2013 CROSS COUNTRY
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9-TIME NCAA CHAMPIONS
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Staff Profiles
Robert Johnson After a tremendously successful run as associate coach, Robert Johnson was elevated to head coach of the Oregon track and field and cross country programs in the summer of 2012. He is in his ninth season overall with the Ducks. His leadership was evident immediately upon taking the helm of the most storied programs in collegiate track and field when he set forth the framework that led to the Women of Oregon winning the 2012 cross country national championship for the first time in 25 years. The Ducks also captured Pac-12 and West Regional titles for the first time since 1987 as Johnson was honored at the national and conference coach of the year. Oregon followed up that performance by winning the 2013 NCAA Indoor women’s national title for a fourth year in a row. He then oversaw Oregon’s men’s and women’s sweep of the Pac-12 Championships, before guiding both teams to trophy finishes at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Johnson has helped lead the remarkable resurgence of a women’s program that has won four straight NCAA Indoor national titles and five consecutive Pac-12 championships. The Duck women have finished in the top three at the outdoor national championships for five years in a row. He has been just as instrumental to a men’s team that has won seven straight league titles and boasts an NCAA Indoor title and NCAA outdoor runner-up finish in 2009, as well as a fourth place outdoor finish in 2013.
Head Coach 2nd Year NCAA Women’s Coach of the Year 2011i, 2012i, 2012xc, 2013i Pac-12 Women’s Coach of the Year 2012xc, 2013tf Pac-12 Men’s Coach of the Year 2013tf NCAA Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year 2010i Robert Johnson Has Guided UO Athletes to:
60 Meters 100 Meters 4x400 Meter Relay
7 NCAA Titles 2012i (W) 2012 (W), 2013 (W) 2010i (W), 2010 (W), 2012 (W), 2013i (W)
25 Pac-12 Titles 2010 (W), 2011 (W), 2012 (W), 2013 (W) 200 Meters 2010 (W), 2012 (W), 2013 (W) 400 Meters 2008 (W), 2009 (W), 2010 (W), 2011 (M), 2012 (W), 2013 (W) 800 Meters 2012 (W), 2013 (W) Long Jump 2009 (W), 2010 (W) Triple Jump 2009 (W), 2010 (W), 2012 (W) 4x100 Meter Relay 2010 (W), 2012 (W), 2013 (W) 4x400 Meter Relay 2011 (W), 2013 (M) 100 Meters
He has coached Oregon student-athletes to the U.S. junior women’s record in the 100 meters (11.03), the Pac12 record in the 100 meters (10.96) as well as NCAA titles at 100 meters and the indoor 60 meters. He has also mentored four national championship 4x400 meter relay teams. One of his first recruits, 400 meter record holder Keshia Baker, was a gold medalist in the 4x400 meter relay at the 2012 London Olympics for Team USA. In 2013, English Gardner pulled off the impressive feat of winning both NCAA and U.S. titles in the 100 meters. Johnson’s charges have broken all but one indoor and outdoor school women’s record in the sprints, relays and horizontal jumps. On the men’s side, Johnson watched Mike Berry break the school’s 41 year-old record in the 400 meters as a freshman in 2011 and Berry has since improved his time to 44.75. Johnson has won three national women’s indoor track and field coach of the year awards (2011-12-13), as well as 2012 women’s cross country honor and the national women’s assistant of the year (2010 indoors). Recent saw the emergence of Gardner, Oregon’s first ever NCAA champion at both 100 and 60 meters. She was named the 2012 Pac-12 Track Athlete of the Year and the 2011 Freshman of the Year after setting U.S. Junior, Pac-10 meet and school records when she timed 11.03 in winning the 2011 league 100 meter title. A year later at the NCAA Championships, not only did she win the 100, but she led off the 4x400 meter relay team that won in a meet record 3:24.54, the second-fastest time in collegiate history. Her final season, 2013, saw her win the NCAA 100 meter title in a Pac-12 record 10.96. At the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships, quarter-miler Mike Berry was one of the many highlights. He won the Pac-10 title in a then-school record 44.91 before going on to finish third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and fifth at the USA Championships. He improved that to a runner-up finish at the 2012 NCAA meet. During the 2010 season, women’s school records fell in the 200 and 400 meters, both relays and the long and triple jumps. Oregon scored a meet-record 215 points at the 2010 Pac-10 Championships, with victories at 100 and 200 meters by Amber Purvis, the long jump and the triple jump by Jamesha Youngblood and the 400 meters by Baker, her third