EUGENE — Steve Prefontaine still lives at Hayward Field, nearly 33 years after his death. There's a 12-foot high image of Prefontaine with biographical information located in the Powell Plaza, which is the northeast entrance to Hayward Field.

Go to any track and field meet at Hayward and Pre T-shirts are everywhere. You almost expect to see him running around the Bowerman curve, heading for the tape, fans cheering his every stride.

The knowledgeable track fans at Hayward Field still are making their presence felt as well, exhorting the athletes as they pass the main grandstand whether it's on the final lap of the 5,000 or a victory lap by a pole vaulter.

"It's what Hayward brings every time," Oregon sophomore decathlete Ashton Eaton said after Saturday's dual meet against UCLA.

In the first men's dual meet between the schools since 1985, Oregon defeated the third-ranked Bruins. But the score mattered little.

It was a celebration of a sport that has given Eugene the well-deserved moniker of Track Town USA. Despite temperatures in the low 40s on a day that felt considerably colder with the rain and hail, 4,451 people showed up.