. Running on contact, Garlick was able to score Oregon’s first run of the game.

The next batter, Nick Catalano, smacked a single to left field that bounced over the head of Hawaii’s Marc Flores, who overran the ball going toward the line. Garlick came home to score from first and Catalano motored into third, where he was promptly stranded.

Hawaii responded in the bottom of the fifth, as Kalei Hanawahine led off the inning with a single down the left-field line. The next batter, LJ Brewster, drew a walk to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Austin Wobrock followed by dropping down a sacrifice bunt to third base, but Scott Heineman’s throw pulled first baseman Mitchell Tolman off the bag, loading the bases. After getting Ventimilia to fly out to shallow right field, Oregon starting pitcher Tommy Thorpe issued a walk to Marcus Doi, forcing in Hawaii’s first run of the game.

Kaeo Aliviado tied up the score at 2-2 with a fielder’s choice to second base, beating out a potential double play by the slimmest of margins.

The Warriors threatened to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth, as Alan Baldwin roped a one-out triple down the left field line. Thorpe got Hanawahine to pop out to third and issued a walk to Brewster before inducing an inning-ending groundout by Wobrock to short.

That was the end of the night for Thorpe, who allowed two runs (zero earned) on three hits over six innings. He struck out two and walked four.

Hawaii came knocking on the door again in the seventh, as they had runners at first and second with out against Oregon reliever Trent Paddon. The Oregon right-hander got Jordan Richartz to fly out to right field before being lifted for southpaw Porter Clayton.

Up to the plate for Hawaii was Flores, also a lefty, who was looking to redeem himself after his miscue earlier in the game resulted in Oregon’s second run. However, Clayton got Flores to chase a 1-2 fastball outside the zone to squash the rally.

In the top of the ninth, Hawaii’s Eric Gleese reduced the first two Oregon batters of the inning to infield pop ups, but issued consecutive walks to Catalano and pinch-hitter A.J. Balta. Hawaii brought in Jordan DePonte who put Heineman in an 0-2 hole. DePonte got Heineman to chase on a breaking pitch in the dirt, which skipped past the catcher, Trevor Podratz. Despite striking out, Heineman reached first safely on the wild pitch and Catalano came all the way around to score to give Oregon the 3-2 lead.

Jake Reed made his debut at closer for the Ducks, allowing a lone two-out single before striking out Richartz to earn his first save of the season.

Getting the win for Oregon was Garrett Cleavinger, who struck out the side in a scoreless eighth inning. Gleese was saddled with the loss for Hawaii.

Oregon and Hawaii will square off in the second game of the series on Saturday at 8:35 p.m. PST.

Follow Chris Mosch on Twitter @Chris_Mosch

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Emerald Quick Hits: UO junior Laurenne Ross to represent Team USA in 2014 Winter Olympics

– The 2014 Winter Olympics have kicked off Thursday in Sochi, Russia, and the University of Oregon will be represented by Team USA’s Laurenne Ross. The 25-year-old alpine skier lives in Bend, Ore., and trains on the slopes of Mount Bachelor. She is one of 124 first-time Olympians on Team USA and her accolades include the NorAm overall title, the Super-G title at the U.S. National Championships and a runner-up finish in the downhill at the FIS World Cup. Due to her intense training schedule, Ross, a junior art major, is only able to go to the University of Oregon during the spring term. You can follow Ross’ experience in Sochi on her blog, where she plans to update throughout the Olympics. Her Olympic schedule is as follows:

 Event  Day  Time (PST)  TV broadcast
 Women’s Super Combined Downhill  Sunday, Feb. 9  11 p.m.  NBC – Feb. 10, 8–11:30 p.m.
 Women’s Super Combined Slalom  Sunday, Feb. 10  3 a.m.  NBC – Feb. 10, 8–11:30 p.m.
 Women’s Downhill  Tuesday, Feb. 11  11 p.m.  NBC – Feb. 12, 8–11:30 p.m.
 Women’s Super-G  Friday, Feb. 14  11 p.m.  NBC – Feb. 15, 8–11:30 p.m.

 

 

 

 

All events can be streamed online at NBCOlympics.com

– The Oregon women’s softball team kicks off its season today at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The Ducks started their first game of the tournament this morning against Cal Poly, the first of five games that they are slated to play over the next three days. After winning their first Pac-12 championship in school history last year, the Ducks were picked third in the 2014 preseason Pac-12 coaches poll.

