“Hayward Field adds six inches to anyone’s jump

[rainbowgirl28]

If that's true, then we should see some big jumps at the 2008 Olympic Trials!

http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/displ ... 67168a6905

Skipper and Oregon aim high at Pepsi Invitational

By Scott J. Adams
Sports Reporter

April 07, 2006

The Oregon men host a trio of talented programs this Saturday at the Pepsi Invitational.

Standing between the Ducks and a fourth consecutive title in this meet are conference rival Washington, defending Western Athletic Conference champion Boise State and Minnesota, which took third last year in the Big Ten Conference.

On Wednesday, first-year Oregon coach Vin Lananna said that strong performances at meets like this are key for his squad in tuning for postseason meets.

“This is really going to be an exciting meet,â€Â

[rainbowgirl28]

Well, not yesterday...

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregon ... thispage=2

The weather, variable all day long, was an issue, particularly for the pole vaulters. It was sometimes wet, with a gusting wind blowing the rain sideways. A few minutes later, it might be sunny and calm.

"It was rough," said Oregon's Jon Derby, who won with a vault of 16 feet 63/4 inches. "Pole selection was all over the place. One second you would have a really huge tail wind. Then, nothing. Then the rain would come.

"In those kind of conditions you just have to trust your training, grab a pole that works and hope the bar stays up."

It didn't for Skipper, who set the Pacific-10 Conference record two weeks ago at 19 feet. He planned to enter late, but the weather caused the competition to progress more quickly than he had expected. He failed to get adequately warmed up, missed twice badly at 18-01/2, then caught the bar with his chest on the way down from his third attempt after appearing to clear.

"It's just an issue of finishing the jump," he said.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 90334/1018

Skipper, who cleared 19 feet last month at the Oregon Preview meet, admitted that he made a mistake by not recognizing how quickly the competition was progressing.

As a result he did not have sufficient time to warm up before his opening attempts.

"That's a lesson learned for me," said the junior from Sandy. "A no height is never something to be happy about."