Thursday, April 1, 1999
Macdonald will
run for Oregon
Hawaii's dominant girls'
By Pat Bigold
high school runner decides
on the Ducks
Star-BulletinEri Macdonald, Hawaii's most dominant female prep distance runner the past four years, has decided to be a Duck.
After spending weeks trying to pick between her final choices, Oregon and California, the Punahou track and cross country star said she has given in to the lure of the Hayward Field mystique.
"I just decided I didn't want to have to think about it anymore," said Macdonald, who had 20 major programs showing serious interest in her.
She will sign her national letter of intent on Wednesday.
Macdonald is the only Hawaii cross-country runner of either gender to win four straight state prep titles (1995-1998). She has also won three straight state 800-meter crowns and anchored three straight state champion 4x400-meter relay teams.
She owns a personal best of 2:09.95 at 800 and was nationally ranked last year.
Oregon graduates an 800-meter All-American (Kaarin Knudson) this year and head women's coach Tom Heinenon will be trying to find someone who can eventually fill her shoes.
"From a track standpoint, you can't do better than Oregon," said Eri's father, Duncan Macdonald,a former track star at Stanford who broke Steve Prefontaine's U.S. record at 5,000 meters.
The Oregon women's track program has turned out 10 NCAA individual champions since 1982 and won a team title in 1985. The cross country program has won two NCAA crowns (1983, 1987).
