After dropping two sets to Arizona State, the Duck’s brought their win streak to 10 as they rallied to win the fourth and fifth sets and defeat the Sun Devils 3-2 on Friday during their first Pac-12 road trip of the season.

Though ASU scored the first two points of the first set, the Ducks quickly answered with four points of their own with kills from sophomore Sumeet Gill, junior Taylor Agost, and freshman Jolie Rasmussen. The Sun Devils were only able to score one more point before the Ducks went on another run, this one for three points, resulting in an early 7-3 lead. Yet, the Sun Devils were able to fight back by going on their own three-point run.

Later in the set, Oregon and ASU had been trading points, until Oregon went on yet another three-point run to a 19-16 lead. Rasmussen and junior Lindsey Vander Weide had back-to-back kills, forcing ASU to a timeout.

At the end of the set, Oregon pulled to a 24-20 lead. They won the set by a score of 25-21 on a block by Gill and Rasmussen.

Despite the victory, the Ducks looked sluggish in the beginning of the second set, allowing ASU to get up to a 5-10 lead before Oregon was forced to take a timeout. After the timeout, the Sun Devils would score two more points for a total of five unanswered points, three of them kills.

It improved slowly from there for the Ducks. Arizona State maintained its lead throughout the set, but Oregon was able to keep them in sight, eventually narrowing the gap to 20-17. But, Oregon’s hopes were quickly dashed. ASU scored five points in a row to win the set 25-20. Four of the points came from attack errors.

In fact, Oregon had nime errors in the second set, when in the first set they only had two. Rasmussen had five of those errors. In addition, Oregon only had seven kills in the whole set.

The teams were more evenly matched in the third set, as they stayed tied through most of it, though there wasn’t much defense. Both teams traded 14 kills in a row between them at the beginning of the set before the streak was broken up by a block by Arizona State.

Later in the set, Oregon would go on its first run of the set that yielded more than two points. Agost and Rasmussen scored back-to-back kills and sophomore August Raskie had an ace to take the lead with a score of 20-19.

By the end of the set, the score was tied at 24-24, and Oregon decided to take a timeout. Willow Johnson attempted a kill, but it was barely out-of-bounds, giving ASU the point. She would repeat the error as ASU won the set 26-24, snapping Oregon’s undefeated set streak at 19.

The Sun Devils’ dominance continued into the beginning of the next set, taking an early 4-1 lead. But Oregon fought back, narrowing the score to 3-5. They continued by scoring five unanswered points, two of them from solo blocks from freshman Ronika Stone to take the lead with a score of 8-5. Stone would go on to finish the game with a team-leading five blocks, two of them solo.

Though Arizona State broke up the Ducks’ point streak with a kill by Jasmine Koonts, Oregon came back with eight more unanswered points before Arizona State could score again. They then took a commanding 16-6 lead.

The Ducks’ continued to steamroll over Arizona State, scoring seven more unanswered points to bring their lead to 24-8. After that, it was all over for ASU as the Ducks won the set 25-9.

Any hint of Oregon’s early sluggishness was gone by the final set of the match. Though ASU scored the first point, Oregon answered by scoring five of their own. Vander Weide put down her 15th and 16th kill of the match while Agost scored her thirteenth to take a 5-1 lead. They would finish the match with 17 and 14 kills, respectively.

The Ducks only allowed the Sun Devils to score twice in a row once in the set. Other than that, it was all Oregon as they won the set 15-7.

On Saturday, the Ducks will continue their Arizona road trip with a game against Arizona.

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03

Ronika Stone has already made history at the University of Oregon, despite starting her first day of college on Monday.

The 6-foot-2 middle blocker is the highest-rated recruit in Oregon volleyball history, ranking 10th on the Prepvolleyball.com Senior Aces list.

Since arriving at Oregon, Stone has proven to be a dominant force on the court. On Sept. 22, she and fellow freshman Jolie Rasmussen led the Ducks with 11 kills each as they began Pac-12 play with a 3-0 victory against Oregon State. Stone also led the team with six blocks, including one solo block.

“We knew they were good,” head coach Jim Moore said about Stone, Rasmussen and freshman Willow Johnson, who had eight kills of her own. “They have confidence; they’re where they are for a reason. They’re the players they are for a reason.”

