by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com

The Oregon men continued to hold serve Thursday in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and even got a couple of pleasant surprises at Hayward Field.

The Ducks may end up needing them, too, after the second session of the national meet ended in controversy for the host team.

Dakotah Keys finished third in the decathlon andGreg Skipper took fourth in the hammer throw, helping the Ducks lead the team competition with 26 points through two days. When Arthur Delaney (200) and Sam Prakel (1,500) busted the form chart by advancing to their finals, it looked like Oregon was poised to take command of the meet — until the day ended with Oregon's advancement in the 4x400 relay coming under protest.

The Ducks finished second in their heat of the relay in 3:03.80, which qualified them automatically for Saturday's final. But Arizona State — the first team out of the final based on Thursday's results — protested that the Ducks had committed a lane violation. Officials initially were waiting to review ESPN's footage of the race before making a final decision, which wasn't to take place until Friday morning, but announced late Thursday evening that Oregon was indeed disqualified.