University of Oregon
NCAA West Preliminary Rounds
Berry Blazes to School Record to Pace Ducks in Austin
05/26/12 | Track and Field
"I'm very proud of the way our men and women competed and represented the University of Oregon today," said Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna. "Mike Berry and the sprinters were incredible, all the 800 runners were terrific and the women did a great job in the steeple to close things out."
Berry had the race of the day in the national 400 meter quarterfinals for the men at Mike A. Myers Stadium. The sophomore from Seattle, Wash., broke his own school record by winning his heat in 44.86. After a solid opening 200 meters, Berry hit the accelerator going into the turn and cleared the entire field heading on to the back stretch. He maintained his speed over the last 50 meters to run the fastest time in the NCAA this season.
"I just wanted to get back in race form and run my race and go hard the last 150 meters," said Berry. "I wasn't trying to break a record today, but I'll take it and can hopefully build on it."
In the women's 400 meter quarterfinals, Phyllis Francis charged hard over the last 50 meters to win her heat in a season-best 52.36 and move on to the NCAA Championships next week. Chizoba Okodogbe was fourth in that heat in a season-best 53.03 and advanced on time. Devin Gosberry was sixth in her heat in a seasonal-best 53.87 but did not advance.
English Gardner flew out of the blocks in the women's 100 meters and eased to victory in 11.06 to advance to Des Moines. The sophomore from Voorhees, N.J., had a sizable lead 60 meters into the race before gliding home with the victory.
Also in the 100, senior Lauryn Newson took sixth in her heat in 11.62, while senior Amber Purvis was ninth in her 100 heat in 11.70.
In the men's 100 meters, freshman Arthur Delaney was fifth in his heat in 10.41, while junior Joeal Hotchkins tied for sixth in his heat in 10.39. Neither runner advanced.
However, all five Oregon runners advanced to Des Moines in the 800 meters.
Elijah Greer had another commanding performance in the men's 800 to win his race and advance to the NCAA Championships. He stayed in the pack through the first lap, before moving around the outside to assume the lead with 250 meters to go. No one could cover as the junior from Lake Oswego, Ore., won in 1:48.38.
"Coach told me to run 805 meters," said Greer. "Coach also told me to stand on the outside and don't get caught in trouble. I really focused on position throughout the entire race.
"With about 250 meters left to go, it seemed like the guys were holding off a little so I decided to take the lead. Once I got the lead I just squeezed out the remaining juice and ran the final 250 pretty hard and took the win. It was good."
Boru Guyota also earned a trip to Iowa with a fifth-place showing in his heat. His time, 1:48.98, was the 12th and final qualifier for Des Moines.
For the women, the Ducks had a runner-up finish in heat one by Laura Roesler and a 2-3 finish from Anne Kesselring and Claudia Francis in heat two to advance. Roesler was in a torrid race won by Nachelle Mackie of Brigham Young in 2:02.64. Roesler was next in a season-best 2:04.48. In heat two, Kesselring ran a conservative race up front before finishing second in 2:06.42. Freshman Claudia Francis, meanwhile, had to charge around the curve and then put on a final kick over the last 20 meters to claim the third spot in 2:06.55.
The women wrapped up the night in impressive fashion, advancing Lanie Thompson, Kimber Mattox and Taylor Wallace to the NCAA Championships in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Thompson, a sophomore from High Bridge, N.J., ran with the lead pack in heat two the entire race, before breaking to the front over the final water barrier with 150 meters remaining. She held position from there to win in 10:25.15.
Mattox and Wallace were in heat three with Pac-12 and NCAA leader Shalaya Kipp of Colorado, who left the pack behind early and won in 9:58.38. Mattox, a senior from Bend, Ore., broke away from the chase pack and ran on her own for much of the race to finish second in 10:25.15.
Wallace, seeded 25th coming into the regional, was one of the bigger surprises of the night. The junior from Klamath Falls, Ore., held steady in the top six for most of the race. She fell to the back of the chase pack with two laps to go, only to pick off a pair of runners down the stretch to finish fourth in 10:20.33 and advance to the Des Moines on time.
Lauren Crockett is also headed to Des Moines in the women's high jump after clearing the bar at 5-10.75/1.80m. That was tied for seventh on the night and moved her into a tie for sixth in school history with Kelly Blair. The freshman from Ogden, Utah, had just one miss to go over three bars before clearing her final height. Freshman Chancey Summers made it over at 5-7.25/1.71m to tie for 23rd.
Johnathan Cabral posted an impressive time in the opening round of the men's 110 meter hurdles, albeit wind-aided. The freshman from Calabasas, Calif., won heat two in the fastest time of the day, 13.48 with a plus 3.5 miles per hour tailwind. Senior Eric Hersey was third in that heat in a seasonal-best 14.01 and also automatically advanced to Saturday's quarterfinals.
In the opening round of the women's 200 meters, Lauryn Newson got off to a great start and finished second in 23.46 to move on to Saturday's quarterfinals.
In the men's 200 meters, Delaney was third in his heat in 21.03 to advance to the quarterfinals. Hotchkins was sixth in his heat in 21.13 and was the fastest non-qualifier.
In other field events, Laura Bobek had a best throw of 163-4/49.79m to finish 24th in the women's discus. Kortney Ross cleared 12-10.25/3.92m to tie for 20th in the women's pole vault.
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