Sports

Recorded on : June 6th, 2014

Air Date: June 9th, 2014

Eugene has a rich track and field history, and the speakers scheduled for June 6 are working toward a rich track and field future. Vin Lananna and Mike Reilly discuss their plans to bring to Eugene the best track and field athletes from the around the country and the world for many years to come.

Eugene is hosting the NCAA Division I National Championships in June and the World Junior Championships in July. Lananna and Reilly will talk about some ways that Eugene benefits from these events.

The hopes of the top-ranked Oregon State University baseball team were dashed Monday night after they were eliminated from the NCAA tournament.  The Beavers lost to UC Irvine 4-2 in the Regional finals.  A dejected Head Coach Pat Casey spoke after the game, the fifth of the weekend for the team. 

Oregon schools sent dozens of athletes to the NCAA Western Preliminaries in Arkansas over the weekend, hoping to qualify for the national championships happening in Eugene in less than two weeks.  Perennial track and field powerhouse, the University of Oregon, qualified 39 individuals for the finals – 20 women and 19 men.
 

Both Oregon and Oregon State’s baseball teams played in NCAA Regional tournaments this weekend.  
 

Because of Oregon State’s number 1 rank, the team hosted their post season regional.  But the home crowd couldn’t deliver a perfect weekend for the Beavs.  OSU won their opening game against North Dakota State, but then dropped their second to UC Irvine.  The Beavers came back and won their next two games against UNLV and UC Irvine.  

OSU’s Jeff Hendrix, a Corvallis native, went 4 for 4 in Sunday’s win.   

The University of Oregon softball team ended their run at a National Championship on Sunday.  It was an up and down weekend for the Ducks at the women’s College World Series in Oklahoma.  Oregon won their first game against Florida State, then dropped their second to Florida.  That loss sent them to the loser’s bracket, where they faced and defeated last year’s national champion, the University of Oklahoma.  But Oregon wasn’t able to pull out a win against Alabama, and was knocked out of the tournament.
 

The Prefontaine Classic just wrapped up at Hayward Field and there's more to come in Eugene for Track & Field fans.

Track town USA will live up to its nickname this summer.

The World Junior Championships is the marquee event in late July. It's the first time this competition has been held in the United States. The World Juniors coincides with the Eugene Marathon on July 27th.  

Kari Westlund, President and CEO of Travel Lane County says she thinks visitors will be able to find lodging in and around Eugene.

One of the most storied professional track and field meets in the world turned 40 this weekend.  The best US and international athletes traveled to Eugene for the Prefontaine Classic.

Two American records fell at the 2014 Pre.  Shannon Rowbury set the record in the 2 mile distance.  And to the joy of his former home crowd, Galen Rupp broke his own national record in the 10,000 meters.

They scheduled the best for last at “distance night” of the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene: the 10,000 meter race.

The crowd stayed until after 9 pm to cheer for Galen Rupp, a native of Oregon and former U of O star. Rupp reportedly asked for a fast 10K race.

The Nike Oregon Project runner hoped to break his own American record, set in 2011. As the laps ticked by, he remained in the lead group of four to six runners, holding a pace almost equal to his record time. But with two laps to go, he took the lead.

Oregon State baseball will go into the NCAA post season as the number one seed in the country.  The bracket was announced Monday morning.  The Beavers will host a double-elimination Regional tournament in Corvallis, facing UNLV, UC Irvine, and North Dakota State in the first round.

The University of Oregon baseball team did not receive a high enough seed to host a Regional.  Instead, the Ducks will travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt, Clemson, and Xavier.  

The University of Oregon softball team is on its way to the College World Series.  The Ducks defeated Minnesota in two games in this weekend’s Super Regional tournament in Eugene. Last year at this time, Oregon’s dreams of making the World Series were dashed in the Super Regional.  But things are different this time around.  The Ducks went into the post season the number one team in the country.  And on Sunday, they finished off the Golden Gophers of Minnesota.