Stone, in particular, demonstrated her confidence by refusing to show the nerves that may be expected of a freshman athlete. On her first two swings of the match, she put down kills. Later in the first set, Oregon State went on a three-point run that Stone and Rasmussen eventually stopped with kills. They turned the momentum of the set back to the Ducks, leading to victory.

“Having my first Civil War was crazy,” she said after the match. “It’s weird; I’m not really that nervous. When I’m on the court, I don’t really worry about the crowd as much, so it’s just like practice.”

Perhaps Stone’s lack of nerves comes from her experience with international competition. Last summer, Stone was a member of the USA Youth National Team. During the championships, she led the world in hitting percentage at .550. She also won a Junior International Silver Medal as a member of the USA HP Select A1 Red Team.

Her international success is surprising only because of how quickly it happened. It was only about six years ago that, by complete accident, Stone discovered her love for volleyball in the first place.

“I tried out just because in junior high everyone was trying out for a bunch of sports,” Stone said. “I didn’t know what position I wanted to be, so I just went into the line that was the shortest, which was the middle blocker line. And that’s how I became a middle blocker.”

Stone was a standout at Valley Christian High School, located in San Jose, California. While she was there, her team not only won the 2013 and 2015 Division III State Championships, but also advanced to the semifinals in 2012 and 2014. In her senior year, Stone had 630 kills, 429 digs, and 67 blocks.

Stone’s athleticism runs in the family. Her father, Ron Stone, is a former NFL offensive guard and three-time Pro Bowler. He helped the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl victories before retiring in 2006. Her sister, Ronna, is also an athlete at Oregon as a thrower on the track and field team.

Growing up, the sisters played basketball on the same club team. They continued playing basketball on the varsity team in high school for a couple years until they both decided to focus on their respective individual sports.

“She’s a phenomenal athlete, always has been,” Ronna said. “She’s extremely talented when it comes to athletics and is pretty good at any sport she tries out.”

Born 16 months apart, the two of them have always been close, even sharing a room for most of their lives. Because of that, Ronna is excited to have her sister join her at Oregon.

“It’s nice to have someone I can always go to since we’re away from home,” Ronna said. “And she’s pretty fun and crazy and always dancing so it’s nice to have that back since I missed out on it when I was here at school last year.”

When Stone began unofficially touring college campuses, she was immediately attracted to Oregon. She said that she connected well with the volleyball team, but that wasn’t the only reason she decided to attend.

“I wanted not only the volleyball team to be great — because they are – but other sports as well,” she said. “It’s a great athletic community.”

Her academic needs were another reason she decided that Oregon would be the perfect fit. She plans to major in journalism and pursue her interest in sports broadcasting.

“After I’m done in my volleyball career, I want to go try to get an internship at ESPN,” she said. “I know I have to start small, but I want to be on ESPN.”

Oregon’s cross country teams are off to a fast start.

The No. 3 ranked men’s team and the No. 4 ranked women’s team kicked off what they hope will be another successful season on Sept. 16 at the 11th annual Bill Dellinger Invitational. Both the men and women took first.

Redshirt junior Sam Prakel and sophomore Tanner Anderson tied for the individual victory on the men’s side. Prakel, the runner-up at the Bill Dillinger Invitational last year, also placed 30th overall at the Pac-12 Championships in 23:59.0 and 43rd overall at the NCAA West Regionals in 31:58.0. Anderson, who made his Oregon debut last year as a freshman, will likely make a bigger impact for the Ducks this year. His best race was a 12th place finish at the Washington Invitational with a time of 23:32.0. 

Another sophomore athlete that could find more success this year is Matthew Maton, whose best race was also the Washington Invitational last year, in which he placed eighth as Oregon’s second finisher. As a high schooler, he won six 5A Oregon state track and cross country titles for Summit High School. He won the state titles for cross country in 2013 and 2014 after placing second in 2012. During the 2014 meet, he broke Galen Rupp’s legendary Oregon high school state cross country record with a time of 14:45.

Rounding out the Duck’s deep team is none other than senior Edward Cheserek, who won his third straight NCAA title last year — a feat no other male athlete has ever done. He is also a three-time Pac-12 champion and the 2015 Pac-12 athlete of the year.

The Oregon women’s team is also deep, although it will miss Waverly Neer, who was denied her appeal to compete for a fifth year. Leading the way for the women at the Bill Dellinger Invitational was junior Emma Abrahamson, who came in fourth overall with a time of 17 minutes, 34.2 seconds. Abrahamson transferred to Oregon from Vanderbilt after spending her 2014 cross country season there. Her debut at last year’s Bill Dellinger Invitational was her best race of that year, as she placed seventh with a time of 21:01.5.

