The Oregon Track Classic is one of two elite international track meets held in Oregon, usually in the Portland Tri-County area. It was cancelled this year because of a lack of a sponsor.

According to a story at SignOnSanDiego.com:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

2:49 p.m. April 19, 2005

PORTLAND, Ore ^[1]. ñ The Oregon Track Classic, one of two elite international track meets held in the state, has been canceled because organizers have no title sponsor.

Adidas, the sponsor since 1994, decided in November to end its sponsorship, organizers said.

The meet has been held at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham for the last four years. Before that, it was staged for 10 years at Lewis & Clark College.

This year’s Oregon Track Classic was scheduled for May 14.

“We had hoped to attract a new sponsor to replace longtime sponsor Adidas but the timing was less than ideal for 2005,” meet director Paul Banta said in a statement. “The good news is that we have received interest from companies about sponsoring the Oregon Track Classic in 2006.”

I hope the track tourney finds a sponsor.

Now for a related story. Steve Prefontain was one of the greatest long distance runners in American history. A lot of his running was done in the Eugene area. Click here ^[2] for more information about one of Oregon’s greatest athletes.