Hayward Field, EUGENE - 4/15/06 - Ask anyone what they remember about the first XO Invite and they’ll tell you how great it was to finally have another meet besides State at the historic Hayward Field.  They’ll tell you it was novel, a new and unexpected success, one in a long line of successful track and field ventures that have come out of Eugene.  Ask the same people what they remember about the second XO Invite and they’ll remind you that was the year Rachel Yurkovich broke the prep national record in the girl’s javelin.  And when you ask what people will remember about Year 3, one answer will once again overpower all others: rain! 

Yes, sadly, after two years of blissful sunshine and soft breezes, the XO Invite paid its dues in the form of rain, cold, rain, wind, and more rain.  Ask someone like double event winner, wheelchair athlete Brandon Caswell of Pendleton, what it’s like to try to wheel straight into a headwind with driving rain; he’d probably just point at the clock, which recorded a time over a second slower than the same 100 meter race he competed in earlier this year.  “The times and the marks don’t do the meet justice this year,” said meet director Ross Krempley, “but you better believe the fight was still there, all the way to the end.” 

“All the way to the end,” does that ring a bell?  It should; just as last year’s XO Invite came down to the final heat of the final event, the women’s 4x400 meter relay, so this year’s event also saw Jesuit, coached by Tom Rothenberger, outlasting Lincoln in the final event to secure the team victory.  Lincoln, led by co-performer of the meet, Bianca Mathabane, made a valiant run at the team title in the final event as they ran hard off the front of the second of four heats in the girl’s 4x400.  They clocked a 4:16.74 that withstood all but one school in the next (the second fastest) heat.  But Jesuit was determined and led the early stages of the fastest relay heat and held on to finish in 4:12.13, good for 6th place compared to Lincoln’s 8th as well as the team trophy. 

The second divisional trophy (the award to the top school of a different class) went to Marist High School of Eugene and while the XO Invite is geared to measure the best coed team, Krempley says, “The girls won this meet.”  On the shoulders of Bianca Mathabane who won both hurdle events and placed third in the girl’s 100, Lincoln climbed nineteen spots from last year’s meet to claim the second place honors.  The second half of the co-performers of the meet honors go to Sandy’s Sheryl Page, who won both the 1500 and 800 meter races (setting two XO meet records in the process) as well as taking a leg on Sandy’s fourth place 4x400 meter relay.  In a post-race interview, Page reminded us all of the simple truth about our sport, “You have to just go out there and convince your body that it’s capable of doing great things!” 

It truly is a great reminder of what the XO Invite is all about, people “doing great things.”  It’s about athletes who try new events like the steeplechase and the hammer throw.  It’s about coaches who bring a select number of athletes from their teams while leaving others at home and strategizing to gain the most number of points possible.  It’s about a bunch of gung ho track nerds wanting to build the meet of their dreams.  “This year’s meet was absolutely the meet of our dreams . . . in the rain!” says Krempley.  And Page’s words also serve the officials who served us, who stood out in the rain, wind, and cold for twelve or more hours today, dutifully doing what they do for the sport they love and for the benefit of the athletes.  XO wants to send out a huge thank you to all the meet officials, staff, and volunteers who helped made this year’s XO Invite a memorable one.  We could not do it without you!