6/04/18 Emerald Media - Duck Season | Track & Field

Duck Season

Track and Field | 2018

Hayward Field will soon be new-and-improved, but some worry the stadium’s historic legacy will be erased.

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Table of CONTENTS

5

GILLESPIE FINDS HIMSELF ON MULTIPLE OREGON ALL-TIME LISTS

6

O’CONNOR JUGGLES BEING AN ATHLETE AND JOURNALIST

8

HAYWARD’S CONTROVERSIAL FUTURE

13

BROWN RUNS TO NEW HEIGHTS

14

SIMPSON SHOWCASES HIS VERSATILITY

Duck Season 2018

Duck Season, the Emerald’s annual track and field

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THE MENTORS BEHIND

CRAVON GILLESPIE’S

SPRINTING CAREER

BY Maggie Vanoni

ere is no doubt Cravon Gillespie is fast.

In his fi rst season as a Duck, Gillespie won the 100 meters in the Pac-12 Championships. He is already ranked in three events on Oregon’s All-Time lists: fourth in the 100 meters (10.18 seconds), sixth in the 200 meters (20.64) and a part of the second and sixth fastest 4x100 relay teams.

But behind the junior redshirt and his impressive personal bests from sprinting for Mt. San Antonio College (including a wind-aided 20.20-second 200 meters) lies a person who cherishes the importance of an honest mentorship.

Finding a mentor — someone to trust and guide him through life’s tough battles — has always been a priority to Gillespie. From his grandmother to a teammate’s mom, Gillespie would not be the person, the sprinter or the Oregon success he is today without them.

Growing up with divorced parents, living in bad neighborhoods and trying to avoid troubled friends caused Gillespie to move “close to” 10 times before his sophomore year of high school.

“It was defi nitely tough not having mentors,” Gillespie said. “Obviously I had my family, but just the friends I was around. Just not making the smartest decisions on my part. … We been from apartment to apartment, hotels, my grandma’s, my auntie’s house.” rough the constant changes, Gillespie found a strong mentor in his grandma. She would drive from Moreno Valley, California to the Gillespies’ home in Pasadena, California every weekend to pick up him and his siblings.

“She was like another mother to me,” Gillespie said.

When she passed away from a heart attack at age 45, Gillespie chose to honor her with a tattoo of her portrait on his chest, over his heart.

Oregon sprinter Cravon Gillespie races in a preliminary heat of the 200m. (Adam Eberhardt)

“Every time I fi nish a rep of my workout or before or after I cross the fi nish line, I always tap my chest and point to the sky just like a remembrance of her,” he said. “She is on this side, so she is close to my heart. I always think about her every day. I know she is watching over me.”

After high school, Gillespie attended Mt. SAC where he earned his Associate’s degree and sprinted for the Mounties’ track team. It was at a track practice during his sophomore year where he met Victoria “Tori” Sandoval. e two instantly clicked, quickly becoming best friends and it wasn’t long before Tori brought him home to her mom, Judy. “ e way he treated Victoria with respect. He never took her for granted,” Judy said. “And when you see that, you respect that, and you take care of them because there is not a lot of young men like that.”

Gillespie lived in the Sandovals’ guest room for that track season, the summer and part of the following fall.

He became part of the family, tagging along on road trips, celebrating the holidays, going to Tori’s little sister’s soccer games and joining family dinners.

“It was just like a brother that I never had,” Tori said. “It was fun. It was like our hanging out never ended.”

With the help of Judy, he improved his grades and his sprint times on the track to transfer out of Mt. SAC. Gillespie became the fi rst in his family to go to a fouryear university, earning a spot on the Oregon roster — his dream school and his dream track team.

Gillespie will compete in the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships in both the 100 and 200 meters, marking his fi rst ever race on Hayward Field as a Duck.

“Cravon had the tools, he just didn’t know how to use them,” Judy said. “And now that he’s using them, he’s accomplishing all his dreams. And I’m so proud and he’s an inspiration.”

