Bruce3404 No. 1 Share Posted March 12, 2023 (edited) With our not-too-distant indoor championship squads, I took a look at this year's teams in relation to the rebirth of Track and Field at Oregon when Vin Lananna took over. This involves 18 Indoor Championships from 2005 onward. This year's squads scored a grand total of 24 points combined. Worst ever? No, that would be the 2008 teams which combined for 11.33 points. Next worst was 2007 and 20 points. After that, 29 points in 2005. These might be considered Vin's building years. And last year's 39 was the 5th worst post-Vin/Robert Johnsn. The only good thing I can take away from this would be that within a year of the miserable '08 showing, we scored 75 points. Hopefully the freshman will develop, a few solid protocol transfers/eligible grad students come in and the Ducks can once again dream of podium slots. Concerning is the lack of championship effort and/or coaches preparation. Under coach Johnson, the Ducks had a wonderful ability to peak for the big meets. With the exception of a great job by Freshman Jaydn Mays in the 60 and 200, everyone else either performed to expectations or, for the most part, underperformed. While I don't at all question Jerry Shumacher's credentials as a coach (don't get me started on the women's DMR, though, where he burned two athletes who had qualified for the mile final and pretty much destroyed any chances for their individual success while scoring a goose egg in the DMR), I don't believe there are enough hours in the day to coach collegians, pros AND recruit. Have you ever heard a collegiate football coach who went pro complain about missing the recruiting part of the job? I do hope the associates can handle the recruiting end, since Schumacher's workload doesn't allow for much free time. Another option would be to let Schumacher go back to solely being a pro coach and bring in someone whose sole responsibility would be college track. We've got the best stadium in the world, far and away the best athlete facilities for track and field and a not so distant reputation for winning big meets. For whatever reason, athletes aren't lining up to come to Eugene and I might argue that our best track recruiter has been Dan Lanning. Edited March 12, 2023 by Smith72 Spacing 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennsylvania Duck Moderator No. 2 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Hello Bruce3404. I just posted an article to the Indoor Track & Field thread, written by Ken Goe of the Oregonian, who is in agreement with you. After the results of the Indoor Track & Field Champs, he's wondering where Oregon's glory days in indoor track have gone. I will repost it here to go with your write-up. Oregon Ducks women finish an underwhelming 11th at NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships The Oregon Ducks sputtered through an underwhelming final day of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center in New Mexico. Fourth-ranked coming in by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Oregon’s women finished tied for 11th with LSU, each scoring 22 points. Arkansas claimed the women’s title with 64. It’s a far cry from the days in which the Ducks dominated the indoor championships. The UO men won the NCAA indoor title as recently as 2021. They won consecutive national titles indoors from 2014-16. The UO women won seven of eight NCAA indoor team championships between 2010 and 2017. As you'll find in the article, it was a most disappointing showing by the Ducks this weekend. It seems our athletes weren't as prepared as they needed to be as a group. Oregon Ducks women finish an underwhelming 11th at NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships WWW.OREGONLIVE.COM Oregon’s women finished tied for 11th with LSU, each scoring 22 points. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevada Dawg No. 3 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I remember the old days when rooting for Steve Prefontaine was quite the thing, even for those of us who were not Oregonians. I don't follow college track and,so, assumed that the Ducks were still track powerhouses. My how the lofty have slumped it seems, or am I making bad assumptions? Although I knew that my Dawgs (both genders) had come a long way in college track and field, I was flabbergasted to learn that Arkansas had taken the top spot in both mens' and womens' track. That shows my ignorance about the sport I guess, as it is logical to assume that the Hawgs have been building to this point over a period of years. Still can't think of the track meets in Eugene and not think of the Ducks as a powerhouse in this sport. ,What happened? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce3404 Author No. 4 Share Posted March 12, 2023 On 3/12/2023 at 1:29 AM, Nevada Dawg said: I remember the old days when rooting for Steve Prefontaine was quite the thing, even for those of us who were not Oregonians. I don't follow college track and,so, assumed that the Ducks were still track powerhouses. My how the lofty have slumped it seems, or am I making bad assumptions? Although I knew that my Dawgs (both genders) had come a long way in college track and field, I was flabbergasted to learn that Arkansas had taken the top spot in both mens' and womens' track. That shows my ignorance about the sport I guess, as it is logical to assume that the Hawgs have been building to this point over a period of years. Still can't think of the track meets in Eugene and not think of the Ducks as a powerhouse in this sport. ,What happened? Several things. The old Hayward tear down led to several mediocre recruiting years and the still-unexplained firing of Robert Johnson sealed the deal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 5 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I can't imagine the plan for building the new Harward included a decline in the program. I think we will see changes, and developments. Great topic to keep our eyes on! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDuck No. 6 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I still can't believe Mr Knight hasn't prioritized a world class indoor facility. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce3404 Author No. 7 Share Posted March 13, 2023 On 3/12/2023 at 10:26 AM, Haywarduck said: I can't imagine the plan for building the new Harward included a decline in the program. I think we will see changes, and developments. Great topic to keep our eyes on! I believe it did. Practice facilities became LCC and South Eugene HS. Tough to sell those venues to top recruits, especially younger kids who couldn't see past sub-standard training facilities and into the future of the best arena in the world. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce3404 Author No. 8 Share Posted March 13, 2023 On 3/12/2023 at 4:14 PM, JDuck said: I still can't believe Mr Knight hasn't prioritized a world class indoor facility. 100% agree. Guess Uncle Phil isn't much of an indoor track fan. The indoor track has been on the boards since they ran on boards. Rumors have flown for well over a decade. I don't know why the fairgrounds hasn't been considered (could be the positioning of the structural posts). Boise was able to take a horse show arena and make an indoor track out of it for an NCAA championship in 2012. Then there was Springfield's posturing the past few years, a topic that seems to have died. No doubt recruiting would improve and how we won all those indoor titles without a proper facility boggles the mind. The closest indoor track at UW is oversized and doesn't begin to teach athletes how to run the tight curves you find on typical 200m tracks. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tandaian No. 9 Share Posted March 13, 2023 Hayward field has indoor lanes. However, it isn't a true indoor arena. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
