Webb spins fast 10K.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

Alan Webb and Hayward Field seem made for one another.

The 23-year-old Virginian is the nation's top draw among U.S. distance runners and no venue is more welcoming to those athletes than the historic track and field facility at the University of Oregon.

Webb, who made the fastest 10K debut by an American on Sunday at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational, returns to Hayward Field on Sunday, May 28 for the Bowerman Mile at the 32nd annual Prefontaine Classic.

`Alan has run some of the best races of his career at Hayward Field,' said Pre Classic meet director Tom Jordan. `He has an appreciation for Hayward Field and the fans return that admiration.'

At this year's Pre Classic, Webb will be challenged by one of the strongest mile fields ever assembled in the U.S.

The star-studded lineup includes Bernard Lagat, the U.S. record-holder in the 1,500 meters, who was ranked No. 2 in the world last year by Track & Field News; Bahrain's Rachid Ramzi, who swept the 800 and 1,500 at the World Championships in Helsinki this past summer; and the reigning Bowerman Mile champion, Kenya's Alex Kipchirchir, ranked No. 5 in the world in the 1,500 last year.

All four of those distance runners clocked sub-3:50 miles - or the metric equivalent - in 2005. Rounding out the Bowerman Mile field are Canada's Nate Brannen and Kevin Sullivan, Kenya's Laban Rotich and Elkanah Angwenyi, Great Britain's Mo Farah and American Jason Lunn.

Webb is off to a fast start this season as evidenced by his time of 27 minutes, 34.72 seconds in the 10K at Stanford on Sunday. That mark is the fastest 10K debut by a U.S. runner since Steve Prefontaine's then-American record of 27:43.6 in 1974, which at the time, was the sixth-fastest 10K ever.

Webb used his miler's speed to post a come-from-behind victory over runner-up Dathan Ritzenhein, who posted a PR of 27:35.65.

`I knew I had the capacity to kick, but I wasn't sure I would ever get to that point,' said Webb, who was quoted on the web site IAAF.org. `As the hurt got greater and greater, I wasn't sure just how my body would react.'

Webb, a graduate of South Lakes High School in Reston, Va., first endeared himself to the Hayward Field crowd in 2001 when he ran 3:53.43 to eclipse Jim Ryun's national prep record in the mile, a mark that had stood for 36 years.

He returned to the Pre Classic in 2004 to capture the Bowerman Mile with a personal best of 3:50.85, and last year, he brought the crowd to its feet by setting an American record in the 2-mile (8:11.48).

Lane's Alexander, Dillon appear Oregon bound

With the impending graduation of seniors Matt Scherer, Richard Del Rincon, Travis Anderson and A.K. Ikwuakor, the Oregon men's sprint corps will be looking for new faces next season.

Apparently, the Ducks won't have to look too far.

Lane Community College track and field coach Grady O'Connor said Monday that two Titan sprinters - Phillip Alexander and Marcus Dillon - have signed national letters of intent to compete at Oregon next year.

Both sprinters will have two years of eligibility with the Ducks.

Alexander, a former Class 4A state champion in the 200 and 400 from McNary High School in Keizer, has PRs of 10.54 in the 100, 21.00 in the 200 and 47.40 in the 400. He is redshirting this year after completing his eligibility at LCC.

Dillon arrived at Lane this spring after competing at Barton County Community College in Kansas. The New Orleans native, who has a personal best of 46.79 in the 400, is expected to compete for the Titans at the Southern Region meet on May 14 at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham and the Northwest Athletic Association of Community College championships, May 22-23, at Spokane.

Runyan set to run Twilight, but which race?

Two-time Olympian Marla Runyan will compete in the Oregon Twilight Meet at Hayward Field on Friday night.

The only question is which event she will choose to run.

Runyan, who made a triumphant return from maternity leave with a time of 32 minutes, 11.92 seconds in the 10,000 on a cold and windy night at the Oregon Invitational two weeks ago, has entered the 1,500 and the 5,000.

Runyan said she will make a final decision later this week based on how she's feeling and the weather conditions.

`I'm leaning towards the 5K,' Runyan said. `My very first 5,000 came at the Twilight Meet in 2000, so I'm a little sentimental about that. I ran 15:07 that night and missed Mary Slaney's Hayward Field record (15:06.53) by less than a second. I think I have that in the back of my mind, although I don't know if I have the fitness (to run that fast) yet.'

Runyan, 37, is a three-time national champion in the 5,000. She posted her PR of 14:59.20 in 2004 and she holds the indoor American record in that event at 15:07.33.

Cram, Frigaard lead

multi-events at Lane

Lane Community College's Collin Cram and Heather Frigaard held the lead Monday after the first day of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges multi-event championships at Lane.

Cram scored 3,333 points in the decathlon and leads Clark Community College's Mike Rush by 195 points.

Frigaard leads the heptathlon by 18 points over Spokane's Amber Nash after a first-day score of 2,573.

The event concludes today at Lane. The Southern Region championships will be May 14 at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, with the NWAACC championships set for May 22-23 in Spokane.

Thomas Boyd / The Register-Guard

CAPTION(S):

Alan Webb will be a familiar face in a stacked Bowerman Mile field at the Prefontaine Classic.