For the fourth straight season it was the Oregon men who stood atop the points list for the Pac-10 Track and Field Championships. And in record setting fashion, the Oregon women steamrolled the competition giving the Ducks both trophies in a repeat of last year's championship sweep.
As was the case last season, the Ducks were staked to quick leads in the multi-event competitions the week before. The incomparable Ashton Eaton won his third decathlon with 8154 points and Marshall Ackley grabbed third place to set the stage. Brianne Theisen defended her title in the heptathlon to jump start the women's team.
They surely didn't look back, the Oregon women dispatched the best of the rest of the conference for a record 215 points, winning 12 of the 21 events - a completely dominating performance. Here is a list of the individual champions.
4X100 Relay (Mandy White, Amber Purvis, Keisha Baker, Jamesha Youngblood)
Brianne Theisen (heptathlon)
Keshia Baker (400m)
Anne Kesselring (800m)
Claire Michel (steeplechase)
Amber Purvis (100m, 200m)
Nicole Blood (5k, 10k)
Zoe Buckman (1,500m)
Jamesha Youngblood (long jump, triple jump)
It was a tighter competition for the men. USC remained within striking distance well into the second day of competition. Oregon effectively clinched the title on the strength of junior A.J. Acosta's third place finish in the 5,000 - after a fourth the day before in the 30k steeplechase and a strong runner-up performance earlier on Sunday in the 1,500.
But it was Eaton - arguably the most talented athlete to ever wear an Oregon singlet - who gave the Pac-10 one last curtain call, winning - in addition to last week's decathlon - the long jump and the 110 hurdles, ending the meet with 39.5 total points. Arizona finished 9th with 26. Eaton also finished second in the 100m and ran a leg on Oregon's 4X100 relay.
Also winning individual championships for Oregon was senior Andrew Wheating (800m), Matthew Centrowitz (1,500 m) and Cyrus Hostetler (javelin).
And so an impressive run continues for the program and for Director of Track & Field Vin Lanana. Since his arrival in 2005, Lanana has presided over an unprecedented period of success for the program both on and off the track.
On the track, his athletes have won indoor and cross country national championships, national runners-ups outdoors and in cross country, and now a total of six conference titles. Off the track he has raised the profile of the program off the charts, hosting the Olympic Trials, the USTAF National Championships, NCAA Western Regionals and this June, the NCAA Championship meet. Quite a resume indeed - one would be hard pressed to find another athletic organization - anywhere - that enjoys such a full bodied success.
And his sights are clearly set on a pair of national championships when the NCAA meet comes to Hayward June 9-12. Polls currently have the men ranked second and the women number one, but first comes the NCAA Western Regional in Austin, Tx and with it the intrigue of the declarations list as Lanana tries to qualify as many athletes as he can to make a run at the title two weeks later.
Eaton - and Acosta - offer a number of options and a possible Wheating double in the 1,500 could be part of the equation to add a bit more to the history of Hayward Field.
