Article on why Pac-12s are being held at Mt. SAC. The real juicy bits, however, are about Jerry.

Taking over a big program with no prior “big program” experience is daunting and takes a bit to adjust.

I am 100% against how he handled the doping fiasco (incredibly, Rojo’s crew still gives him a pass!!), but in this case, I’d say wait another year before bringing out the pitchforks.

Edit: I hope his aversion to racing often does not infect the program. If so, the guy needs an exorcism.

And don't talk about them at all after a period, right?

Maybe Phil should pay them?

Kind of a bad look when Nike is doubling the coach's salary but expecting Bill McChesney Sr (RIP) and others - who take their jobs seriously, do a good job, and are still going to be a part of Oregon track when Martin Smith or Vin or Johnson or Jerry is on to the next thing in ten years - to trot out there every weekend in the rain for free.

This 100%.

Dude, you are a clown. On one hand you b!tch and moan about the lamentable state of TnF due to lack of high quality meets and athletes not racing, now when it comes to your buddy Jerry, the slate is wiped clean? The problem is not that the distance teams are bad, yes that will take time to develop, but the ridiculous notion that not racing will somehow benefit the athletes. How much is Nike paying you to shill for BTC?

I am not a Duck fanboy - went to a different Pac 12 school. Not really a Jerry fan either. But the women crushed it today. And the men were fourth. I note that the men’s throws program at Oregon has been moribund for years following a storied history. They didn’t score a single point in the shot or discus at this Pac 12 again (picked up some loose change in Jav and hammer). I think Brian Blutreich will produce results on the men’s like he has on the women’s side. Doesn’t totally change the game but margins are thin and that will move the needle. Jerry scored picking up Blue and there’s paydirt there. I think they come back into total dominance. Hate to say.

Men finished 6th. Blu was a big pickup. Male shot putters/discus throwers are harder to recruit because there are so few quality throwers due to football. Ryan Crouser, who grew up in Oregon and went to U of T would also have been a football player if not for growing up in a family with strong t&f influences. The men have a Jamaican shot putter coming next year.

Even with better recruiting in the distances Jerry has a lot of ground to make up. The Powells have got it going in Seattle and Stanford is not sleeping, either. He faces a big challenge. I think it will take at least two years to see where things are at.

All fair points but Mitch ( his dad) was not a duck and was proud of that. Ryan was NEVER going to Oregon.

I buy the argument that the first year gets a bit of a pass (recruiting classes aren't Jerry's, takes time for athletes to adapt to the new training program).

That POV aside, think the mid-d/distance points from conference add to this discussion:

Women's mid-d/distance points: 18

800: 5 (5th & 8th)
1500: 7 (3rd & 8th)
3k steeple 5 (6th and 7th)
5000: 0 (best finish was 14th)
10000: 1 (8th)

[vs 2022: 8 (10000) + 6 (5000) + 10 (3k st) +0 (1500) + 3 (800) = 27]

Men's mid-d/distance points: 20
800: 6 (3rd)
1500: 0 (best finish was 9th)
3k steeple: 10 (3rd & 5th)
5000: 4 (5th)
10000: 0 (no finishers)

[vs 2022: 6 (10000) + 3 (5000) + 0 (3k st) + 12 (1500) + 17 (800) = 38]

I would be concerned as a recruit or parent of a recruit about the lack of racing. For many of them that will be the pinnacle of their racing careers as not everyone (or very few) have pro prospects where they can get on board playing the long game. Most kids want to race and race a lot.

Mid-d/distance points at the conference meet since 2014. For both women and men, 2023 was the lowest in that span:

Women
2014: 35
2015: 61
2016: 53
2017: 51
2018: 54
2019: 45
2021: 36
2022: 27
2023: 18

Men
2014: 50
2015: 44
2016: 42
2017: 44
2018: 43
2019: 33
2021: 72
2022: 38
2023: 20

Had to go back to 2005 to find a lower conference mid-d/distance pts scoring number for UO women.

For men, had to go back to 2004.

Jerry (Oregon) will own the Pac12 soon. Especially in track.

Why hasn't more been spoken on his spectacular coaching staff? Sprints AND Throws domination. All these haters and low-lifes have stated negatives. The idiots only mention how he dealt with the media this season.

How you can't see the past history?

Don't bet against Jerry and UO, to DOMINATE XC and track. But, especially track.

Some of these criticisms on the men’s side seem divorced from reality.

Oregon only had 3-4 returning Pac-12 scorers across distance events. All but Cook competed. Plus they picked up some points in the steeple and 5k from other guys. Makes total sense for Cook to redshirt this year.

People are acting like they sat Benenfield or something. He graduated. So did Reed Brown.

The cupboard was bare at the end of last year. Who exactly was ready to compete for distance points this year?

Sure, UW is crushing this year. A big chunk of their points coming from sixth year grad transfers. And a lot too from home grown developed talent. It’s not the current UO staff’s fault that the prior regime didn’t recruit those runners or develop similar runners.

it’s going to take a year or two on the distance side. But even now it’s easy to see that Oregon is trying to build a total track team with sprints and throws. I’m guessing their metric isn’t how many distance points they score at PAC-12s in the future. That’ll happen as an afterthought. I think they care about NCAA points and getting back to that team podium every year.

hmmm... is this why olympic trials hasnt been announced??? are the new coaches not into growing sport/hosting?

MT SAC is terrible , has a strong wind every time. The place is a pile of SH#t.