Oregon track's search for new men's DMR team begins at Razorback Invitational
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Oregon’s run to the men’s NCAA indoor track and field championship last season began at the Razorback Invitational on a record-setting night in late January.
Cole Hocker, Cooper Teare, Charlie Hunter and Luis Peralta ran the fastest distance medley relay in collegiate history in the 2021 season-opener with a time of 9 minutes, 19.42 seconds, setting the tone for what would become a memorable winter.
The Ducks are back at the Razorback Invitational this week, with the two-day meet scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., and they’ve brought their distance runners with them.
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With Hocker, Hunter and Teare no longer at Oregon, the Ducks will be looking to find a new lineup to run the DMR and they’ve entered two teams in the men’s race Friday night to get a feel for what they have.
Though Oregon hasn’t announced who will be on either of those teams, the Ducks have experienced options to build around, with Peralta back, as well as Reed Brown and Xavier Nairne, who joined Hunter and Teare on the DMR team that won the NCAA indoor title in March.
Other notable entries for the men this weekend are sprinter Micah Williams in the 60 and 200, Emmanuel Ihemeje in the triple jump and long jump, and Aaron Bienenfeld and Brown expected to make their season debuts in the 3,000 Invitational.
The Oregon women also have entered a DMR team, an event they won at the NCAA indoor meet in 2018 and 2019.
Aneta Konieczek is entered in the mile and 3,000 Invitational in what will be the season-opener for the Olympian from Poland, and freshman Keely Small, a highly anticipated middle-distance runner from Australia, is entered in the 3,000 Invitational for what will be her collegiate debut.
Other notable entires include sprinter Kemba Nelson in the 60 and 200, Lexi Ellis in the triple jump and Alysah Hickey in the long jump.
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon track's search for new men's DMR team begins at Razorback Invitational