Oregon’s third finisher, senior Maggie Schmaedick, placed eighth with a time of 17:39.1. At last year’s Pac-12 Championship, she was Oregon’s fifth finisher at 15th overall with a time of 20:25.7.

The Oregon women were without redshirt junior Alli Cash and top recruit Katie Rainsberger for the meet, but they will likely be Oregon’s top female runners this year.

Cash was Oregon’s second finisher and sixth overall at both the Pac-12 Championships and the NCAA West Regionals last year with times of 20:05.3 and 20:46.1, respectively. She was also Oregon’s second finisher and 31st overall at the NCAA Championships with a time of 20:20.9. Her finish earned her All-American honors.

Rainsberger finished her senior year at Air Academy High School (located in Colorado Springs, Color.), undefeated after winning the national title at the Nike Cross Country Nationals in 16:56.8. She led her school to the 2015 state title while setting a new course record of 17:39. She was the 2015 national Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year and was the Colorado Gatorade state winner for both track and field and cross country last year.

The cross country teams will race again on Saturday at the Washington Invitational, a meet the men won last year and the women won each of the past two years.

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03

The Oregon Ducks won their ninth match in a row on Friday night against the California Golden Bears with a 3-0 victory, but Coach Jim Moore was not pleased with his team’s performance.

He attributes part of his displeasure to Oregon’s obvious fatigue as they were coming off of a victory against Oregon State the night before. He felt like the team wasn’t fighting enough and was allowing too many balls to go out-of-bounds.

“This is as angry as I’ve ever been after a win ever,” Moore said. “Really disappointed in how we came out. I’m disappointed in the execution that we had. The focus was not good.”

At the beginning of the first set, the teams were neck-and-neck. Whenever one would score, the other would answer with a point of their own. Oregon wasn’t able to break out into a commanding lead like they did Thursday night against the Beavers. However, halfway through the set, Oregon scored four unanswered points, bringing the score to 12-8 and forcing Cal into taking a timeout.

Yet, Moore was unimpressed. “We just relied on our athleticism and our talent, rather than doing the things you’re supposed to do.”

The rest of set was so closely contested that the score was 21-20 with Oregon in the lead as they took their first timeout. But then, sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide recorded her eighth kill to give Oregon the match point. On the next play, Willow Johnson blocked Cal’s shot for the point, giving Oregon the 25-21 win.

Oregon finished the set with 18 kills and Vander Weide recorded twice as many kills as any other Oregon player.

“All together, I thought we played well as a team and that’s why I got those kills,” said Vander Weide. “Tonight was just a really good night. Everyone was clicking; everything was clicking.”

The second set began in a similar fashion, with the teams neck-and-neck until Oregon pulled into a 11-5 lead by scoring three unanswered points. From there, Oregon dominated play for the most part as they steamrolled into a decisive 25-17 win.

Vander Weide scored even more kills in the second set, bringing her total to 17. She had only two less kills than Cal’s entire team had in the second set. Not only was her offensive game strong, Vander Weide also tallied 11 of the team’s 45 digs. Only senior libero Amanda Benson had more at 14.

Oregon and Cal continued fighting in the third set as the Ducks seemed to be wearing down. However, midway through the set, they pulled into a 13-6 lead. After that, they kept Cal at bay even though the Bears attempted to make a comeback later in the set, narrowing the gap to three points with Oregon leading 22-19. From there, Oregon scored three unanswered points for the 25-19 victory.

Vander Weide tallied eight more kills, bringing her final total up to a career-high 25. Junior outside hitter Taylor Agost had the second most on the team with six kills. The team’s total was 57, while Cal had 36. Yet, Moore felt that even after Vander Weide had cooled down, the rest of the team was still feeding her the ball.

“If someone gets hot, you should feed them,” Moore said. “But (Vander Weide) wasn’t hot in the third set but we just kept setting her.”

“(Moore) does like to mix it up a lot,” Vander Weide said. “He likes everyone to have sets so that the other team’s defense doesn’t know what’s coming at them”

The Ducks will play again next Friday when they travel to Arizona State.

