By Lev Rourke
Photos by Kim Spir
After a drought that has lasted a generation, the Oregon track teams go for the national championships this week on their home turf at jampacked Hayward Field. The meet begins Wednesday in what is expected to be cool, wet conditions – home cooking even from Mother Nature. (Senior Jordan McNamara, right).
“What a great situation for the men and women to be in,” Head Coach Vin Lananna told Ken Goe of The Oregonian last week. “The meet is at home. It’s not going to be a runaway. It’s not going to be that we have no chance at it. But we’re going to have to have a great Saturday. To make Saturday count, we’re going to have to have a good Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.”
The men, who last won the outdoor team championship in 1984 in a meet held at Hayward Field, must do well in the middle distances to have a chance to compete with the other two favored teams, Texas A&M and Florida. A&M is defending champions – they won last year’s meet by finishing 2nd in the concluding 4x4 – and Florida won this year’s indoor title, dethroning the Ducks.The women are considered co-favorites with Texas A&M, which also won last year’s meet. The Ducks were this year’s indoor champions, wrapping it up with a surprise victory in the 4x4. This meet could also come down to that race. A&M and Oregon both have teams in that event. (Heptathlete Brianne Theisen, left).
Oregon State, Portland State and the University of Portland also have competitors in the Championships, one from each school. For OSU, it will be their first male competitor at the NCAA meet in 22 years.
The meet will be available by webcast on ncaa.com and will be telecast live on CBS on Friday evening and Saturday morning. Saturday’s schedule will be in the morning to accommodate a live television schedule in the Eastern time zone.
Because of this year’s Regionals setup, only 24 competitors remain in each event. This means most running events will have only a semifinal and final round, making doubling more manageable. Field events also will not have a Qualifying round, just prelims straight to finals. The final day’s competition promises to be decisive in both team competitions. In the men’s meet, the long jump, 1,500 and 5,000 – all potential scoring opportunities for Oregon – will be contested. In the women’s, Saturday’s finals will include both relays, the 1,500, the 200 and the 100 hurdles. A&M looks to score well in the sprints, relays and hurdles, Oregon in the 1,500 and relays.
The Oregon men are led by two seniors, Andrew Wheating and Ashton Eaton, both of whom are doubling. Wheating is defending champion in the 800, where he is expected to face the upstart freshman who upset him indoors, Robby Andrews of Virginia; he is also running the 1,500. No one has won that double at the NCAA meet since Joaquim Cruz of Oregon did so in 1984, leading the Ducks to the team title. Eaton, the heavy favorite in the decathlon, is also competing in the long jump, which will be contested on the final day.
Wheating is joined in the 800 by Travis Thompson and freshman Elijah Greer, and in the 1,500 by A.J. Acosta and Matthew Centrowitz. Centrowitz is the Pac-10 champion in the event.
The Oregon women have a more diversified lineup, ranging from the 4x1 all the way to the 10,000 meters, including contenders in the 400, 800, 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 plus both relays. In the heptathlon they have the favorite, Brianne Theisen. Senior Nicole Blood is doubling in the 5 and 10, where she will be joined by teammates Alex Kosinski in the 5 and Mattie Bridgmon in the 10. Kosinski is also running the 1,500, along with Zoe Buckman, the Pac-10 champion, and freshman Jordan Hasay.
The relay teams are anchored by sophomore Amber 
Purvis and senior Keshia Baker (right). Purvis, however, is missing from the individual 200 after false-starting at Regionals. Baker is one of the favorites in the 400, in which she has the nation’s l
eading time this season (50.76).
Purvis and senior Keshia Baker (right). Purvis, however, is missing from the individual 200 after false-starting at Regionals. Baker is one of the favorites in the 400, in which she has the nation’s leading time this season (50.76).There also is a handful of native Oregonians who will be competing for other schools in these Championships. They are Alyssa Hasslen (McMinnville, left), in the discus for Arizona; Ryan Waite (St. Helen’s), BYU 800, and Nate Anderson (Benson, Portland), USC 4x4.
The in-state qualifiers:
Oregon Men 800 Greer, Thompson, Wheating; 1,500 Acosta, Centrowitz, Wheating; 5,000 Michael Maag, Jordan McNamara; 10,000 Luke Puskedra; long jump Eaton, Vernell Warren; hammer Jorday Stray; javelin Cyrus Hostetler, Alex 
Wolff; decathlon Eaton, Marshall Ackley;
Oregon Women 100 Mandy White; 400 Baker; 800 Anne Kesselring, Becca Friday; 1,500 Buckman, Hasay, Kosinski; 5,000 Kosinski, Blood; 10,000 Blood, Bridgmon; long jump/triple jump Jamesha Youngblood; pole vault Melissa Gergel; relays White, Purvis (left), Baker, Youngblood, Michelle Williams; heptathlon Theisen
Wolff; decathlon Eaton, Marshall Ackley; Oregon Women 100 Mandy White; 400 Baker; 800 Anne Kesselring, Becca Friday; 1,500 Buckman, Hasay, Kosinski; 5,000 Kosinski, Blood; 10,000 Blood, Bridgmon; long jump/triple jump Jamesha Youngblood; pole vault Melissa Gergel; relays White, Purvis (left), Baker, Youngblood, Michelle Williams; heptathlon Theisen
Oregon State Jordan Bishop, men’s high jump
University of Portland Alfred Kipchumba, men’s 5,000
Portland State University Nick Trubachik, decathlon (right. Photo courtesy of the PSU Athletic Department.)