Ritzenhein, Powell, Kitchen, Tostenson, Jones just a few of the big names to compete April 4-5 at Hayward Field

EUGENE - The stars of the sport will be out in force April 4-5 at the Oregon Relays presented by AthleticNET at Hayward Field.  With so much talent ready to compete, here are 16 of the biggest names to watch through the two-day event.

Addy Ritzenhein (Jr., Niwot, CO)
After winning the two mile at Nike Indoor Nationals, placing fourth in the mile, and helping her team to a third place finish in the DMR, Ritzenhein tackles the mile Friday evening in Eugene against what promises to be an exceptional field. Ritzenhein, the 2023 Nike Cross Nationals champion, continues to improve every season. She ran 10:00.11 in the two mile at NIN and ran 4:44.49 in the mile indoors.

Tayvon Kitchen (Sr., Crater, OR) and Josiah Tostenson (Sr., Crater, OR)
It was an indoor season for the ages for the Crater HS duo. Kitchen ran US#1 marks in the 3000m (7:55.08), two mile (8:41.21), and 5000m (14:01.14). To top it off, Kitchen ran sub-4 in the mile with a 3:59.61 performance in Boston. Tostenson was equally as impressive, winning the two mile at NBNI with an 8:46.09 performance and simply inspired in the mile with a 3:57.47 effort in Boston. The duo isn’t slowing down outdoors, having run 3:40.06 (Tostenson) and 3:41.62 (Kitchen) in the 1500m at The TEN last weekend. As the duo prep for the rest of their historic 2025 season, they’ll team up on Saturday to see just how low they can go in the 4x800m relay.

Aster Jones (Jr., Roosevelt, OR)
After winning the 100m, 200m, and anchoring the winning SMR 800m at the 2024 Oregon Relays, Jones is back and ready to shine once again in Eugene. The junior sensation didn’t compete much indoors, but did finish fifth in the 200m at Nike Indoor Nationals and ran a new 200m PR of 23.47. To compare, her PR entering the indoor season for the 200m was 24.02, so more than a half-second PR is mighty impressive. She once again enters as the favorite in both the 100m and 200m.

Owen Powell (Sr., Mercer Island, WA)
Powell was the star of the show during this past indoor season, proving himself to be the top miler in the country. The Washington-bound senior ran 3:56.66 and 3:57.74 indoors. Truly exceptional. Moving outdoors, Powell opened up his season winning the 800m in a dual meet in 1:51.63, showing he’s in great shape heading into the Oregon Relays. Powell will race Saturday in the DMR, giving his team a shot to win in a stacked field.

Chloe Huyler (Sr., Lakeridge, OR)
It was a terrific indoor campaign for Huyler this year, who has taken another leap in performance. The senior, who is headed to Notre Dame in the fall, ran a US#2 mark in the two mile indoor, running 10:03.32 at The CIRCUIT Chicago. She ran to a third place finish in the two mile and fourth place finish in the mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor, running a PR of 4:40.66 in the mile. Huyler will race the mile and DMR in Eugene.

Rasean Jones (Jr., Baker, OR)
There is a lot of young talent in the hurdles across the country, but one of the under-rated talents is most certainly Jones. Jones, who won both the 110m hurdle and 300m hurdle titles in Oregon last year (and won the 110m hurdle title at the Oregon Relays), was the sixth fastest sophomore in the country in the 300m hurdles and a top 10 sophomore in the 110m hurdles. He’s had a very quiet start to his 2025 campaign, but he’ll look to put up some eye-opening times this weekend in both hurdle races in Eugene.

Sophia Rodriguez (So., Mercer Island, WA) and Victoria Rodriguez (Sr., Mercer Island, WA)
With Sophia Rodriguez entered in the two mile as the top seed and Victoria Rodriguez entered as the top seed in the 2000m steeplechase, the Rodriguez family could be bringing home two Oregon Relays titles this weekend - or maybe even three given both are part of a very strong DMR squad. Sophia ran US#3 in the 3000m indoors with a 9:22.11 effort, while Victoria has set PRs across the board during indoors and the early part of the outdoor season. Note Victoria is the defending champion in the steeplechase at the Oregon Relays (she also won the NON title last summer) and should be looking to run well under her 6:42.08 PR in the event.