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03

On Friday at PK Park, the Eugene Emeralds (31-15) came from behind to win a tight game against the Vancouver Canadians (20-25) by a score of 3-2.

Eugene’s victory came after it dropped the first game of the five game series 8-4 on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Ems gave up 14 hits. However, during Friday’s game, they limited that number to five due to a stronger pitching performance.

“Yesterday, there were a couple of balls that could have been caught,” Eugene pitching coach Brian Lawrence said. “I felt like yesterday we competed all the way through, but it just didn’t go our way.”

Emeralds pitcher Dylan Cease started out the game somewhat strongly, striking out Canadians’ Josh Palacios and Rodrigo Orozco before allowing Cavan Biggio to walk. While J.B. Woodman was at bat, Biggio stole second. Then, Woodman singled on a ground ball past diving shortstop, Yeiler Peguero, to send Biggio home for his 18th run of the season, putting the Canadians on the board.

Cease’s strong start was overshadowed by costly mistakes made in the second inning, though. He gave up two walks to Christian Williams and D. J. McKnight, and was relieved by Duncan Robinson. Cease finished with three walks and three strikeouts. With two outs and runners on first and second, Palacios reached first on a fielding error by Peguero. Luckily for the Emeralds, Rodrigo Orozco flied out to center fielder D. J. Wilson, preventing the Canadians from scoring with the bases loaded.

“We had maybe a few too many walks,” Lawrence said. “We made the pitches when we absolutely had to and held them to two runs when they had chances to score.”

The Canadians wouldn’t stay in the lead for long, however. To start off the bottom of the third, D.J. Wilson hit a double past first baseman Christian Williams. He was followed by Robert Garcia, who doubled on a fly ball that was picked off at the right field wall by Palacios. Though Wilson scored on the play for his eighth run of his season and the Ems’ first run of the night, Garcia was caught at second by shortstop Yeltsin Gudino. It was his twelve double of the season, which is more than he accumulated in the first three seasons of his career combined.

Neither team scored during the fourth inning, but the Canadians picked up their second run during the top of the fifth. Woodman achieved his 15th double of the season on a fly ball past left fielder Robert Garcia. With Hernandez at bat, a wild pitch by Robinson sent Woodman to third. He then singled on a ground ball to shortstop Peguero, while Woodman scored, putting them back in the lead at 2-1.

The Emeralds evened the score in the bottom of the fifth. Tyler Payne singled on a ground ball out to left fielder McKnight, sending Kevonte Mitchell, who had walked, to third. Then, D.J. Wilson singled on a ground ball to pitcher Dalton Rodriguez, allowing Mitchell to score. Robert Garcia bunted on a single, loading the bases. However, with no outs and Peguero at bat, the Canadians managed to prevent the Emeralds by scoring again on a 3-2-3 double play.

In the next inning, Emeralds’ pitcher Andin Diaz replaced Duncan Robinson, after allowing four hits. He retired Vancouver three up, three down, allowing the Ems to take the lead when it was their turn to bat. Marcus Mastrobuoni walked, and while Mitchell was at bat, he stole two bases and proceeded to score the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by Mitchell.

Saturday at PK Park, the Emeralds will hope for a repeat performance at the third game in their series.

“Hopefully we can string a couple of wins together; get back on a roll like we were the first half,” Lawrence said.

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03

With five wideouts returning, as well as a promising freshman and a handful of running backs who can step in and play slot receiver, Oregon has one of the deepest receiving units in all of college football.

Redshirt junior and 2015 second team All-Pac 12 selection Darren Carrington will be lead a talented group of wide receivers  that includes Charles Nelson, Devon Allen, Dwayne Stanford, and Jalen Brown. Fox Sports recently touted the Ducks’ receivers as the fourth best corps in the country.

Though Carrington missed half of last season after failing an NCAA drug test for marijuana prior to the 2015 National Championship against Ohio State, he still finished last season with 609 receiving yards and six touchdowns — averaging nearly a touchdown per-game. Carrington’s receiving yards and touchdowns both ranked second for the Ducks last season. In his his first appearance after the suspension, a game against Washington in which the Ducks won 26-20, he had 125 yards and two touchdowns.