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5

O’CONNOR HURDLES OPPOSITION ON AND OFF THE TRACK

BY Maverick Pallack It should be hard to live up to the Twitter handle @kyleethemightee, but Eugene native Kylee O’Connor makes “mightee” look like the understatement of the century. e University of Oregon journalism graduate has quickly developed a loaded, unique résumé in her college tenure while also competing in the 400-meter hurdles and the heptathlon for Lane Community College and the Oregon track and field team.

As a student, she worked for TrackTown USA, e Daily Emerald, KWVA and Title IX. O’Connor currently writes for e RegisterGuard and is also the president of Oregon’s chapter of Association of Women in Sports Media.

One would think O’Connor must be exhausted, but former roommate and teammate Danielle Girard said she rarely saw her come home tired.

Kylee O’Connor leaps at the long jump at the Pepsi Invitational. (Sarah Northrop)

“She’s a super highenergy person,” Girard said. “She’s pretty good at everything she does.”

People are inspired by and gravitate toward O’Connor, not because of her talent, but because of her humble and driven personality.

“I wish we had nine more Kylee O’Connors,” Oregon track and field head coach Robert Johnson said. “[She’s] just an awesome person, does everything you ask, does everything right, does things off the track as well as on the track. She’s

the model kid that everybody would want in their program.”

Everyone who knows her has a story of when they thought O’Connor would be overwhelmed and she proved them wrong.

One particular case was in her sophomore year. While dualenrolled, O’Connor competed for Lane in the Oregon Twilight Meet while also covering the event for Oregon instructor Lori Shontz’s journalism class.

“She literally ran a race, got changed, came up to the top of the press tribune and just started working on her story,” Shontz said. “She fl ipped from athlete to journalist like that. … When Kylee does something, she goes 100 percent. To watch her turn that on and off so quickly — it was amazing.” at determination has garnered plenty of respect from classmates.

Former classmate and RegisterGuard coworker Isaac Gibson has nothing but praise for his friend. “ at’s where I fi rst experienced what her work ethic is and how she kind of does everything flawlessly,” Gibson said. “She doesn’t get flustered, no matter how much she has on her plate.” e two met in Shontz’s class, and their contrasting personalities developed a budding rivalry, which led to Gibson challenging O’Connor to a 100-meter race. Although it originally started as a confident claim, it has now become a scenario everyone except Gibson prays for.

She literally ran a race, got changed, came up to the top of the press tribune and just started working on her story.”

Kylee O’Connor runs the hurdles at the Pepsi Invitational.

(Adam Eberhardt)

LORI SHONTZ

“I am all about the so-called Isaac and Kylee rivalry,” Shontz said.

“It didn’t matter how much Isaac goaded her, all Kylee did was smile and laugh. She was just too cool to fall for any of it.”

In 2017, her junior season, O’Connor’s 400-meter hurdle time of one minutes,1.31 seconds fell .02 seconds short of making the Pac-12 fi nal. “Aws” rained through Hayward Field as everyone realized how close she was, including the normally silent press area. Shontz had a busy day of instructing her track coverage class but made sure to pause and watch her former student race.

“I congratulated her and she was just so upset, and that shows why she is so good at what she does,” Shontz said. “She wasn’t like, ‘Look at how far I came.’ She was like, ‘Look how much I fell short by.’ It was really clear that she was going to double-down and she

was going to do it this year.”

cloud nine watching her.”

is season, O’Connor not only made the Pac-12 fi nal, fi nishing third with a time of 58.37 seconds, she added the heptathlon event to score points for her team.

rough her many perfections and strengths, however, there is one weakness.

“She’s graduated in journalism already, so she didn’t have anything to do this spring semester,” Johnson said. “So she was like, ‘Hey coach.

I want to help out the team some more. So what can I do?’”

Grady O’Connor, Kylee’s father, coach and a former Oregon hurdler himself, cites her “iron will” as the fuel for her busy workload. anks to the family’s competitive trait, Kylee is driven to succeed on the track, in the weight room, the classroom and on press row.

“Even at a young age, she was very competitive,” Grady said. “ at same competitiveness drives her in the classroom. … I’m on

“She’s not good at directions,” Girard said.

One particular run, O’Connor took a wrong turn and ran nine miles rather than her planned three.

