Posted: August 6, 2006

Athletics: The road to Eugene begins Tuesday

The Road to Eugene '08 features 20 outstanding events that will see elite athletes - Olympic and world champions -- and members of the U.S. Junior National Team face off Tuesday, August 8th at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The Road to Eugene '08 is a cooperative effort between the Local Organizing Committee for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, USA Track & Field, and the USATF Athletes Advisory Committee. This inaugural Mid-Summer Classic will feature many of America's top track and field athletes who will be competing for $200,000 in prize money. The meet is a benefit for the Professional Athletics Association (PAA), a newly formed union of professional track and field athletes. In the women's pole vault, two-time Olympian Kellie Suttle will face stiff competition from 2003 NCAA champion Becky Holiday and 2002 U.S. junior champion Lacy Janson. 2004 NCAA champion Jake Freeman will go up against 2006 U.S. champion A.G. Kruger in the men's hammer throw. Also look for 2006 U.S. Junior and Nike Outdoor National champion Walter Henning, who broke his own American Junior record with his win in Indianapolis. The top three discus throwers in the U.S. will go head-to-head in the men's discus. Two-time U.S. champion Ian Waltz will face 2006 U.S. runner-up Casey Malone and 2006 third place finisher Jarred Rome. Also look for 2006 U.S. Junior champion Robert Taylor and 2006 U.S. Junior runner-up Nick Robinson. 2004 Olympic gold medalist Joanna Hayes will match up against 2005 World champion Michelle Perry. Tiffany Ofili and Shalina Clarke, the 2006 U.S. Junior champion and runner-up respectively, are also set to compete. The women's high jump is headlined by three-time Olympian Amy Acuff. There to challenge her are veteran Gwen Wentland and 2006 U.S. runner-up in the heptathlon Hyleas Fountain. 2006 U.S. Junior and Junior Olympic champion Patience Coleman also will be in the mix. 2005 World champion Tianna Madison will battle 2006 U.S. champion Rose Richmond in the women's long jump. Other contenders include 2004 Olympian Grace Upshaw, 2006 U.S. third-place finisher Akiba McKinney, and 2006 U.S. Junior champion Natasha Harvey. Dominique Arnold, the 2006 U.S. champion and American record holder in the men's 110-meter hurdles, will face 1996 Olympic gold medalist and four-time World champion Allen Johnson. Also watch for 2006 U.S. Junior champion Dennis Martin. In the junior men's 100 meters, Odell Harris, Brandon Myers, Evander Wells, and Arthur Wims, members of the 4x100m relay pool for the IAAF World Junior Championships are set to challenge 2006 U.S. Junior 200m runner-up Chris Dykes. 2006 U.S. Junior champion Alexandria Anderson, 2006 U.S. Junior 200m champion Gabrielle Mayo, 2006 Junior Olympic champion Kenyanna Wilson, Erica Alexander, Elizabeth Olear, and Jeneba Tarmoh, members of the 4x100-meter relay pool for the IAAF World Junior Championships, will compete in the Junior Women's 100 meters. Junior heptathletes Shevell Quinley and Shana Woods also will compete. Miguel Pate, ranked #2 in the world by Track and Field News for 2005, will square off against 2006 U.S. Indoor and Outdoor champion Brian Johnson in the men's long jump. 2005 World triple jump champion Walter Davis, 2006 U.S. Junior champion Aaron Smith, and 2006 U.S. Junior runner-up Antone Belt also will compete. Two of America's finest 400m runners, Otis Harris and Derrick Brew, will headline the men's 300 meters and will face a strong field of talented runners. Athletes looking to pull an upset include LaShawn Merritt, who won the Prefontaine Classic 400 meters and was second at the USA Indoor and Outdoor meets, and 2005 NCAA 400-meter champion Darold Williamson, the anchor of Team USA's gold medal winning 4x400m relay squad at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Quentin Inglehart-Summers and Justin Oliver, the 2006 U.S. Junior champion and runner-up respectively, are also set to compete. Current world leader and reigning World Outdoor Championships silver medalist Brad Walker will take on America's finest men's pole vaulters including American indoor/outdoor