After spending much of last year playing in Oregon’s defensive secondary, junior Charles Nelson may have untapped potential on the offensive end for the Ducks. Though he started his first three games at receiver in 2015, Nelson shifted to saftey for the final eight games and proved himself to be a versatile athlete. He ranked ninth for Oregon last season in receptions with 17 and ninth in tackles at 47. This year, however, Nelson will only be playing wide receiver, the position he played as a freshman. That year, he ended up with 327 receiving yards, 101 rushing yards and five total touchdowns.

“The unique thing about Charles is we can do a ton of things with him,” Oregon offensive coordinator Matt Lubick told reporters in April when asked how Oregon plans to fill the hole left by former Duck Bralon Addison. “Bralon was primarily a slot receiver, but we could move (Nelson) around. We could put him in the backfield or we could put him out wide.”

Junior Devon Allen is an elite dual-athlete for the Ducks. The two-time NCAA track and field champion just qualified for the U.S. Olympic track and field team in the 110-meter hurdles following a victory at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials in July. He missed most of last season after suffering a right knee injury while running back the opening kickoff of the 2015 Rose Bowl against Florida State. As a redshirt freshman during the 2014 season, he had 684 receiving yards and seven touchdowns and was one of Marcus Maritoa’s most consistent targets.

Last season, redshirt junior Dwayne Stanford finished as the Ducks’ third-leading receiver with 463 yards and five touchdowns on 30 receptions. Though he missed all of the spring workouts after a mid-April knee surgery, he will be back in action for fall.

Rounding out the group of returners is sophomore Jalen Brown, who finished last season with 89 yards and one touchdown. Brown could see an increase in playing time this year after the departures of Addison and Byron Marshall.

True-freshman Dillon Mitchell could also play a large role for Oregon. Mitchell was Oregon’s top receiver in the Ducks’ spring game, and will fight for playing time right away despite being the youngest of Oregon’s wideouts.

Mitchell and a promising group of veteran receivers hope to lead a Ducks’ offense, which will feature its second new-comer at quarterback in as many years.

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03

Friday at Hayward Field, during the inaugural TrackTown Summer Series meet, Will Claye, representing Team Portland, won the triple jump with a distance of 57 feet, 5¾ inches, beating out his former Florida teammate Omar Craddock.

“It was a great meet for me,” said Claye. “It’s good having this meet going into the Olympics.”

Finishing in third was Chris Carter, representing Team New York. His furthest jump was his second jump at 56-4½.

Claye started off the event by jumping 55-2¾ to jump into the lead. Craddock responded on his second jump by reaching 57-2, but that was the extent of their friendly competition, as that was Craddock’s furthest jump. During his fourth jump, Claye took the lead again, and no one was able to catch him from there.

“I was the one really talking, telling everyone I’m about to sit down after jump three,” Craddock said. “Like, ya’ll, I’m too comfortable right now, ya’ll not challenging me. But, Will is Will. I don’t think he said anything, he just jumped further.”

Claye and Craddock are just two of a handful of elite jumpers who have come out of Florida in recent years. During the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials earlier this month, the two of them and fellow Florida alumnus Christian Taylor almost swept the three Olympic spots, but Craddock placed fourth, repeating his performance from the 2012 trials. That year, Taylor and Claye had placed first and second, respectively, then switched places this year.

During the event, the athletes were able to interact with their younger fans by signing autographs and taking pictures between jumps. The fans were seated on the field, next to the jump pit, so they were able to watch every jump and high-five the athletes as they walked by.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in a meet since I was in high school,” Craddock said, referring to both the young fans and the overall atmosphere of Hayward Field. The crowd got into the event by clapping along with each jump for all six competitors.

It was an unusual meet, but one that was important for garnering U.S. interest in track and field.

“The US needs it, we need a track and field meet,” Claye said. “This is great for us.”

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03

It was an evening of firsts at the inaugural TrackTown Summer Series on Friday at Hayward Field. Not only was this the first meet of its kind, but the 4×400 relay was run in a way that has never been seen.

For the first time in history, the 4×400 relay featured both men and women competing together on the same team. They did not really run against each other; the men ran the first and third leg, while the women ran the second leg and anchored.

“There’s a first for everything, and it felt actually great,” Claudia Francis of Philadelphia said. “I wasn’t as stressed out.”

New York and Philadelphia were neck and neck for most of the race. During the final hand-off, Philadelphia’s Kyle Clemons and New York’s Chris Giesting handed their batons off to their teammates, Phyllis Francis and Kendall Baisden, at the same time.