– After the first day of the Amer Ari Invitational in Waikoloa, Hawaii, the Oregon men’s golf team is in sixth place behind Thomas Lim’s impressive first round. Lim is the individual leader after the first round, as he carded a 64 on the par-72 course. The Ducks posted a 276 score as a team (-12) and trail first-place Oklahoma State by five strokes.

– Due to the inclement weather in Eugene, Ore., the Oregon women’s basketball team’s two upcoming basketball games have been rescheduled. Friday night’s scheduled game against Utah has been pushed back to Saturday at 2 p.m., and Saturday afternoon’s scheduled game against Colorado has been delayed to 5 p.m. on Monday. The announcement came after Thursday’s practice.

Follow Chris Mosch on Twitter @chris_mosch

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Oregon ranked second in Pac-12 baseball preseason coaches poll

The Pac-12 released its 2014 baseball preseason coaches poll on Thursday, with Oregon coming in second in the polls.

Defending conference champion Oregon State accumulated 98 points and received nine of the 11 first-place votes. The Beavers finished the 2013 season with a 52-13 record and made it to the semifinals in Omaha. Oregon State enters the season ranked in the top-three in the NCBWA, Baseball America and Perfect Game polls.

Oregon received 86 votes and one first-place vote in the coaches poll. The Ducks made an early exit out of the Regional Tournament last season but are ranked No. 11 in the NCBWA and Baseball America polls. They are No. 9 in the Perfect Game poll.

UCLA came in third with 84 points and picked up the final first-place vote. The Bruins are the reigning national champions and come in ranked ranked in the top 12 in all of the aforementioned polls.

All Pac-12 teams will start the season on Feb. 14, with the Ducks playing their season opener in Honolulu against the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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Oregon’s Trevor Dunbar shares passion for running with his family

For Oregon senior Trevor Dunbar, running has always been a family affair.

Dunbar’s mother Kathleen was a multiple-time All-American distance runner at the University of Portland, where she met his father, Marcus. After transferring to the University of Oregon and graduating in 1988, Marcus became a U.S. indoor mile champion and ran a personal best of 4:00.58 in the mile in 1993.

Trevor and his older brother Miles ran at kids camps and meets in Kodiak, Alaska, throughout elementary school and junior high before ramping up their training with the Kodiak High School cross country and track and field teams.

Their high school coach was none other than their father, who was able to share his knowledge and passion for the sport with his boys and train with them, too.

“It was motivating,” Miles said. “It was fun to get out there, enjoy nature and just enjoy the process of running.”

The next year was the start of a three-year state championship streak for the Kodiak cross country team. Since it was Miles’ senior year, it was the lone championship that the three were able to share.

“It was very rewarding because our whole family rejoiced in it,” Marcus said.

Dunbar won his first of three individual state cross country championships that year and went on to claim three individual track and field titles during his prep career.

Dunbar took a similar collegiate path as his father, spending his first two years at Portland before transferring to Oregon. He earned two All-American honors in cross country at Portland before competing in several NCAA championships for the Ducks.

But knee and Achilles injuries plagued Dunbar’s 2013 indoor and outdoor track season as he was unable to compete for the Ducks.

He salvaged his season in July by running a 3:59.06 mile at the Roughrider Twilight Meet, breaking his father’s Alaskan record and becoming the first Alaskan to ever break the elusive four-minute barrier. Marcus was on hand, reading his son’s lap splits as Trevor etched his name into Alaskan lore. It was only fitting that Trevor wore his father’s old Alaska Track Club singlet.

“Having my dad there to watch that live was really special,” Trevor said. “To wear his old jersey was kind of symbolic.”

For Marcus, watching Trevor break his record was equally rewarding.

“I always told him, ‘If I could do one thing I never did, it was break that four-minute mile,’” Marcus said. “I really enjoyed watching him do it and achieving that goal as a family. It kind of eased the wounds that I had of never getting it.”

Trevor was able to represent both his family and his home state at that meet, but this past Friday at the Washington Invitational he donned an Oregon singlet for the first time since 2012. With the indoor season in session and outdoor on the horizon, he’s looking forward to soaking up his final months as a Duck.

“This is my last chance here, so I’m trying to enjoy every moment, not only as a member of the track team but also as a college student,” Dunbar said.

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Cheserek and Dunbar lead separate Oregon distance medley relay teams to 1-2 finish at Washington Invitational

The Oregon men’s distance squad flexed its muscles on Friday during the first day of the University of Washington Invitational, as the distance medley relay teams churned out two separate sub-9:32 performances.