Another mishap Girard recalled was when O’Connor broke her phone and had to print out directions to run around her hometown.

Although her time on campus is coming to a close, the work ethic she showed in the classroom and on the track will be on display wherever she goes.

“She doesn’t need the motivation of failure to get her to improve,” Gibson said. “She just wants to improve upon herself in everything in life.”

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7

COVER

CONTROVERSIAL HAYWARD FIELD RENOVATIONS LEAVE COMMUNITY REMINISCING

BY Shawn Medow

In Eugene’s pitch to host the 2019 IAAF World Championships, two-time Olympic decathlon gold medalist and Oregon alum Ashton Eaton was featured in a video.

He talked about the “magic” of Hayward Field during the 1,500-meter race of his world record-setting decathlon at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials.

“I heard the clapping. I heard the yelling,” Eaton said. “I saw people’s hands hitting the side of the east grandstand on the backstretch.

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At that point I felt ‘I am feeling the magic — this is the magic.’” e pitch for 2019 failed, but Eugene was given the 2021.

With plans to renovate Hayward Field in time for the 2021 IAAF World Championships, a mix of emotions have surfaced from those in support of the construction of the state-of-theart stadium and those against the complete overhaul of the historic stadium. Some fear it will lose its magic.

e 44th Prefontaine Classic is among the final events at Historic Hayward Field before renovations. (Adam Eberhardt)

The East Grandstand Bob Penny has a connection to Hayward Field that not many have.

He grew up near Hayward, went to elementary school in what is now UO’s Agate Hall, ran his fi rst race at Hayward when he was 5 years old and was part of Bill Bowerman’s experiments with shoes at South Eugene High School.

Now he’s fighting to keep the East Grandstand in place at Historic Hayward Field as part of the East Grandstand Supporters group.

“Eugene is not Lausanne. It’s not Paris,” Penny said. “It’s not a city of 5 million people. It’s not going to support a 30,000-seat stadium all the time or even a 13,000-seat stadium.”

A 2016 engineering report came to light recently, revealing that the Hayward East Grandstand is

in better condition than reported.

Reports that said the East Grandstand was not fi xable were proven false.

Grandstand Supporters group, but it hasn’t deterred them. According to Penny, nothing will compare to the way the stadium is now.

“ ere’s rot in places. ere’s surface rot in places that you’d expect,” Penny said. “Nothing that you wouldn’t expect for a building that’s 100 years old. To keep a hundred-year-old building going, you’ve got to be doing things every year to keep it going.”

“ e whole crowd can act together emotionally — it’s really hard to do that in concrete grandstands,” Penny said. “It’s really hard to do that when you don’t have an overhanging roof that works like a megaphone.”

Not only will the stadium get a new look, but the area around it will too, including 23 trees nearby Hayward that are set to get torn down.

Penny’s proposal to make Hayward a historical city landmark was struck down by the city council because he isn’t the property owner, and therefore the construction can continue.

University of Oregon President Michael Schill sent a letter to the city council, stressing the importance of getting the renovation done in time for the 2021 championships. at was a blow for the East

is could play a role in the fight over the renovation, as residents and local activists push back against UO, which would have to pay for all the trees to be removed according to city code.

UO does plan to put in replacement trees while the Eugene forestry and Public Works will make a decision on the trees by June 9.

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Eugene has been dubbed as ‘Tracktown, USA’ for its storied track culture. (Madi Mather)

Memories Opened in 1919, Hayward has hosted countless events, even serving as the home of Oregon football in its early days. But the best memories for Hayward Field have come from the sport it solely houses today — track and field.

“You can’t beat it,” hurdler Devon Allen said. “ is is my favorite place to run by far. When it’s 65, 70 degrees and sunny and a tail wind, you can’t beat that.”

Allen’s connection to Hayward Field runs deep, having run as a Duck and qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games there. It builds a bit of pressure for Allen when he returns now as a professional, but it only drives him to keep coming back to perform at his best.

“I expect a lot for myself and I want to compete well in front of my home fans,” Allen said. “But I think I have an advantage. ey’re rooting for me no matter if there’s record 10

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holder or world champ. I get the loudest cheer so it’s pretty cool.”

