Track Teams Announce 2013 Honors
EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon celebrated its fifth straight sweep of the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships by honoring several key members of those teams Sunday at the teams’ annual banquet.
Jordan Hasay, winner of a school-record 17 All-America awards, and NCAA sprint champion English Gardner were presented with the Bill Bowerman Award.
The Bowerman Award, given for world-class achievement and a historical collegiate career, went to two of the women responsible for Oregon’s rise to the top of track and field. Hasay, a senior from Arroyo Grande, Calif., helped Oregon win the 2012 cross country national title with her third place individual finish and has also scored on each of Oregon’s four straight NCAA Championship indoor teams, including individual titles in the mile and 3,000 meters.
Gardner, a junior from Voorhees, N.J., has been just as transformative in the sprints, where she was the 2012 NCAA outdoor 100 meter champion and indoor 60 meter winner. She also has national titles, both indoor and outdoor, in the 4x400 meter relay.
Elijah Greer earned the Harry Ritchie Jeweler’s Award for his great contribution to the University of Oregon track and field program. The senior from Lake Oswego, Ore., has been dominant this year, winning the 2013 NCAA Indoor 800 meter title before claiming his second straight Pac-12 800 meter title earlier this month.
Another key senior was named the winner of the Mary Officer Award. Like Hasay, Anne Kesselring has also scored on four straight NCAA Indoor title teams and four straight Pac-12 championship squads. She was the 2011 NCAA Outdoor champion at 800 meters. The Mary Officer Award is presented to a member of the women’s team in recognition of her great contribution to the University of Oregon track and field program.
The Lynne Winbigler Women's Performer of the Year Award was shared by juniors Phyllis Francis and Laura Roesler. At the 2013 conference meet, Francis won her second straight Pac-12 400 meter title, while Roesler captured her second straight 800 meter crown. The two also teamed on Oregon’s NCAA Indoor championship 4x400 meter relay.
The George Scharpf Outstanding Athlete Award, presented in recognition of outstanding athletic achievement by a male track and field athlete, went to sophomores Sam Crouser, Dakotah Keys and Johnathan Cabral.
All three played a critical role in Oregon’s seventh straight Pac-12 men’s title. Keys won the league decathlon title for the second year, while Crouser did likewise in the javelin. Cabral was the Pac-12 runner-up in both the 110 and 400 meter hurdles.
Senior Becca Friday won the Harry Ritchie's Inspirational Award, which goes to the female track & field athletes whose athletic achievement and leadership provide inspiration to their teammates. Friday has also been a key scorer in Oregon’s four straight NCAA Indoor and Pac-12 titles. She was the 2013 league runner-up at 1,500 meters.
The Dow Wilson Inspirational Award, presented to the male track & field athlete whose athletic achievements and leadership provide inspiration to their teammates, went to a pair of athletes who came back from injuries to score top three finishes at the Pac-12 championships. After missing the last two seasons, junior Mac Fleet came back and took third in the 1,500 meters at the conference meet, while redshirt freshman Greg Skipper, who was sidelined his first season in Eugene with a back injury, had a big personal best to grab second in the Pac-12 hammer competition.
Pac-12 100 meter champion Jenna Prandini was named the Perry Holloman Newcomer of the Year Award winner. The freshman from Clovis, Calif., also scored at the league meet in the long jump and ran the third leg on the victorious 4x100 meter relay team.
The Tom Heinonen women's cross country award winner went to Hasay, while senior Trevor Dunbar won the men's Bill Dellinger Cross Country Award.
Cited for the Coaches Award, given to recognize athletic achievement, dedication and determination, were senior Alexi Pappas, junior Parker Stinson, and sophomores Jillian Weir and Trevor Ferguson.
Also on Sunday, the University of Oregon Track and Field Hall of Fame Award was presented to strength and conditioning coach Jim Radcliffe, who is in his 26th year at the University working with track and field, as well as the rest of the Ducks’ athletic programs.
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