Track fans were treated to two spectacular late season events at Hayward Field with the NCAA Championships as well as the Prefontaine Classic. In the NCAA meet, Texas A&M was the winner of both the men’s and women’s team championships. Outstanding individual performances were recorded by many athletes, including Oregon’s Ashton Eaton, who won his third straight outdoor NCAA title in the decathlon, and Lisa Koll, the Iowa State distance runner who won both the 5000 and 10000 meter events in convincing manner. In the 10,000 it was her second NCAA championship in three years.

Prefontaine Classic This year’s Pre Classic marked its inaugural appearance as a member of the new Diamond League world series of major track meets. The meet was also held a month later than usual because of the NCAA meet at Hayward Field in early June. The combination of good weather, fitter and more tuned athletes, and very high quality fields in every event resulted in a series of meet records and best-ever marks on American soil. These included:

1. •Asbel Kiprop of Kenya (left) won his send straight Bowerman Mile in 3:49.75. Pleasing the crowd in 5th place was Andrew Wheating who lowered his personal best and the University of Oregon school record to 3:51.74. Wheating later amazed in Monaco with a 3:30.90 1500 meter performance.
   

2. •Tariku Bekele of Ethiopia won the 5000 meters in 12:58.93. the first sub-13:00 performance ever on American soil.
   

3. •David Oliver won the hurdles in 12.90, the fastest time in the world at that time, and not far off the world record of 12.87.
   

4. •Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia cruised to a comfortable victory in the 5000 meters in 14:34.07.
   

5. •Abubaker Kaki of Sudan took aim at the world record in the 1000 meters. Although he did not break that record, his 2:13.62 was the fastest time ever run in that event on American soil.

Other Oregon athletes also provided championship performances. Junior Brianne Theisen, who won the heptathlon in the NCAA meet last year, defended her title in the event. This was her second NCAA championship of the year, as like Ashton Eaton she won the indoor version of the multi-event in March. Two of the most memorable performances of the meet were turned in by Andrew Wheating, who became on the fifth athlete in history, and the first since Oregon’s legendary Joaquim Cruz, to win the 800 meter and the 1500 meter title in the same year. Wheating is shown on the right, below, winning the 1500 over teammate A.J. Acosta. Teammate Matthew Centrowitz finished 3rd, giving the Ducks a sweep in that event.