Duck 4x800m Relay Set For Historic Millrose Games

The Ducks will make their first appearance in the world-renowned indoor event in more than two decades.

Andrew Wheating and Michael McGrath split 4:04+ on their recent 1,600m anchor legs in Seattle. Photo: goducks.com

EUGENE - The University of Oregon men’s middle distance corps have graciously accepted a special invitation to compete this weekend in the 100th edition of the famed Millrose Games, Fri. at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The men’s 4x800m relay race is scheduled to start at 7:32 PM Eastern Time (4:32 PM Pacific Time) and will also include entries from several of the nation’s top middle distance programs – American, Boston College, Cornell, Georgetown, Seton Hall and Villanova.

A one-hour rebroadcast of a portion of the meet will air on Sat., at 11:00 AM on NBC-TV (Pacific Time), and more meet information and live results are located at the www.millrose-games.com website.

The Ducks will likely enter the quartet of juniors A.J. Casteel and Michael McGrath and freshmen Ryan Waite and Andrew Wheating.

Last year, McGrath earned an NCAA invitation after he became only the second Duck ever to run a sub-4:00 mile indoors (3:59.25).

The Portland, Ore., native and Lincoln High School native owns an 800m outdoor best of 1:47.62 (2004) and indoor best of 1:50.10 (2005).

Casteel, a recent transfer from nearby Lane Community College and Wilsonville, Ore., native, joined the team this winter term.

An area junior college All-American in the 1,500m the past two years for his top-three NWAACC Championships finishes, he was also a top-three prep state placer in the 800m and 1,500m in 2004 for Wilsonville High School. His outdoor 800m best is 1:51.7 from 2005.

A native of St. Helens, Ore., Waite was a state prep champion as a junior and senior in the 800m, took third in the 2006 Nike Outdoor Nationals, and owns an outdoor best of 1:50.67 from 2006.

Wheating has quickly emerged as a promising talent and is a relative newcomer to the sport.

In his first full year of running in 2005-06, he ranked fourth nationally in the 1,500m (3:54.28) and also clocked the fastest 5,000m indoors among preps in ’06 (14:55.28).

All four Duck runners ran various 800m or 1,600m legs on a pair of NCAA provisional qualifying distance medley relays last weekend in Seattle that clocked the second-and-third fastest times in school history (9:41.64 / 9:42.06), and their approximate splits follow – Casteel (1:52.8), Waite (1:53.1), McGrath (4:04+), Wheating (4:04+).

The Ducks will make their first appearance in the world-renowned indoor event in more than two decades.

The most recent UO athlete to compete there was former collegiate 800m and 1,500m champion Leann Warren, who placed second in the 11-lap mile in 1983 (4:33.26).

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