straight win. The Ducks also captured the 4x100 meter relay. That led to a runner-up finish at the 2010 NCAA Championships, where Baker and Purvis led Oregon to its first-ever NCAA 4x400 meter relay title in a then-school record 3:28.54. Indoors, 2010 was even better as the Ducks captured their first women’s NCAA Indoor Track & Field national title. Oregon punctuated its victory by winning the 4x400 meter relay for the first time in school history. The Ducks also counted a runner-up finish by Baker in the 400, a third-place finish from the distance medley relay team and a fourth-place showing from Purvis in the 200. Indoor UO record marks came at 60, 200 and 400 meters, in both relays and the long jump. The 2009 team, led by Pac-10 champions and All-Americans Baker and Youngblood, broke 12 indoor and outdoor school records in the sprints, relays and vertical jumps and captured three Pac-10 individual titles along the way. Baker won her second consecutive Pac-10 title at 400 meters and finished fifth at the NCAA Championships. Youngblood became the first Duck to sweep the long jump and triple jump competition at the league championships, and set school records in both events. Both were also indoor All-Americans. The 2009 season also saw three of the women’s four relay marks also fell. The men’s horizontal jumps have also taken a step forward under Johnson with Vernell Warren scoring in both the long jump and high jump at the Pac-10 Championships and qualifying for two consecutive NCAA Championships in recent seasons, while Brian Schaudt enteterd the top-10 in the triple jump in 2011. In 2008, Johnson, himself a two-time All-American triple jumper, helped launch Youngblood’s career as she set the school’s indoor long jump record and recorded the second-best outdoor triple jump and No. 3 long jump in school history. Johnson also coached Baker to the 2008 Pac-10 400 meter title, becoming the first Duck to win that event since Camara Jones in 1995. During the 2007 winter season, Lauryn Jordan scored All-America honors in UO’s first ever NCAA indoor long jump appearance after raising the indoor school record three times during the season. Before his work with Oregon, Johnson oversaw UCLA’s highly-regarded high jump, long jump and triple jump units, and also coordinated its strength and conditioning program. In that short span, his Bruin men and women combined for one NCAA title, one U.S. runner-up finish, two Pac-10 titles, and eight All-America honors. His star pupils included collegiate triple jump record holder Candice Baucham — the 2005 NCAA outdoor champion and U.S. runner-up, as well as 2004 Pac-10 champion and Olympic Trials triple jump qualifier Juaune Armon. As an Appalachian State assistant coach from 1997-2003, Johnson coached 28 individual Southern Conference champions and 14 NCAA qualifiers in the long jump, triple jump, 55 meters and 100 meters. He mentored the school’s first All-America jumper—Ronda White—an outdoor triple jump All-American in 2003, along with two Southern Conference Freshmen of the Year and two Southern Conference Athletes of the Year. As an athlete, Johnson also competed for Appalachian State, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1996, and was a two-time triple jump All-American (1995, ’96), NCAA high jump qualifier (1996) and school high jump record holder (7-1 3/4). He competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Trials. He and his wife Jackie, a former UO volunteer assistant, reside in Eugene.
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2014 NCAA Championships, June 11-14, Historic Hayward Field
Staff Profiles
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Staff Profiles
Andy Powell Responsible for Oregon’s cross country, middle distance and distance runners, associate head coach for track and field and cross country Andy Powell is in his ninth year with the University. Powell, working in conjunction with the staff in the training of the men’s and women’s distance runners, ensures that all student-athletes receive extensive individual attention, assists in recruiting all middle distance/distance runners, and oversees administrative functions related to the conduct of a successful cross country program — including team travel, equipment and assisting with the Bill Dellinger Invitational. He has coached some of the most successful runners in recent Oregon history, like Elijah Greer, Matthew Centrowitz, Galen Rupp and Andrew Wheating. Centrowitz ran to a third-place finish in the 1,500 meters at the 2011 IAAF World Championships, and a year later, placed fourth in a thrilling London Olympics 1,500 meter final. Rupp was the 2012 Olympic silver medalist at 10,000 meters.
