OTC Elite athletes Russell Brown and Julia Lucas will join Oregon’s 2012
NCAA-title winning cross country team

EUGENE, Ore. – (February 4, 2013) – University of Oregon women’s cross
country team and OTC Elite athletes Russell Brown and Julia Lucas will
headline the second TrackTown Tuesday event of 2013—this Tuesday,
February 5 at 7 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Springfield.

Vin Lananna, President of TrackTown USA and Associate Athletic Director
of Olympic Development at the University of Oregon, will once again
serve as the night’s Master of Ceremonies.

“In anticipation of the NCAA Championships returning to Hayward Field
this June, we wanted to give the TrackTown USA community a chance to
celebrate our latest national champions—the women’s cross country team,”
said Lananna. “We also wanted to give fans a chance to hear directly
from OTC Elite athletes Russell Brown and Julia Lucas about their
preparation for this year’s World Championships in Moscow.”

Brown and Lucas are currently training with their eyes set on
representing Team USA in Russia this August. Brown is a 1,500-meter
specialist who trains alongside Andrew Wheating and Eric van Ingen under
Lananna’s guidance. He set a personal best of 3 minutes, 34.11 seconds
in the 1,500 meters at the IAAF Diamond League meet in Doha last May. He
also holds a PB of 3:51.45 in mile, which was set at the 2011
Prefontaine Classic.

Lucas is coming off a breakthrough 2012 season, highlighted by a huge PB
of 15:08.52 in the 5,000 at the Payton Jordan Invitational last May.
Lucas shattered two more personal records in 2012 – in the 1,500
(4:07.23) and in the 3,000 (9:01.16) – and went on to take fourth in the
5,000 at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field. In a photo
finish, Lucas just missed making the Olympic team by four hundredths of
a second.

At the 2012 NCAA Championships last November in Louisville, Ky., the
University’s women’s cross country team broke through to win their first
national title since 1987. The Ducks also captured Pac-12 and West
Regional crowns for the first time in 25 years. Oregon was led by
All-American seniors Jordan Hasay (third), Alexi Pappas (eighth) and
Katie Conlon (39th), as well as freshmen Allie Woodward (44th) and Annie
Leblanc (68th).

A packed house is expected, so get there early to secure a seat. Light
refreshments will be served beginning at 6:45 p.m.

The TrackTown Tuesday series will continue throughout the indoor and
outdoor track & field seasons with events on March 5 (Downtown Athletic
Club), April 2 (Holiday Inn Springfield), May 7, May 28, and June 11.

Tickets to the NCAA Championships will go on sale to the public on
February 15. An exclusive offer to purchase NCAA tickets prior to the
general public will be available to those in attendance on Tuesday.
Don’t miss this special, one-time opportunity. Go to www.goducks.com for
more information.