He’s not the only Oregon alum to feel that pressure. For distance runner and 2016 1,500-meter Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz Jr., Hayward is part of his family — Matthew Centrowitz Sr. competed for the Ducks at Hayward during the 1970s.

For Centrowitz Jr., one memory that comes back to him at Hayward is his fi rst U.S. Championship win in 2011 while he was still an Oregon runner. It was the fi rst night he went out and partied during college.

“I remember asking guys that had gone out before me and the guys on the team and was like, ‘Is going out always that fun?’ and they were like, ‘Absolutely not,’” Centrowitz Jr. said. “I was like, ‘Good’ because I felt like I might have missed a lot of my college experience.”

Going to Oregon paid off for Centrowitz Jr., who said that when

he fi rst visited Oregon with his dad, he did not see himself attending the university. But after an official tour, he fell in love. “[Hayward] defi nitely lived up to its expectations,” he said. “When you come back here and they announce your name and talk about being a former Duck, you get that extra boost, that extra applause in the crowd and that’s what we look for in the last lap — that last 100 meters. at little extra ‘oomph.’” at “oomph” is referenced by all athletes, not just those associated with the school or state.

Chinese sprinter Su Bingtian says he feels a connection to Hayward Field, where he set his personal best in the 100 meters. “ is field, it means a lot,” Bingtian said through a translator.

“Before everything gets torn down, I want the No. 1 lane to put it in my home. It was the lane I fi rst ran in here.”

A rendering of the new Hayward Field, slated to open in 2020. (Courtesy of UO) e 44th Prefontaine Classic is the final professional track meet held at Hayward Field in its current state. (Benjamin Green)

Former Ducks hurdler and Olympian Devon Allen during the 100m.

(Benjamin Green)

World-class stadium Track and field-specific stadiums are uncommon in the U.S. e new Hayward Field, which resembles Helsinki, Finland’s 1952 Olympic Stadium — a horseshoe shape that Penny compares to a toilet bowl with a large tower — will be worthy competition with other track and field stadiums around the world, comparable to those that host Olympic Games. “ ere’s plenty overseas, and so for it to be a track-specific stadium like that is going to be huge,” American sprinter Christian Coleman said. “Hopefully I can make

that World Championship team and compete here.”

Hayward Field’s draw currently exists from its history, but with the renovations, the attraction will be for the modern facilities, which will be on the world’s stage in the 2021 IAAF World Championships.

Eugene was awarded the 2021 championships without a formal bidding process, leading to an FBI and IRS investigation and subpoena. e new stadium might be ready in time for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, which USA Track and Field reopened the bidding for, stripping it

from Mt. San Antonio College. at sped up the process for Hayward’s renovation, and the latest plans were set in place and announced by the university in April.

Despite the bittersweet feelings, some have simply accepted it.

“Now it’s starting to hit me,” 400-meter world champion Phyllis Francis said at the 2018 Prefontaine Classic. “It’s so great to be out here with the fans, it just brings back memories of my college years.

“Out with the old and in with the new.”

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REED BROWN STAYS HUMBLE IN FIRST SEASON Oregon middle distance runner Reed Brown competes in the 3000 meter steeplechase. (Devin Roux)

BY August Howell During his fi rst collegiate cross-country season, Reed Brown was usually running in the middle of the pack and was clearly not the team’s fastest runner.

Instead, the freshman from Grapevine, Texas was usually the team’s fourth or fi fth scorer.

For track and field, however, his ability was recognized right away.

With the help of his teammates and associate coach Andy Powell, Brown is having an impressive season, and not just by freshman standards.

Heading into the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Brown is the fastest freshman to run the 1,500 meters this season. His time of three minutes, 39.56 seconds at the Bryan Clay Invitational is good for eighth overall in the country. He knew the high-caliber coaching staff and teammates at Oregon would allow him to train hard and run fast times.

“Training has been better than ever,” Brown told the media before the MPSF Indoor Championships in early February. “ e team chemistry — a lot of people have said this is one of the best years, and so I feel like the team mojo heading into the season is defi nitely looking great right now.”