Associate Head Coach 9th Year Andy Powell Has Guided UO Athletes to: 14 NCAA Titles 2006 (M) 2009 (M), 2010 (M), 2013i (M), 2013 (M) 1,500 Meters 2010 (M), 2011 (M), 2013 (M) 3,000 Meters 2009 (M) 5,000 Meters 2009i (M), 2009 (M) 10,000 Meters 2009 (M) Distance Medley Relay 2009 (M), 2010 (M) Cross Country 800 Meters
16 Pac-10 Titles Cross Country 2006 (M), 2007 (M), 2008 (M) 800 Meters 2008 (M), 2009 (M), 2010 (M), 2012 (M), 2013 (M) 1,500 Meters 2009 (M), 2010 (M), 2011 (M) 5,000 Meters 2007 (M) 10,000 Meters 2007 (M), 2008 (M), 2009 (M) Steeplechase 2009 (M) 81 All-America Awards Cross Country 2006 (2xM), 2007 (5xM), 2008 (5xM), 2009 (4xM), 2010 (2xM), 2011 (M) 800 Meters 2008 (M), 2009i (M), 2009 (M), 2010i (2xM), 2010 (2xM), 2011i (M), 2011 (M), 2012 (2xM), 2013i (2xM), 2013 (M) 1,500 Meters 2008 (M), 2010 (3xM), 2011 (2xM), 2013 (2xM) Mile 2007 (M), 2008 (M), 2009 (M), 2010 (2xM), 2011 (M), 2013 (3xM) 3,000 Meters 2006 (M), 2007 (M), 2009 (M), 2011 (M), 2012 (M) 5,000 Meters 2006i (M), 2007i (M), 2009i (3xM), 2009 (3xM), 2010i (M), 2010 (M), 2011i (M), 2012 (2xM), 2012i (M), 2013i (M) 10,000 Meters 2007 (M), 2009 (2xM), 2010 (M), 2011 (M), 2012 (M), 2013 (M) 3,000 Meter Steeplechase 2011 (M) Distance Medley Relay 2009 (M), 2010 (M), 2011 (M)
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Powell helped Oregon capture back-to-back NCAA Men’s Cross Country championships in 2007-08 plus the runner-up trophy in 2009. He also assisted to the Ducks to their first-ever NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in 2009 followed by a second-place trophy at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships. In 2010, the men were second indoors and third outdoors. The Ducks returned to the podium with a fourth place outdoor finish in 2013. Oregon has also captured seven straight men’s Pac-12 titles. Oregon had one of its strongest middle distance seasons on record in 2013, with Elijah Greer sweeping both the NCAA indoor and outdoor 800 meter national titles, a first in UO history. Additionally, Greer won his second straight Pac-12 800 meter title as he capped a remarkable senior season. Mac Fleet was also a national champion in the 1,500 meters, while the Ducks garnered 10 distance and middle distance AllAmerica awards in 2013. The 2011-12 seasons saw Centrowitz win both the NCAA Outdoor and USA Championships title at 1,500 meters and also saw All-American performances from Greer (800 meters), Luke Puskedra (10,000 meters), Steve Finley (3,000 meter steeplechase), A.J. Acosta (1,500 meters), Trevor Dunbar (5,000 meters) and Parker Stinson (10,000 meters). Centrowitz also captured his third straight Pac-10 title at 1,500 meters, while Finley took the steeplechase crown. In the fall of 2011, Puskedra was the third place finisher at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. In 2010, Powell helped guide Wheating’s remarkable double at the NCAA Championships, where the 2008 Olympian became the first man in 25 years to win both the 800 and 1,500 meters. Wheating also anchored the Ducks’ indoor distance medley relay national title, and was also part of Oregon’s dramatic 1-2-3 sweep in the NCAA Outdoor 1,500 meters. A year earlier, Powell played an important role in mentoring perhaps the best individual season in the history of men’s collegiate distance running. Rupp became the first person ever to win six distance races during the same academic year. Rupp was the 2008 NCAA individual cross country champion, the 2009 NCAA Indoor 3,000 and 5,000 meter champion, the 2009 NCAA Outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 meter champion, and anchored Oregon’s winning Indoor distance medley relay team. He was also the Pac-10 cross country medalist and won the league’s 10,000 meter title and capped his collegiate career by winning the title at the USA Track and Field Championships at Historic Hayward Field. He was named the USTFCCCA and Pac-10 Division I men’s track athlete of the year and was also honored as the NCAA Division I Academic All-American of the Year for all sports. On the track, the