Track & Field | 4/15/2010 2:56:38 PM
What's happening:
The Western Oregon University track & field team will face its busiest week of the season as members of the squad will compete five of six days. The Willamette/Western Oregon Mini Meet will get things started Thursday, Apr. 15. Members of the team will then journey to California for the Mt. SAC, Long Beach State Invitational and the Bryan Clay Invitational.
WU/WOU Mini Meet:
Western Oregon and Willamette will compete head-to-head in a non-scored dual meet Thursday (Apr. 15) at 3:00 p.m., at the Charles Bowles Track in Salem, Ore.
The Mt. SAC Relays:
The 52nd annual Mt. SAC Relays will be held at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif., Apr. 15-17. Twenty-five student-athletes from Western Oregon are scheduled to compete in the meet and there are over 3,500 total entrees from universities throughout the United States.
Long Beach State Invitational:
Long Beach State will also host the annual Beach Invitational at Cerritos College, April 16-17. The meet, which features over 1,200 participants, gets underway with the women's (3:30 p.m.) and men's (5:30 p.m.) hammer throw on Friday. A full day of events are slated for Saturday as the men's shot put kicks off the field events at 9 a.m., and the women's steeplechase opens the track events at 10 a.m. The meet will conclude with the men's 4x400 relay, which is scheduled for a 7:50 p.m. start time.
Bryan Clay Invitational:
Members of the Western Oregon track & field team will also compete at the Bryan Clay Invitational Friday, Apr. 16. The all-day meet will be held at Cougar Athletic Stadium and will be hosted by Azusa Pacific University.
Coach Johnson's thoughts:
On Mt. SAC: "The Mt. SAC Relays are one of the premier track & field activities in the world each year. Event after event you hear (the announcer say) the best marks in 2010. This is just a great track & field meet."
On the distance races: "Every year 50-60% of the qualifiers (for the finals) in the 5k and 10k will qualify for the nationals."
On the opportunity for WOU student-athletes: "This is the way you expose your athletes to what this sport ought to be. If you don't expose your athletes to the top levels of competition then they will always be satisfied being a big fish in a small pond."
More on the meet and the opportunities: "This also says that if you come to Western Oregon University and can run, jump or throw far enough you will have a very good opportunity to do it in the most challenging of situations. You can come here as a walk-on and in two to three years be running or competing state champions from around the country that are no better than you."