At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Brown and his senior teammate, Sam Prakel, worked together in the mile. Midway through the race, Brown took the lead in order to try and pace Prakel to a win over the defending

champion Josh Kerr. It ultimately did not work, as Prakel fi nished third, but the move exemplified how Brown was willing to sacrifice for his teammates. He fi nished eighth, earning All-American honors.

“I got plenty of more years. I’m fi ne,” Brown said after the race. “ is was his last race and I wanted to give him the best shot to win that he could.”

At the Oregon Twilight meet, Brown won the 1,500 meters in 3:41.75. He beat professional runners, including Will Geoghegan and Tom Farrell of Nike.

Had Brown ran that time at the Pac-12 Championships a few weeks later, he would have placed second only to Prakel.

“He’s probably one of the best leaders I know,” Brown said of Prakel. “Super helpful with everything in any category from running to school. … You just have to sit down and watch those guys cause they know what they’re talking about.”

Brown had a historic senior season at Southlake Carroll high school. Last June, Brown became the 10th high school runner to break four minutes in the mile. His time of 3:59.30 at the Festival of Miles in St. Louis was the fourth fastest time in high school history behind Alan Webb, Jim Ryun and Drew Hunter.

But with all that success, Brown has remained focused on training hard, learning from his teammates and racing fast.

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DAMARCUS SIMPSON PROVES HIS VERSATILITY

Before Damarcus Simpson came to the University of Oregon, he wanted to be a football player, not a track and field athlete. It took him a few years, but eventually Simpson found his calling for the sport.

BY August Howell

After two years of competing for Chadron State, a Division III school in Nebraska, he transferred to Oregon and became one of the school’s more versatile athletes.

Simpson, a senior, is a three-time All-American, a two-time Pac-12 long jump champion and was named the 2018 Pac-12 Field Athlete of the year. e last Oregon athlete to win that honor was Ashton Eaton in 2010.

At the 2018 Pac-12 championships, Simpson’s third attempt at the long jump was a lifetime best and school record 27 feet, four inches. He jumped farther than anybody else in the competition on all of his jumps.

By himself, Simpson accounted for 26 points in the fi nal conference meet of the year. His versatility in the 100-meter dash, the 4x100meter relay and the long jump make him a huge asset for the team.

Head coach Robert Johnson knows just how valuable Simpson is to the team. Simpson’s steady demeanor and work ethic are key.

“Every day you get the same thing out of him,” Johnson said.

“And that consistency is paying off big for him now.”

During the 2017 west preliminary rounds, Simpson struggled and didn’t even qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Track athlete Damarcus Simpson gets ready behind the starting blocks. He specializes in multiple events. (Phillip Quinn)

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is year, Simpson is looking to get back into the national spotlight. He made sure he would be competing at Hayward one last time, jumping 26-11.75 (8.22m) in his fi rst attempt in the western regionals.

Simpson’s teammate Tristan James is the fi rst long-term

competitive training partner Simpson has had. Every day at practice, the two better each other through friendly competition.

“We’re pretty competitive, but I want him to go out there and beat me if he can,” Simpson said. “Because that’s the type of competitor that I am. If you can beat me then kudos to you.”

Simpson’s top-end speed made the transition to the 100-meter dash and 4x100 meter relay a natural one.

For consecutive seasons, Simpson has placed second in

the 100 meters at the Pac-12 Championships. His personalbest in the event is a wind-aided 9.94 seconds at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Prior to the Pac-12 championships, Simpson was asked how it would feel to be part of Oregon’s competitive legacy.

“It would mean a lot. It would mean a lot to everyone honestly, because it’s Oregon,” he said. “ ere have been so many great athletes and to be a part of that is so emotional and so crazy that you don’t even realize it until it actually happens.”

Everyday you get the same thing out of him, and that consistency is paying off big for him now.”

HEAD COACH ROBERT JOHNSON

Damarcus Simpson competes at the 2017 NCAA Track and Field National Championships. (Adam Eberhardt)

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15

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NOW WHAT?

Earn you Master’s Degree while working full-time.

We have several online programs available.

Apply today wou.edu/grad!

Have more questions about our program opportunities? Email graduateprograms@wou.edu

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