Oregon men continued to amass honors on the individual and team fronts. Wheating won his NCAA first title at 800 meters in 2009 to go along with Rupp’s six distance wins, while the distance crew counted Pac-10 wins from Wheating (800), Rupp (10,000), Chris Winter (Steeplechase) and a 1-2-3 sweep in the 1,500 meters led by Centrowitz, Rupp and Wheating. In all the distance runners tallied 79 points towards Oregon’s school-record 158 point total and third straight Pac-10 crown. The 2009 season also saw Rupp set the American indoor record at 5,000 meters (13:18.12) and the American indoor collegiate record at 3,000 meters (7:44.69) as the team men broke every school indoor mark between 800 and 5,000 meters, plus the distance medley record. Not surprisingly, Oregon was named the USTFCCCA’s Division I program of the year for 2009. The year before served as a precursor to the remarkable 2008-09 season. Wheating won 11 consecutive races before finishing second by .01 in the men’s 800 meters final of the most exciting race of the entire 2008 NCAA Track and Field Championships. Rupp meanwhile finished second in the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials to qualify for his first Olympic Games. In 2007, Rupp earned a World Championships 10,000 meters invitation after he placed second in the USA and NCAA Championships — an event he raced to an American collegiate record during the season (27:33.48). Postseason success is nothing new to Powell who served as a volunteer coach at Columbia University during the 2004-05 season and worked with distance coach and director of track and field Willie Wood. As a Stanford athlete, Powell stood out as one of the nation’s top middle distance runners. He still ranks among the school’s all-time best in the 1,500 meters (3:40.65) and just missed an Olympic Trials bid with the nation’s top freshman mark that season. That same campaign, he competed on the Cardinal’s NCAA champion track and field squad and placed eighth in the Pac-10 Championships 5,000 meters (14:18.75) as Stanford took second as a team. In cross country, he ran on the Cardinal team that finished fourth in the NCAA Championships in 2000 and won the Pac-10 title. As a prep at Oliver Ames High School in North Easton, Mass., near Boston, he won U.S. junior titles as a senior in the 1,500 meters (3:49.81) and 5,000 meters (14:51.81) after he ran a state mile record of 4:02.7. The Foot Locker Cross Country qualifier also won titles as a high school athlete in the Pan American Junior Championships, Golden West Invitational, and Millrose Games. His wife Maurica Powell is an assistant coach for the Ducks and was a decorated Stanford middle distance runner and All-American. The couple have two sons. 2014 NCAA Championships, June 11-14, Historic Hayward Field
Staff Profiles
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Staff Profiles
Maurica Powell Returning for her eighth season at Oregon, Maurica Powell has become one of the most well-respected distance coaches in the nation. Her knowledge and commitment to the Duck runners ensures that all student-athletes receive extensive individual attention over the course of the track and cross country seasons. That commitment to her runners paid off in the fall of 2012 when she and head coach Robert Johnson led Oregon to the NCAA Women’s Cross Country national championship. The Ducks were also Pac-12 and NCAA West Regional champions, capping the school’s most successful cross country season in a generation. Jordan Hasay, Alexi Pappas and Katie Conlon were all named All-Americans, while Hasay captured the West Region individual crown for the third year in a row. In addition to the cross country national title, among the many highlights during Powell’s tenure are three NCAA Indoor women’s national titles (2010-11, 2013), four conference crowns and three NCAA Outdoor runner-up finishes (2009-10-11). She has also overseen individual national titles by Hasay (mile, 3,000 meters), Anne Kesselring (800) and Rebekah Noble (800), 12 individual conference event winners and 57 all-Americans.