Baisden was leading Francis through the last curve, but thanks to a superior kick, Francis propelled herself over the finish line first, making Philadelphia the winner with a time of 3 minutes, 13.20 seconds. New York finished in 3:13.99. San Francisco and Portland finished in 3:14.64 and 3:15.68, respectively.

“I knew Phyllis was going to come home like a madman; or madwoman as I should say, and that’s exactly what she did,” said James Harris, who ran the first leg for Philadelphia.

Harris thought that he was lucky to be running the first leg. Before the start of the race, some athletes had concerns about the hand-off. After all, a man has never handed the baton off to a woman, and vice versa.

“I was a little nervous because I thought they might come in too fast, but it worked out perfectly,” Francis said. “They need to do it more often.”

Though Francis was slightly nervous, Clemons was unconcerned. “If you’ve ever run a 4×400, then you know what to do.”

Also competing for Philadelphia in the relay was Francis’s sister Claudia. She ran the second leg of the race.

“When I found out she was on it, I was ecstatic,” said Phyllis.

Because it was the last event of the evening, fans and teammates were invited out to the field to watch the action up close.

“It takes me back to running here collegiate; hearing the fans cheering me on,” Phyllis Francis said. “It’s a great feeling. I’m home.”

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03

At Hayward Field on Friday, professional American track and field athletes will represent the cities of Portland, Philadelphia, New York and San Francisco at the inaugural TrackTown Summer Series meet.

This is the first meet of its kind, and though there will only be one meet this year, the non-profit TrackTown USA plans for there to be many more in the years to come. The purpose of the league is to provide American athletes with the chance to compete in the United States during the summer, as opposed to travelling to Europe as athletes have routinely done in the past while competing on the Diamond League circuit. The meet is also meant to garner interest in the sport of track and field in America, as it will be broadcasted by ESPN.

The TrackTown Summer Series will be a more viewer-friendly event, with only ten events squeezed into about 2 hours. The only throwing event that will be taking place is the shot put, making this meet much shorter and therefore, easier for the average viewer to follow. While neither is listed under the four teams, current Oregon standout Devon Allen and former Duck Johnathon Cabral will each compete in the 110-meter hurdles.

Here are the top male and female athlete on each of the four teams:

Portland

Will Claye – Triple Jump

During his Olympic debut at the 2012 London Olympics, Claye competed in both the long jump and the triple jump, winning bronze in the long and silver in the triple. He recently made his second Olympic team when he won the triple jump in the trials earlier this month. He has a personal-best of of 58 feet, 3 inches.

Kate Grace – 1,500m

Though she made the Olympic team for the 800-meter after winning a mayhem-filled final that featured Alysia Montano falling over Brenda Martinez, she’ll be competing in the 1,500 for this meet. During her time at Yale University, Grace was a four-time NCAA Division I Track and Field and Cross Country All-American and has a personal record of 4 minutes, 5.65 seconds in the 1,500.

Current and former Oregon athletes: Mike Berry – 400m, Jordan McNamara – 800m, Jordan Hasay – 4-mile Road Race, and Luke Puskedra – 4-mile Road Race.

Philadelphia

Ben Blankenship – 1,500m

By finishing third in the 1,500-meter at the Olympic trials, Blankenship secured his spot on his first Olympic team. He matched his personal record of 3:35.48 when he took fourth in the Shanghai Diamond League event, the best Diamond League finish by an American man in a 1,500/mile race since Leo Manzano in July 2013. Blankenship is a member of Oregon Track Club Elite.

Brenda Martinez – 800m

Martinez made her first Olympic team earlier this year for the 1,500 meter after failing to make the team in the 800 meter due to a trip up with Montano, despite the fact that the two of them were heavy favorites. Her personal record is 1:57.91.

Oregon athletes: Phyllis Francis – 400m, Mandy White – 100m, Jasmine Todd – Long Jump, and Melissa Gergel – Pole Vault.

San Francisco

Erik Kynard – High Jump

In his Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games, Kynard won the silver medal as a 21 year old. This year, he placed first in the high jump at the trials to reach his second Olympic team. His personal record of 7 feet, 9¼ inches was the fourth best in the world for 2013.

Shannon Rowbury – 1,500m

Rowbury is the current American record holder for the 1,500-meter with a time of 3:56.29. She broke Mary Slaney’s 32-year record when she ran the time in Monaco in 2015. She represented the United States in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and placed seventh in 2008 — which was the best finish by an American female in that event at the time. She improved that to sixth in the 2012 Olympics, the best finish ever by an American female.

