Team scores:
1. UCLA - 125
2. Oregon - 117
3. USC - 102
4. Cal - 77
5. WA - 45
6. Stanford - 34
7. Oregon State - 29
8. Washington State - 26
Day 1
A strong start for Oregon as Pete Shmock won the shot put with a heave of 62-11.5, while Bouncy Moore recorded a personal best of 26-6.5(w) to win the long jump.
Steve Savage and Todd Lathers went 1-2 in the steeplechase with times of 8:40.3 and 8:40.4. Washington's defending champion, Jim Johnson, was a surprising 3rd in 8:40.9. Oregon went 1-2-5-6 in the event, with Mike Long 5th (9:04.1) and Knut Kvalheim 6th (9:12.3).
Day 2 highlights:
UCLA's Wayne Collett - soon to be the #2 440y runner in history - defeated the future world record holder, teammate John Smith, 45.4-45.5.
Note: there is a discrepancy in the results between the Register-Guard article and the printed results in the ER-G. The story has Collett's time as 45.3; the results, 45.4 - important when meet and conference records are at stake! Update: the 1971 Pac-8 results show 45.3 as the official time.
Collett's 45.3 was a conference, meet and stadium record. In setting these three records, he took down two of the mightiest names ever in the event. His Pac-8 record broke Edesel Harrison's 45.4, set also in 1971. John Smith's championship record was toast; it had been 45.9 from 1970.
And the mightiest of them all came off the stadium record books - Oregon's Otis Davis set his 46.4 in 1959. One year later, Davis would win Olympic gold while setting the world record of 44.9. He claimed additional gold in the 4x400m relay, also in world record time - 3:02.2.
Oregon's Steve Prefontaine wove a 4:01.5/13:17.9 same day masterpiece. Oregon swept the mile with Rick Ritchie 2nd in 4:02.0 and Knut Kvalheim 3rd in 4:02.4. Stanford's Don Kardong was 2nd in the three-mile in a sparkling 13:20.7. Oregon's Steve Savage - winner of the Pac-8 steeple title the day before - took 3rd in the three-mile in 13:40.0.
USC's Willie Deckard won the sprint double in 9.7/20.9, while UCLA won both of the relays in 39.9 and 3:04.3.
UCLA's James Butts won the triple jump in a windy 54-2.5, while second-placer Robert Reader (OSU) got the meet record with a legal 53-10.5.
Larry Hollins of USC set a new meet record in the high jump at 7-.25, breaking the record of 7' held by John Radetich ('68 and '69) and Dick Fosbury ('70).
USC's Joe Antunovich repeated as discus champion at 190-8.
Washington's Kirk Bryde was the upset winner of the pole vault with his 17-4 clearance. As he was Canadian, this was also a Canadian and Commonwealth record, one which stood until 1988. The Pac-8 title was his first major championship; until then, he had always been a bridesmaid but never a bride.