Assistant Coach 8th Year Maurica Powell Has Guided UO Athletes to:
800 Meters Mile 3,000 Meters
Cross Country 800 Meters 1,500 Meters 5,000 Meters 10,000 Meters Steeplechase
4 NCAA Titles 2006 (W), 2008 (W) 2011 (W) 2011 (W) 12 Pac-12 Titles 2009 (W), 2010 (W) 2006 (W), 2009 (W), 2010 (W) 2010 (W), 2011 (W) 2008 (W), 2010 (W), 2011 (W) 2010 (W) 2010 (W)
57 All-America Awards Cross Country 2007 (2xW), 2008 (2xW), 2009 (W), 2010 (2xW), 2012 (3xW) 800 Meters 2006i (W), 2006 (W), 2007i (W), 2007 (W), 2008 (W), 2010 (W), 2011 (2xW), 2011i (W) 1,500 Meters 2010 (2xW), 2011 (2xW), 2013 (2xW) Mile 2009 (W), 2010 (2xW), 2011 (3xW), 2013 (2xW) 3,000 Meters 2009 (W), 2010 (W), 2011 (W), 2013 (2xW) 5,000 Meters 2008 (W), 2009 (W), 2010 (W), 2010i (W), 2011 (W), 2013i (3xW), 2013 (W) 10,000 Meters 2009 (W), 2010 (W), 2011 (W) Steeplechase 2011 (W), 2013 (W) Distance Medley Relay 2006 (W), 2009 (W), 2010 (W), 2011 (W), 2013 (W)
Hasay went on to set school and Pac-12 records in the 10,000 meters, and then placed second at the 2013 U.S. Track and Field Championships following graduation. The 2010-11 season was a memorable one for Powell and the Ducks, as Hasay led the team to the Indoor national title with her wins at the mile and 3,000 meters. Hasay was also the Pac-10 individual cross country and 1,500 meter champion during the 2010-11 year. The 2011 outdoor season produced another Pac-10 title, including a pair of wins from Hasay in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters, and concluded with another NCAA Outdoor runner-up finish. During the 2009-10 campaign, Powell helped steer Oregon to its first-ever women’s NCAA Indoor Track & Field national title as the distance corps tallied points in the distance medley relay (second), mile (Jordan Hasay, fourth; Anne Kesselring, sixth) and 3,000 meters (Nicole Blood, fifth). That success continued outdoors with a dominating Pac-10 championship that saw Oregon win every race from 100 to 10,000 meters, plus the steeplechase. Among those winners were Kesselring in the 800, Zoe Buckman in the 1,500 meters, Blood in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and Claire Michel, who became Oregon’s first league 3,000 meter steeplechase champion. The success carried over into the NCAA Championships with a trio of third-place finishes - Hasay in the 1,500, Kosinski in the 5,000 and Blood in the 10,000 - plus Kesselring’s sixth-place showing in the 800 that led to the Ducks’ second-straight national runner-up finish. The academic year began with Blood winning the 2009 Pac-10 cross country individual title, Oregon’s first conference medalist in 17 years. The 2008-09 season marked a return to prominence for the Women of Oregon with a second-pace showing at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships, a tie for ninth at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, and their highest finish in a quarter century at the NCAA Outdoor Championships where they captured the silver trophy. The women also won their first Pac-10 track title in 17 years and took second again in cross country as Oregon was named the USTFCCCA’s Division I women’s national program of the year. The distance runners proved vital in Oregon’s Pac-10 track and field triumph with Buckman winning at 800 meters and Blood running second in the 5,000 meters. There was no shortage of All-America winners for the women either in 2008-09. Alex Kosinski ran eighth and Blood 10th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships to give Oregon a pair of top 10 finishers for just the second time in school history. Mattie Bridgmon joined Blood and Kosinski as cross country All-Americans and Kosinski became the first Duck to win the NCAA West Regional in 14 years. Indoors, Oregon’s school-record setting distance medley relay team garnered All-America honors, as did Blood in both the mile and 3,000 meters. Outdoors, Blood was the national runner-up at 5,000 meters, while Bridgmon was an All-America selection at 10,000 meters. During the spring of 2008, Blood was the Pac-10 champion at 5,000 meters and earned All-America honors in that event, while Buckman was an All-American in the 800. In the Ducks’ second-straight NCAA cross country runner-up showing in 2008, Powell worked with three runners who earned All-America honors in Kosinski, Blood and Bridgmon. In 2007, Noble repeated her NCAA indoor 800 meter runner-up honors, then received her fourth 800 All-America honor that June. That fall, led by Blood and Kosinski, the squad won runner-up honors at the NCAA Championships. On the track in 2006, the women’s distance unit celebrated a pair of All- America efforts in the NCAA Indoor Championships by Noble (800 meters, second) and the distance medley relay (seventh). Three months later, Noble became the first freshman to win an NCAA title in the outdoor 800 meters. Before her arrival at Oregon, Powell made an impact as a graduate assistant coach at Columbia University for the 2004-05 season. The Lions’ touted women’s distance program enjoyed a breakthrough season with its 13th-place finish in the 2004 NCAA Cross Country