"Night of Stars" TrackTown Tuesday  

6/6/2012 12:00 AM

Mercedes Benz of Eugene sponsors the final TrackTown Tuesday of 2012

Eugene, Ore. – (June 6, 2012) ­­–– June’s TrackTown Tuesday promises to be a blowout celebration of track and field, with a “Night of Stars” roster and some surprises, too. TrackTown Tuesday is slated for Tuesday, June 12 at the Oakway Center courtyard, as announced by the TrackTown12 Local Organizing Committee. The event runs from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. with refreshments available beginning at 6 p.m.

TrackTown Tuesday is free and open to the public. More than 30 collegiate and post-collegiate athletes are expected to participate, including members of the UO team who will have competed at the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa; and Julia Lucas and Olympian Nick Symmonds of Oregon Track Club Elite. At least a dozen other OTC Elite athletes and staff are expected to attend, too.

UO coaches and OTC Elite coach Mark Rowland will also be on hand to comment on the culmination of the collegiate season and the preparations that are being made for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials – which begin on June 21 with the Hammer competition in Beaverton and continue at Historic Hayward Field from June 22-July 1.

TrackTown Tuesday’s “Night of Stars” also includes:

• The chance to view Mercedes Benz’s latest vehicles courtesy of the June 12 TrackTown Tuesday title sponsor: Mercedes Benz of Eugene. 

• Coupons and giveaways from the Nike Eugene store.

• Appetizers from several of the Center’s restaurants after 6 p.m., including Johnny Ocean’s Grille, Chapala’s Mexican Restaurant, Mio Sushi; and Café Yumm!.

• Refreshments from TrackTown Tuesday’s sponsors: Deschutes Brewery, Dutch Bros. Coffee, Dari Mart stores and Lochmead Dairy.

• Music in the courtyard by the Michael Radliff Quartet.

In case of rain, the event will move to the former Border’s store in Oakway Center.

Nick Symmonds runs the 800 and trains with OTC Elite. Symmonds won the 800 in the 2008 Olympic Trials in Eugene, part of a trio of local athletes who represented America in the Olympics that year. He is a four-time USA outdoor champion, was a three-time member of Team USA for World Outdoor Championships and won numerous championships while competing for Willamette University in Salem. Symmonds was the NCAA Division III Track and Field Athlete of the Year in 2005 and a Division III national record holder. He came in third in his event at the 2012 Prefontaine Classic.

Julia Lucas runs the 5,000. Earlier this year, she ran 15:08.52 for the fastest time by an American woman in 2012. She also won the Shamrock Shuffle 8k in Chicago and ran a personal best in the 1,500 at the USATF Occidental High Performance Meet. She is a graduate of North Carolina State who won ACC titles in the 5,000. She finished fourth in the NCAA meet as a senior in 2007. Lucas trains with OTC Elite.

The evening of local track stars will also feature UO Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna, co-chair of the TrackTown12 Local Organizing Committee.

Single-day tickets are on sale at www.TrackTown12.com. In addition to the website, fans may also purchase tickets by calling the UO Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-932-3668 or by visiting the office in person at the Moshofsky Center next to Autzen Stadium. Tickets cannot be purchased in person at Matthew Knight Arena.

For local information on the Olympic Trials, visit www.TrackTown12.com.