Adrianna Buitelaar (Jr., Mennonite Educational Institute, CAN)
One of the truly elite prep runners in Canada, Buitelaar has risen to new levels this season. An example, Buitelaar placed eighth in the mile at the 2024 Oregon Relays in 4:56.75. This season, as Nike Indoor Nationals, Buitelaar placed fifth in the mile running 4:45.74 and finishing just behind Ritzenhein. Buitelaar is entered in both the mile and two mile in Eugene, but no matter which she chooses to race she’ll contend for the win.

Loren Webster (Sr., Wilson Long Beach, CA)
The University of Oregon-bound senior heads to Hayward Field looking to win the long jump and make a big impact in the relays. Webster is the top seed in the long jump and may have her eye on the meet record of 20-07.25. Her PR for the event is 20-09.5 and she’s jumped well in Eugene before, having placed third in the event at the 2024 Nike Outdoor Nationals. She’s already gone 19-06 this outdoor season, so expect her to at least challenge the 20-foot barrier on Friday.

Wyland Obando (Jr., Wilson Long Beach, CA)
All eyes will be on Obando this Saturday, as he eyes going sub-1:50 in the 800m. The Nike Indoor Nationals runner-up in the 800m ran an impressive 1:51.68 indoors. His best of 1:50.26 from 2024 is now in his sights and he’ll once again show his versatility by teaming up with his Wilson Long Beach teammates to try and win a number of relay events, too. In 2024, he was part of the winning SMR 1600m and 4x400m relays.

Marissa Johnson (Jr., Tigard, OR)
Can Johnson pull off a triple victory in Eugene this weekend? The reigning Oregon state champion in the shot put and discus enters as the number one seed in both and the number two seed in the hammer throw. She earned a big new discus PR last month with a toss of 148-01 and enters with a shot put PR of 45-09.25. Pulling off the shot put/discus double victory at the Oregon Relays is rare. Completing a three event sweep would be truly exceptional.

Simon Rosselli (Jr., Mead, WA)
The reigning Oregon Relays discus champion is back and ready to challenge the meet record of 202-04. Rosselli has already had winning marks of 198-01 and 188-10 this outdoor season, the 198-01 being a new PR, so really going after the 200-foot barrier seems right in line with his progression. Rosselli will also compete in the shot put.

Kaylin Edwards (Sr., Wilson Long Beach, CA)
Edwards ran a US#5 performance in the 300m hurdles last week at the Texas Relays, when she finished second in the event in 41.84. The former University of Arkansas star enters the weekend as the top seed not only in the 300m hurdles, but the 100m hurdles as well. Edwards placed second in the 100m hurdles and sixth in the 300m hurdles at last year’s Oregon Relays, so improved finishes are the name of the game for her this weekend. She’ll also be part of the Wilson Long Beach relay contingent.

Addison Kleinke (Jr., Churchill, OR)
Kleinke always seems to do well at Hayward Field. It helps that she has the crowd behind her much of the time in Eugene, seeing that she lives there. The junior standout was runner-up at Nike Outdoor Nationals last season and has a PR of 14-0.5 set last season. She placed second in the pole vault at the Oregon Relays last year and will look to improve one spot to take top prize this time around. She’s already soared over 13-06 indoors, so challenging the 14-foot barrier on Saturday is completely realistic.

Single-day and multi-day ticket packages are available for purchase at the University of Oregon Ticketmaster website. 

For those not able to watch from the Hayward Field stands, RunnerSpace will be streaming the Oregon Relays live both days with a RunnerSpace+ subscription and live results and field event videos can be viewed via AthleticLIVE.

For up-to-date news, event schedules, and other updates, visit www.oregonrelays.com.