Championships, led by Caroline Bierbaum who took third individually in the collegiate harrier finale, and second outdoors in 2005 in the NCAA 10,000 meters (33:03.37). During the outdoor regular season, Bierbaum ranked first nationally in the 10,000 meters (32:44.51) and Delilah DeCrescenzo stood second nationally in the steeplechase (10:06.88) before she claimed ninth in the NCAA finale. While she coached the Lions, Powell studied as a social work graduate student and worked with disadvantaged Harlem junior high and high school youth. A middle distance star for Stanford University from 1998-2002, Powell still ranks in the top 10 all-time for Stanford in the indoor 800 meters (third, 2:07.51) and outdoor 800 meters (ninth, 2:06.63) and 1,500 meters (eighth, 4:16.51), and was an All-American in 2002 in the 1,500 meters (fifth, 4:16.51) and indoor distance medley relay (1,200 meter leadoff leg, third overall, 11:09.23). In the Pac-10 Championships, she was a threetime scorer in the 800 meters and also placed in the 1,500 meters as a junior and senior. She took seventh in the 800 meters as a freshman in the 1999 U.S. Junior Championships. In high school, the Boston-area native was a six-time state track champion for Franklin High School in Franklin, Mass. Powell and her husband, UO associate head coach Andy Powell, have two sons.
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2014 NCAA Championships, June 11-14, Historic Hayward Field
Staff Profiles
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Staff Profiles
Jim Radcliffe One of the most overlooked elements in the success of Oregon’s student-athletes is Jim Radcliffe, who is in the midst of his 27th year as the school’s head strength and conditioning coach. He not only plays a significant role in the Ducks’ program as the designer of the year-round conditioning calendar but also has been quick to aid the athletic development of athletes in all sports. Radcliffe furnishes the student-athletes with a wide variety of exercise through weight training and lifting systems, and is a noted authority in the field of exercises dealing with the improvement of speed and quickness. The McCloud, Calif., native became assistant strength coach at Oregon in 1985, a position he held for two years before assuming the duties of head coach in that area.
Director of Strength & Conditioning 27th Year
Radcliffe taught and coached a variety of sports and was the athletic trainer for four years at Aloha High School from 1980-83. He then did graduate study at Colorado and worked in private business prior to joining the Ducks’ staff. Graduating from Pacific (Ore.) with a degree in physical education and health in 1980, he played four seasons at defensive back and was captain of the special teams. Radcliffe earned his Master’s in biomechanics from Oregon in 1992. Radcliffe is active in national organizations surrounding his profession and is certified by the United States Weightlifting Federation. He also has written books, been published in numerous professional journals and produced videos on plyometrics, one of the most effective exercise techniques. Radcliffe’s wife, Janice, is an instructor and fitness director in the University’s department of physical education and recreation.
Jill Steele Jill Steele joined the staff in the fall of 2011 as director of operations. The Seattle, Wash., native is responsible for many of the day-to-day operations of the track and cross country teams, including administrative support, team travel and logistics. She also plays a vital role in the numerous championship-level track and field meets hosted by Oregon. She served on the Meet Operations and Marketing committees for the 2012 Olympic Trials as well as the 2012 Pac-12 Track & Field Championships. Prior to arriving in TrackTown USA Steele spent two years working with the University of Oklahoma’s track and field teams. She began her time with the Sooners as a graduate assistant, studying intercollegiate athletic administration, before moving into a full-time position as director of track and field operations. While earning her Master’s degree from Oklahoma, Steele served as a graduate assistant with academics, where she advised and monitored student-athlete academic progress. Additionally, she mentored student-athletes with learning disabilities and international English second-language students-athletes. She was the meet director for the 2011 Big 12 Track & Field Championships.
Director of Operations 3rd Year
Steele was a member of the cross country and track and field teams at Utah State. She won the Joe E. Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Award four years in a row, from 2003 to 2006. She was named to the Western Athletic Conference all-academic team in both 2005 and 2006 and graduated from Utah State in 2006 with a degree in health, physical education and recreation. After graduation, Steele spent one season as head cross country coach at Overlake High School in Redmond, Wash. Steele has also volunteered for the American Cancer Society as an event chairperson for its “Relay For Life” fund-raiser event.
