UO men, women win at Penn

Matt Rourke/Associated Press The Oregon Ducks are keeping everybody guessing about what star distance runner Edward Cheserek will do at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

(Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

The NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships get underway this morning in College Station, Texas with the heptathlon 60 meters.

Live stream coverage by ESPN3 and NCAA.com, although that won't start until the individual events get underway at 3:30 p.m.

Here is the schedule for the meet.

The Oregon Ducks swept the team titles last year, and could do it again this year.

They almost certainly will win the women's competition. The biggest question there is whether the UO women will break the record for team points in the process. Texas A&M has held the record since 1988 with 71.

Pre-meet coverage elsewhere suggests the UO men could win a fourth consecutive indoor title, but only if the Ducks max out distance runner Edward Cheserek.

Cheserek is entered in the mile, as well as the 3,000 and 5,000 meters. He could also anchor the UO distance medley relay.

In his five story lines for the NCAA Indoor, LetsRun.com's Jonathan Gault writes he believes Cheserek will attempt all four races

FloTrack's Dennis Young projects the men's team race at the NCAA Indoor will come down to Florida's team against Cheserek.

I remain unconvinced for two reasons:

-- I believe it's possible for the Ducks to mount a challenge for the title without Cheserek running the DMR.

It would mean Oregon would have to outperform the form chart elsewhere. But the Ducks have eight men entered and a history of rising to the occasion in championship meets.

-- While I think Cheserek is capable of pulling off a successful quadruple, I'm not sure its worth the risk. He has an outdoor season left in his college career, and an opportunity to do some big things then. But only if he's healthy.

And finally, I wrote this profile about talented UO mid-sistance runner Raevyn Rogers, who will be shooting for her fourth consecutive NCAA title in the 800:

OK, more links:

Some quick facts about the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The Oregon Ducks look for a memorable finish to the college indoor season in College Station.

Florida star Grant Holloway is pulling for Cheserek to succeed with a winning mile/3,000/5,000 triple.

FloTrack's panel of experts picks every event at the NCAA Indoor.

In this RunnerSpace.com video clip from the NCAA Indoor coaches' pre-meet presser, UO coach Robert Johnson talks about the challenges and rewards of working with high-performing athletes.

In this clip, Johnson talks about the camaraderie on his women's team, and has some fun with the media's projections for the meet.

In this clip, Cheserek discusses whether he will compete in four events at this year's meet.

In this FloTrack clip Johnson insists no decision has been made about how many events Cheserek will contest.

In this RunnerSpace clip, UO sprinter Hannah Cunliffe talks about being pushed by her talented teammates.

The Ducks are in Texas, and UO multi Mitch Modin has taken his camera. Here is his latest vlog entry.

Paul Merca: Oregon's Hannah Cunliffe and Washington's Colby Gilbert take to the big stage at the NCAA Indoor.

LSU has the fire power to be a factor at this year's NCAA Indoor.

Texas A&M coach Pat Henry is keeping his 4x400 relay options to himself.

Expect records to fall today in the NCAA Indoor.

This year's NCAA Indoor is packed with record-holders.

Georgia's Kendell Williams looks to do some damage in the NCAA Indoor pentathlon.

You can keep up with the action at the NCAA Indoor Championships with our live updates.

Paul Chelimo and Emily Infeld head the fields for the USATF 15 km Championships Saturday in Jacksonville.

Tired of being in the hunt Desiree Linden wants to win the Boston Marathon this year.

USATF selects teenage sprinter Noah Lyles as athlete of the week.

Olympic javelin champ Thomas Rohler is always learning.

The University of Oregon declined to cooperate with this investigative piece by CBSSports.com about how athletic department strength coaches are certified. UO football strength coach Irele Oderinde, who is certified by the USTFCCCA, is a prominent part of the story.

Tensions simmer between the University of Oregon's faculty and the athletic department.

Questions arise about the ties between the nutritional supplement company GNC and USA Track & Field.

Western Oregon goes five-for-five in the NCAA Division II Indoor preliminaries.

The latest Citius Mag podcast features Olympian Ajee' Wilson.

The front page for LetsRun.com.

The links package from Track & Field News.

The links from Duck Sports Now.

The links from Beaver Sports Now.

-- Ken Goe

kgoe@oregonian.com | @KenGoe