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It’s going to be a showdown at the Oregon Relays this weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene. The meet begins on Friday at 2pm, but the main event will feature Oregon and Arkansas, both with dual entries into the meet.
The competition starts with a bang as the Ducks open with ninth-ranked Greg Skipper in the hammer. The evening’s other event, the men’s Bill McChesney, Jr., 5,000 Meters, is one of the marquis races. Two of the nation’s top 10,000 meter runners, No. 1 Parker Stinson of Oregon and No. 5 Solomon Haile of Arkansas, will square off along with the Ducks’ Matthew Melancon. Ben Blankenship of the Oregon Track Club Elite and Japan’s Tsuyoshi Ugachi are also in this field.
Saturday’s schedule finds a number of ranked athletes in action. The 110 meter hurdles will be one to watch with national leader Johnathan Cabral of Oregon against the Razorbacks’ 11th-ranked Caleb Cross. Those two also meet in the 400 meter hurdles, where Cross is ranked No. 10.
In the sprints, football’s De’Anthony Thomas (No. 14 nationally) is in the 100 meters, while Arkansas fields No. 15 Akheem Gauntlett and No. 18 Marek Niit in the 200.
No. 8 Mike Berry of Oregon leads the field in the 400, while the Ducks’ Elijah Greer will make his 2013 debut at 800 meters.
Oregon also has No. 4 Matt Miner and Mac Fleet in the 1,500 meters, as well as No. 3 Sam Crouser in the javelin.
Arkansas counters with the nation’s No. 3 pole vaulter in Andrew Irwin and No. 3 long jumper in Tarik Batchelor. Batchelor is also No, 12 in the triple jump, where he’s joined by 28th-ranked Anthony May. The Razorbacks also feature a pair of 7-foot high jumpers in No. 13 May and No. 14 Brede Ellingsen.
If the meet comes down to the relays, Arkansas comes in with the No. 7 4×100 team, while the two schools are nearly in a dead heat in the 4×400 with the Ducks at No. 10 and the Razorbacks at No. 15.
For Oregon, the magic number is 82. There will be a total of 163 points up for grabs.
You can watch the Relays for free on the Pac 12 Networks weblink, and get Live Results here.
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