The Whyte Track and Field Center at Oregon State will take a significant step toward completion on June 8 when a shipment of vital equipment arrives in Corvallis. The equipment, a gift from the Whyte family, includes pole vault and high jump landing areas, hurdles, starting blocks and steeplechase barriers. Most of the equipment headed to OSU will be used at next week’s NCAA Championships in Eugene. OSU coach Kelly Sullivan said had trouble describing the significance of the gift. “This equipment is important for the program, our alumni base and our current student-athletes and provides a huge boost to the completion of Phase II,” Sullivan said in a press release. “It serves as another milestone which shows that Oregon State, along with the Whyte family, is significantly invested in seeing this project to completion.” The equipment will allow OSU to stage all events. This past season, the Beavers welcomed track and field competitors to Corvallis for the first time since 1988, but were unable to hold some events, such as the hurdles, due to lack of equipment. UCS, which has produced top-level equipment for NCAA championship meets as well as the Olympics, often tries to identify local buyers after the completion of the championships. However, doing it all in one shot, for one university, is quite rare. “The entire project has been on our radar for four or five years now,” Mike Chappell of UCS said. “We’ve been paying close attention to what’s going on at OSU. We did a little bit of equipment during the installation phase of the track itself and have stayed in touch with Kelly about the program’s equipment needs.” The delivery trucks will arrive on the evening of June 8, which coincides with a celebration in memory of the late Berny Wagner at the Whyte Center beginning at 6 p.m. Wagner coached track and cross country at OSU from 1965-75 and was a driving force in the reinstatement of the program and the construction of the Beavers’ new facility. The majority of the equipment will have been used at the NCAA meet at Hayward Field a few days prior and will undergo some minor branding modifications. The hurdles, for example, will have their boards replaced with OSU’s logo and color scheme. The pole vault and high jump landing areas will be brand new, however, because of the custom orange and black color configuration. Those used in Eugene will be blue, the color of the NCAA. more