The “white” team of Mac Fleet, Jack Galpin, Boru Guyota and Edward Cheserek posted the second-fastest NCAA time this season, winning the relay event in 9:28.91. Stopping the clock shortly after was the “yellow” team of Brett Johnson, Arthur Delaney, Russell Hornsby and Trevor Dunbar, whose time of 9:31.64 is the fourth-fastest in the country.

The two teams ran in close proximity for the majority of the race, with Cheserek receiving the baton with a slight edge over Dunbar heading into the mile-long anchor leg. Dunbar passed Cheserek a little over halfway through the race, but the freshman phenom kicked past Dunbar to finish with a three-second edge.

The race showcased the depth that Oregon features on its distance and middle-distance squads. Cheserek was impressive in his collegiate track and field debut, and Dunbar was equally as poised in his first race running for the Ducks in over a year. Both runners were in good spirits after the race.

“Ed got out, I tried to match and once I felt the pace, I tried to go,” Dunbar told Flotrack during post-race interviews. “It was age before beauty for a little bit but then the future of American distance running here took the reins. It was a good battle. It was fun.”

Also picking up a win for the Ducks on the first day was Jillian Weir, who threw a season-best 64-8 (19.78m) to win the women’s weight throw.

After leading through four events of the heptathalon at the end of day one, Dakotah Keys secured the third Oregon win of the weekend on Saturday.

The redshirt junior led the field in the 60 meter dash and shot put, while finishing runner-up in the long jump and high jump. On day two, he captured top marks in the 60 meter hurdles and pole vault before running 2:44.79 in the 1,000 meter run. Keys set personal bests in four of the seven events and finished with 5,730 points, which is the third-best score in the country this season.

The entire Oregon heptathalon squad had an impressive showing, as Mitch Modin, Alec Fellows and Blake Kemp followed Keys by finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

“Dakotah had a solid weekend, getting the win and nearly setting a PR,” head coach Robert Johnson told GoDucks.com. “Coach Cook did a great job preparing him and the rest of the group for the competition. Whenever you finish with four guys in the top five you have to be pleased.”

The Ducks will take a week off from competition before sending runners to the Don Kirby Elite and the Husky Classic on Feb. 14-15.

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Oregon women jump to No. 1 in first regular season USTFCCCA rankings, men remain No. 3

The Oregon women’s indoor track and field team ascended to No. 1 in the first regular-season U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I National Team Computer Rankings.

The team rankings are based on a mathematical formula that takes into account national descending orders lists and results from previous seasons. The Oregon women were ranked No. 4 before the season began and the jump in the rankings are likely attributed to the outstanding early season contributions from first-year athletes Jasmine Todd and Sasha Wallace (who weren’t taken into account during the initial No. 4 ranking). Strong performances from Laura Roesler, Phyllis Francis and Jenna Prandini have also helped Oregon’s ranking.

Through two meets, Todd is already the NCAA leader in the long jump (21-0 (6.40 m)) and has the second-fastest 60 meter time (7.20). Wallace’s time of 8.10 in the 60 meter hurdles is the fourth-fastest collegiate time this season.

Oregon is looking for its fifth consecutive NCAA Division 1 indoor championship — a feat that has only been accomplished by LSU’s women during the 1990′s. Rounding out the top five in the women’s rankings are Texas, Texas A&M, Florida and Georgia.

The Oregon men remain No. 3 in the latest rankings. In fact, the entire preseason top five was unchanged. The top five teams, in order, are Arkansas, Florida, Oregon, Wisconsin and Texas A&M.

The Ducks are scheduled to compete this weekend at the UW Invitational in Seattle. Action begins on Friday, Jan. 31 and will continue through Saturday, Feb. 1.

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Laura Roesler named USATF Division 1 National Athlete of the Week

Laura Roesler was named the USATF Division 1 National Athlete of the Week after running the second-fastest all-conditions indoor time at 800 meters in history this past weekend at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet.

Roesler ran 2:01.32 in the 800-meter run on Saturday, besting the 2:02.50 split she ran as a part of Oregon’s distance medley relay win on Friday. Oregon’s DMR finished in an NCAA season-best time of 10:56.77, which is also the fourth-fastest time in school history. She capped off the two-day event by running a leg of Oregon’s runner-up 4 x 400 meter relay team.

Earning an honorable mention in the USATF award is Oregon redshirt freshman Jasmine Todd, who jumped a collegiate-best mark of 21-0 (6.40 m) in addition to a third-place finish in the 60-meter dash.

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