In case anyone forgot, the Oregon Ducks have a roster of great sprinters, too.
On an evening where the crowd at Hayward Field was waiting to see national champion Mac Fleet and former Oregon All-American AJ Acosta compete in the distance races, the Ducks sprinters wanted to make their presence known, as well.
“I told all the sprinters that, hey, we have to step up,” said UO sophomore Marcus Chambers, who finished second in the men’s 200-meter dash on Friday night. “We have to show everyone that Oregon isn’t just distance. We have sprinters as well.”
The Ducks did just that, claiming three of the top four times in a field that featured competitors from Portland State, Montana and Lane Community College. Given the lack of elite competition, there was more emphasis on the times than the actual order of finish.
“I just go out there and compete,” said Chambers. “It doesn’t matter if I’m racing my teammates, if I’m racing somebody from Lane, if I’m racing somebody from Florida.”
Chambers finished in 21.01, but his 4×100 teammate, senior Arthur Delaney, was just a bit better. The four-time All-American crossed first in 20.79, closing in on his PR of 20.52 set in Fayetteville, Arkansas, last May at NCAA Prelims.
“Arthur did great — he’s going to break his PR this year,” said Chambers. “He’s on a good track right now. Just the way he’s practicing and the way he ran today, he’s getting faster and faster every race.”
After winning the title at this event a year ago, Chambers didn’t appear to be too disappointed after failing to defend his title.
He’ll team up with Delaney and Oregon multi-sport athletes Charles Nelson and Tony Brooks-James on Saturday at 12:35 p.m. in the men’s 400-meter relay. That team failed to finish at the Pepsi Invitational last weekend on a botched exchange of the baton between Nelson and Brooks-James.
–by Preston Hiefield
