THIS WEEK

Oregon gets its final tune-up prior to the MPSF Championships this Saturday at the Husky Classic at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle, Wash. Competition begins at 8:30 a.m. and runs through 6 p.m. ALSO: Senior Galen Rupp is entered in Friday’s 5,000 meters at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. That race is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. PST (8 p.m. CST). The Oregon men and women both come into the weekend’s competition ranked No. 3 in the latest USTFCCCA poll. The men were also third last week, while the women moved up a spot.

TELEVISION

The Tyson Invitational will be broadcast on a delayed basis by ESPN on Sunday beginning at 2 p.m. PST.

OREGON ENTRIES

Saturday will be a busy day as Oregon will send around 45 competitors who will represent the Ducks in just about every individual event and both 4x400 meter relays. A number of UO All-Americans are entered in the Husky Classic. The men’s list includes Chad Barlow (400 meters), Ashton Eaton (60 meter hurdles, pole vault, long jump), Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott (5,000 meters), Kenny Klotz (mile), Danny Mercado (5,000 meters), Diego Mercado (5,000 meters), Luke Puskedra (5,000 meters) and Andrew Wheating (800 meters). On the women’s side, the entrants are Nicole Blood (mile, 3,000 meters), Mattie Bridgmon (5,000 meters), Zoe Buckman (800 meters), Melissa Gergel (pole vault), Alexandra Kosinski (mile) and Brianne Theisen (200 meters, 60 meter hurdles, long jump).

A complete list of entries can be found at: http://gohuskies.cstv.com/sports/c-track/stats/2008-2009/huskyclassic2009.html.

RESULTS

For live results of the Husky Classic, check www.gohuskies.com. For results from the Tyson Invitational, check www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com under "live stats." Final results will also be posted on www.goDucks.com.

IN THE INDOOR RECORD BOOKS

The number of Oregon indoor records that have fallen in 2009 continues to rise. That tally stands at 11 following the weekend on the East Coast. The ones that have been dropped in 2009 include the men’s 3,000 meters (Galen Rupp, 7:44.69), heptathlon (Ashton Eaton, 6,174 points) and distance medley relay (9:29.39) and the women’s 60 meters (Amber Purvis, 7.34), 200 meters (Purvis, 24.15), 400 meters (Keshia Baker, 53.38), 5,000 meters (Lindsey Scherf, 15:55.67), 60 meter hurdles (Brianne Theisen, 8.65), distance medley relay (11:05.08), long jump (Jamesha Youngblood, 20-9.25) and heptathlon (Theisen, 4,181). Additionally, A.J. Acosta set the record in the indoor mile (3:58.52) a year ago. Also, current student athletes ran on the 2007 record-setting women’s 4x400 meter relay team, (Leah Worthen, Baker). Rupp’s time is not only an Oregon record, but also the American collegiate record in the indoor 3,000 meters.

NCAA QUALIFIERS

Oregon has secured eight NCAA Indoor Championships automatic qualifying marks and another 15 provisional marks. That breaks out to 4 Auto./5 Prov. for the men and 4 Auto./10 Prov. for the women.

TWO DUCKS EYE TRIP TO IAAF XC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Following their impressive performances at the 2009 USA Cross Country Championships, senior Lindsey Scherf and freshman Luke Puskedra have their sights set on the IAAF World Cross Country Championships March 28 in Amman, Jordan.

Puskedra, from Ogden, Utah, finished third in the junior men’s race to automatically qualify for a spot on Team USA. Puskedra ran 23:53, trailing only German Fernandez of Oklahoma State (23:20) and Chris Derrick of Stanford (23:39).

The top six finishers from each race at the 2009 USA Cross Country Championships, held Feb. 7 in Derwood, Md., were automatically eligible for selection to Team USA.

Scherf, from Scarsdale, N.Y., finished seventh in the Women’s Senior Championship, meaning she is the first alternate for Team USA, should any of the first six finishers drop out. Scherf’s time was 28:07.

Scherf would become the first Oregon runner in the women’s senior race since Milena Glusac in 2002. Nicole Blood was a junior participant for Team USA in 2006.

Puskedra will be the fourth Duck in the junior race in the last five years. Chris Winter ran for Canada in 2004, while he and Galen Rupp (USA) were both in the 2005 race. Kenny Klotz was a 2007 representative for Team USA.

RUPP SETS U.S. COLLEGIATE INDOOR 3K RECORD

Senior Galen Rupp set an American collegiate record in the 3,000 meters Feb. 7 at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games. Rupp, from Portland, Ore., ran 7:44.69 in a second-place finish to Ethiopia’s Bekana Daba (7:46.69).

The nine-time All-American broke the 11 year-old record of 7:46.03, set by Adam Goucher of Colorado on March 14, 1998 in Indianapolis. Rupp’s time was just :06 off the overall collegiate record of 7:38.59, set by Arkansas’ Allistair Craig in 2004. The 2008 Olympian at 10,000 meters broke his previous school record in the event, 7:54.19 in 2007, by nearly 10 seconds.

WOMEN’S TRACK SIGNS EIGHT

The Oregon women’s track and field team signed eight talented high school athletes to national letters of intent during the February signing period.

The eight are led by Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year Jordan Hasay of San Luis Obispo, Calif. She is joined in the Ducks’ 2009 recruiting class by Laura Bobek of Astoria, Ore., Becca Friday of Bellingham, Wash., Alexandra Jones of Lake Oswego, Ore., Sarah Penney of Paradise Valley, Ariz., Chloe Steinbeck of Beaverton, Ore., Melanie Thompson of High Bridge, N.J., and Taylor Wallace of Klamath Falls, Ore.

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