Oregon athletes: Colby Alexander – 1,500m

New York

Aries Merritt – 110m Hurdles

Merritt is the current world record holder in the 110 hurdles with a time of 12.80 seconds, set in 2012. That same year, he won the gold medal in the event at the London Olympics. He missed out on the Olympic team this year, perhaps due to the fact that he is still recovering from a kidney transplant he underwent in 2015.

Brittney Reese – Long Jump

Reese is the indoor American record holder in the long jump at 23-8¾, the third best distance all time. Her outdoor personal record of 23-11¾ is ninth all time. At the 2012 London Olympics, she won the gold medal. She is also a six-time world champion, winning the indoor championship and outdoor championship three times each.

Oregon athletes: Matthew Centrowitz – 800m, Johnny Gregorek – 1,500m, Eric Jenkins – 1,500m, and Megan Patrignelli – 4-mile Road Race

The meet will begin at 5:15 p.m. with the four-mile Road Race around the University of Oregon campus, while traditional events will start at 6:30 with the women’s 400-meter.

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03

On Wednesday at PK Park, the Eugene Emeralds (28-11) had their revenge on the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (18-21) prevailing by a score of 4-1 after dropping the first game to them on Tuesday by 5-1.

The Ems got off to an explosive start by going up 3-0 in the first inning. First baseman Chris Pieters hit a single on a ground ball to Volcanoes’ shortstop Ryan Howard. Later while third baseman Wladimir Galindo was at bat, Pieters stole second. Galindo was then hit by a pitch and sent to first base. Then, Jose Paniagua achieved his second triple of the season on a fly ball to right fielder Heath Quinn, sending Pieters and Galindo home and the Ems up 2-0.

However, the Ems weren’t finished scoring for the inning. They would score again when Zach Short hit a single, allowing Paniagua to score his thirteenth run of this season to bring the score up to 3-0.

In the second inning, the Volcanoes remained scoreless, while the Ems scored another run. Left fielder Kevonte Mitchell was walked, while center fielder D. J. Wilson was at bat. Mitchell then stole second on a passed ball. Wilson grounded out to first baseman Leo Rojas tossing the ball to pitcher Conner Menez covering first, but allowing Mitchell to make it to third. Garcia hit a sacrifice fly that was caught in the outfield by center fielder Reynolds sending Mitchell home, bringing the Ems up 4-0 and finishing the scoring for the Ems.

Coming into the game, Emeralds pitcher Manuel Rondon was 3-0. When asked if his record made him more confident, he replied “Always.… I was pitching for them, and I know a couple hitters on the Volcanoes.”

Coming into the game, the Volcanoes’ hitters were performing very well, with four players (Heath Quinn, Gio Brusa, Ashford Fulmer and John Riley) maintaining a batting average above .300 coming into the game.

In the third inning, the Ems held the Volcanoes scoreless with Rondon striking out Geraldo and Reynolds, after Leo Rojas grounded out to second baseman Yeiler Peguero on a throw to first base. The Emeralds also found little success in the third inning, failing to put anyone on base.

The Volcanoes luck began to change as they came close to scoring during the fifth inning. Howard hit a single on a ground ball despite a diving effort to catch the ball by Galindo. Short threw to Pieters at first base, but Howard had already beat his throw. Chase Compton hit another single, followed by Leo Rojas, who was able to reach first because of a throwing error by third baseman Galindo. With the bases loaded and only one out, Geraldo’s hit was caught by Pieters. Soon after, Reynolds’ hit was caught by Mitchell in the outfield.

The Volcanoes would finally score in the sixth inning. Quinn got on base after hitting a single past a diving Galindo. He was sent to second after Brusa was walked. Ashford Fulmer grounded into a double play, as shortstop Short threw to second baseman Peguero, who tagged Brusa out, to first baseman Pieters, beating Fulmer. With Howard at bat, Quinn was at third and John Riley walked on a wild pitch from Rondon, who was then replaced by Tyler Peitzmeier, achieving his fourth win and bringing his record to 4-0. Howard hit a single, allowing Quinn to score. Bringing the final score the aforementioned 4-1.

Neither team managed to score or even put anyone `on base in the remaining innings. The teams will finish out their three game series on Thursday.

Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03