Matthew Downs Matthew Downs is in his second year as Oregon’s director of internal operations for the track and field and cross country teams. Downs oversees the integration of the program’s administrative areas within the athletics department, including compliance, eligibility, meet operations, finance, marketing and promotions and public relations. Downs came to Oregon after spending three years (2009-12) as the director of track and field operations at the University of Virginia. In addition to his role as home meet director for the Cavaliers, he also assisted with the program’s alumni relations and with the planning, fund-raising and development of Virginia’s $7 million track and field facility. Previously, Downs also worked with the SunTrust National Marathon in Washington, D.C., as well as college football’s Military Bowl and the NCAA Frozen Four.
Director of Internal Operations 2nd Year 12
Downs, from Richmond, Va., was a three-time all-conference runner for the University of Mary Washington and team captain from 2006-08. He graduated from Mary Washington in 2008 with degrees in history and economics, and received his Masters in sport leadership from Virginia Commonwealth in 2009. Prior to Virginia, Downs was an assistant track and field coach at St. Christopher’s High School in Richmond from 2008-09. Downs is also a USATF certified official with six years of experience.
2014 NCAA Championships, June 11-14, Historic Hayward Field
Staff Profiles
Lance Deal Lance Deal begins his 12th year with the Oregon track and field program. After eight years as a successful assistant coach, he was named director of track & field venues and program support in 2010. The 1996 Olympic silver medalist and 21-time national champion is responsible for coordinating the activities and improvements at of one of the most storied venues in all of sport - Historic Hayward Field. Deal ensures that the iconic stadium is preped and in top condition for every meet it hosts. He also oversees all equipment necessary for staging track events on the grand stage, ranging from hurdles and starting blocks to pits and poles and everything in between.
Director of Track & Field Venues and Program Support 12th Year
Another aspect of Deal’s role is to serve as the program’s point man for all capital improvement and construction projects. He played an integral role in the intensive Hayward Field renovation that took place for the 2008 Olympic Trials. That feat included realigning the grass infield and designing and building new cages for the hammer and discus throwers, among numerous other features. He subsequently oversaw both permanent and temporary additions to the classic venue for the 2010 and 2013 NCAA Championships, as well as the 2012 Olympic Trials and the USA Track & Field Championships in 2009 and 2011. Deal transitioned into the role at Hayward Field after guiding Duck athletes to a pair of NCAA championships, 21 All-America honors, 12 Pac-10 titles and 25 school records. As an athlete, Deal ignited the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Stadium crowd with a silver medal in the hammer (266-2), and he also competed in the 1988, 1992 and 2000 Olympic Games and in the IAAF World Championships in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1999. In world rankings, he stood first in the world in 1996 and was among the top-10 five other seasons (1992-93-94-95-98). The U.S. record holder at 270-9, Deal owns 16 of the top 20 throws all-time by Americans. His resume boasts nine U.S. outdoor hammer titles, 12 indoor titles in the weight throw (35-lb.) – including a record nine straight – and nine year-end No. 1 hammer rankings. Deal also excelled in the discus and shot put. As an undergraduate at Montana State, he earned All-America honors in the discus during the 1984 NCAA Championships at Hayward Field with a personal best of 202-2 and also threw a best in the shot put of 60-2.5. Born in Riverton, Wyo., Deal is a graduate of Montana State University (1984) and Natrona County High School (Casper, Wyo., 1979). He and his wife Nancy have one daughter, Sarah.
Tracy Oshiro Athletic trainer Tracy Oshiro is responsible for the care of the men and women’s track and field team. She is one of 10 full-time athletic trainers on staff at the University. Prior to her arrival at Oregon she worked with the University of Arizona cross country and track and field teams. Oshiro did her undergraduate studies at Pacific University, receiving her bachelor’s of science in exercise science with an emphasis in sports medicine. She then spent two years at Shenandoah University earning her Master’s in athletic training.
Athletic Trainer 6th Year
Grant Wilson Athletic trainer Grant Wilson is responsible for the care of the men and women’s track and field team. He is one of 10 full-time athletic trainers on staff at the University. Prior to his arrival at Oregon he worked at the University of Vermont with the Catamounts’ cross country teams and men’s basketball team, among other duties. Wilson received his Bachelor of Science in exercise science from Western Michigan in 2002, and his Masters of Science in athletic training from Oregon. Before joining the Vermont staff, Wilson served as the athletic trainer for the men’s basketball program at Arkansas State 2004-2006.
Athletic Trainer 1st Year 13