University of Oregon
NCAA Indoor Championships
Southerland Claims NCAA 800 Meter Title, UO Women Finish Fifth
03/10/18 | Track and Field
Sabrina Southerland continued Oregon's recent dominance in the women's 800 meters with her first national title as the Ducks wrapped up the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Redshirt senior Sabrina Southerland continued Oregon's dominance in the women's 800 meters with her first national title on Saturday as the UO track and field teams wrapped up the NCAA Indoor Championships at Gilliam Indoor Stadium.
The Women of Oregon finished fifth in the team race with 31 points, one point shy of earning a trophy, while the Men of Oregon tied for 13th with 16 points.
"I like the way we battled," said head coach Robert Johnson. "I like that when it was dark, dim and gloomy, we stuck to our guns and battled. We had an outstanding final day; the girls did really well and I'm very proud of them for that, and the guys did as well. I'm most proud of the way that they competed, even though we were a little short of our goal."
How it Happened: Southerland, who ranked 16th in the nation in the 800 meters entering the meet, used a tremendous kick over the final lap to win the national title in a huge lifetime-best of 2:01.55.
"Sabrina has been a really big bright spot for us this year as a transfer," said Johnson. "To see her grow every day, it's like seeing one of your children grow up. Really proud of her to go from barely getting in to becoming the national champion."WHAT A KICK!
— Oregon Track & Field (@OregonTF) March 11, 2018
Watch @SabrinaaJem become an NCAA Champion in the 800m!#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/7vBS7t8dVD
Southerland continued the Ducks' recent championship history in the event with the third straight indoor 800 meter title for the UO women and the fourth in the last five years, carrying on the winning tradition set by Bowerman winners Raevyn Rogers (2016, 2017) and Laura Roesler (2014). Including outdoors, the Women of Oregon have won the past six national titles in the 800 meters.
"I have no words," said Southerland. "I just saw a spot and was like, 'I can go," and then I just made a definitive move and went for it and at the straightaway was like, 'I'm not letting go.'
"It's just been a long time. I've come to this meet my freshman, sophomore and junior years and never even made the final. I had some pretty big shoes to fill after Raevyn, and I was just trying to do my best to follow in her footsteps and do the best I could. I'm so happy."
The day started well for the Ducks in the men's mile final. Redshirt senior Sam Prakel took third overall in 3:58.59 and true freshman Reed Brown also earned a spot on the podium with an eighth-place finish (4:01.94). Both guys earned first-team all-America status and put up seven total points for the UO men. Prakel was at or near the front the entire race with New Mexico's Josh Kerr, who defended his title in 3:57.02, and Brown took the lead midway through in an attempt to help Prakel overtake Kerr for the victory.Passing the torch from one champ to another. @TheROYALlife21 ?? @SabrinaaJem #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/XQzH0pdx3W
— Oregon Track & Field (@OregonTF) March 11, 2018
"It went out a little faster than we were expecting," said Prakel. "Reed was supposed to take it with (1,000 meters) to go and I was supposed to take over with 600 to go, so a little bit of a team tactic there.
"It almost worked out, but Kerr just had a little bit too much for me today, so hats off to him."
Both the UO men and women had success in the 3,000 meters. Jessica Hull, who helped the women to the national title in the distance medley relay on Friday, capped a great indoor season with a third-place finish in 9:01.96 to put up six points. Teammate Lilli Burdon was ninth in 9:04.62, just one spot out of scoring. "We've been working so hard all winter and kept building up some momentum," said Hull. "I hope I can replicate this again because I've loved every second of it."
Junior James West, who anchored the UO men to third in the DMR Friday, placed sixth in the men's 3,000 meters (8:06.94) to score three points in his first NCAA meet on the track since transferring from England.
In the final event of the day, the women's 4x400 meter relay team of Shae Anderson, Briyahna DesRosiers, Southerland and Makenzie Dunmore placed fourth in a season-best 3:30.00. The Ducks finished one spot behind Florida in the relay and ultimately one place back of the Gators, who had 32 points, in the team race.
Junior and school record-holder Chaquinn Cook reached 42-8.75 (13.02m) in the triple jump, but fell one spot short of earning three more jumps in the finals, finishing 10th.
What it Means: After a tough start to the weekend on Friday, the Ducks battled back and finished strong with a flurry of impressive performances. The Women of Oregon leave College Station with a pair of individual national titles, Southerland in the 800 and the women's DMR, while the Men of Oregon scored 16 points despite competing in only four events. The Ducks will look to build on this momentum as they get ready to begin the outdoor season.
Notable: Southerland, Hull and West all finished the weekend as two-time first-team all-Americans, placing in the top eight in two different events … The Women of Oregon have now won at least two individual indoor national titles in back-to-back years, and at least one in five straight seasons … Georgia won the women's team championship while Florida took the men's team title.
Up Next: The Ducks begin the outdoor season next weekend (March 16-17) at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open in Portland before heading to San Diego, Calif., for the SDSU Aztec Invitational (March 23-24).
Players Mentioned