record holder Jeff Hartwig, 2004 Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack, and 2004 Olympic silver medalist Toby Stevenson, who also ranked #8 in the world in 2005. The field is joined by other elite competitors who have also won their fair share of impressive titles and medals, including 2000 Olympic gold medalist Nick Hysong, 2004 Olympian and the #5 world ranked pole vaulter in 2005 Derek Miles, and 2006 U.S. Outdoor Champion Russ Buller. Also watch for 2005 World Youth silver medalist Scott Roth and 2006 U.S. Junior runner-up Phillip Hanson. In the women's 200 meters, 2006 Indoor Visa Championship Series champion Lisa Barber will face three members from the 2004 Olympic 4x400m gold medal winning relay team, including Monique Henderson, Monique Hennagan, and Moushaumi Robinson. 2005 World Youth silver medalist and 2006 Nike Outdoor National champion Bianca Knight is also set to compete. Reigning Olympic 200m gold medalist Shawn Crawford will be challenged by two-time Olympic 110m hurdles silver medalist Terrence Trammell and two-time NCAA DII champion Jason Smoots in the men's 100 meters. Florida standout Willie Perry and Gordon McKenzie of Kentucky, the 2006 U.S. Junior champion and runner-up respectively, also will be in the mix. Two-time U.S. champion and American record holder Erin Gilreath will square off against 2006 U.S. champion Jessica Cosby, 2004 NACAC U23 champion Loree Smith, and three-time U.S. third place finisher Amber Campbell in the women's hammer throw. In the women's discus, 2006 U.S. champion Aretha Thurmond is set to go up against 2005 U.S. champion Becky Breisch and five-time U.S. runner-up Suzy Powell. Not to be overlooked are 2006 U.S. Junior and Nike Outdoor National champion Emily Pendleton and 2006 U.S. Junior runner-up Jere Summers. 2005 World bronze medalist and four-time U.S. champion Sandra Glover headlines the women's 400-meter hurdles, in which she will face two-time NCAA champion Sheena Johnson and Texas standout Melaine Walker. 2005 World Youth champion and USATF Youth Athlete of the Year Ebony Collins and 2005 Pan Am Junior 4x400m gold medalist Nicole Leach also will compete. The reigning World champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist in the shot put, Adam Nelson will face a talented field in the men's shot put that includes 2006 World Indoor champion Reese Hoffa, and 2004 Olympian in the discus Jarred Rome. Also look for 2006 U.S. Junior champion John Hickey, and 2006 U.S. Junior runner-up Erick Werskey. In the men's 400-meter hurdles, 2005 World silver medalist James Carter will be challenged by 2006 NACAC U23 champion Kenneth Ferguson and 2003 World silver medalist Joey Woody. 2006 U.S. Junior champion and NCAA third place finisher Chris Carter and 2006 U.S. Junior runner-up Joe Green also are set to compete. The Junior men's 300 meters will see the 4x400m relay pool of Rodney Lockhart, Bryshon Nellum, Jacob Scheuerman, and Calvin Smith face off against decathletes Matt Clark and Shawn Schmidt. Also in the fray are 800m runners Brandon Jones and Karjuan Williams. Two-time NCAA 1,500m champion Tiffany McWilliams will drop down in distance to compete in the women's 800 meters. She will face 2006 U.S. runner-up Alice Schmidt and 2006 U.S. third place finisher Frances Santin. 2006 U.S. Junior and NCAA champion Rebekah Noble and 2006 U.S. runner-up Shannon Leinert also are set to compete. The men's 1,500 meters will see the resurgent Gabe Jennings, a 2000 Olympian, go up against 2003 U.S. champion Jason Lunn, 2004 Olympian at 5,000m Jonathan Riley, 2004 Olympian in the steeplechase Anthony Famiglietti, and former Arkansas standout Said Ahmed. Also watch for 2006 U.S. 1,500m and Nike Outdoor National 2-mile champion A.J. Acosta, 2006 U.S. Junior 5,000m champion and 1,500m runner-up Andrew Bumbalough, 2006 U.S. Junior 3,000m steeplechase champion Corey Thorne and runner-up Alex Mason. Tickets for the Road to Eugene '08 are $15 each for reserved seating and $10 each for general admission. They are available at the Casanova Center ticket office, www.goducks.co, and 800-WEBFOOT. For complete results, visit www.usatf.org.

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