University of Oregon
NCAA Championships
Skipper Soars to NCAA Pole Vault Title in NCAA Final Day
06/12/04 | Track and Field
AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Oregon men's and women's teams wrapped up action in fourth and final day duty Saturday in the NCAA Track and Field Championships at the Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas.
In the team races, the Duck men claimed four All-America honors on the final day to take ninth place with 27 points in the NCAA Championships for their fifth top-20 finish under sixth-year head coach Martin Smith. The Men of Oregon also went top-20 outdoors in 2001 (ninth, 27) and 2003 (13th, 19 1/4), and indoors in 2002 (ninth, 15) and 2004 (18th, 13). The Duck women added 34th place with their six points courtesy of redshirt junior Sarah Malone who took third in the javelin Friday.
Overall, Arkansas handily won the men's team title with 65 1/2 points - 16 1/2 points ahead of Florida (second, 49) and LSU (third, 31), and three other teams - Ohio State, SMU and TCU - tied for fourth place (30). On the women's side, meet favorite UCLA won the team crown with 69 points - one point ahead of LSU (second, 68), while Nebraska (third, 58) and Texas (fourth, 42) also made medal stand appearances.
Individually, freshman Tommy Skipper claimed the Ducks' third pole vault in school history and first since former world record holder George Varoff's titles in 1936 (14-6 1/2) and 1937 (14-7 5/8). Skipper made the most of his 11 attempts in the competition, with first- and second-attempt makes at his opening three heights, then sealed the win with a third-attempt clearance at his second-highest ever clearance outdoors (18-8 1/4). UCLA's Yoo Kim followed in second place with a personal best and Korean record (18-4 1/2), and Nebraska's Eric Eshbach added third (18-4 1/2).
"I feel honored to win, and I have so much respect for this field," Skipper said. "Eric and Yoo are classy, big-meet performers, and they were both in position to win it at the big bars. This is a great place to jump - there always seems to be screaming tailwinds pushing you along, and it's hard not to jump well here. I really wanted to do well and win a title for my brother Art (an NCAA champion for the Ducks in the javelin in 1992 who passed away in 2001), and also for my family and teammates. It made it all the more special."
Skipper passed the opening bars at 16-10 3/4 (5.15m) and 17-4 1/2 (5.30m), then needed two tries at his opening height of 17-8 1/2 (5.40m) - a height that still featured an impressive 11 vaulters with clearances. At the ensuing height of 18-0 1/2, Skipper made his first try to move into a second place tie with Nebraska's second-seeded senior Eric Eshbach who had made opening tries at his opening heights (17-8 1/2 and 18-0 1/2). At 18-4 1/2 (5.60m), Skipper cleared on his second try to move into the lead, while UCLA's Kim also made a second attempt at the same height to move into second ahead of Eschbach who needed a third attempt clearance to convert.
With noticeable tailwinds still urging the runners down the runway as the meet headed into its final hour, Skipper tapped the enthusiastic crowd's rhythmic clap for his final successful bar - 18-8 1/4 (5.70m) on his third try - while Kim and Eshbach missed their three final attempts. Skipper then asked that the bar go up to 19-1 1/2 (5.83) to try and break the NCAA meet record of Lawrence Johnson of Tennessee from his 1996 win in Eugene (19-1, 5.82m), but missed his three tries.
"I was a little shaky early in the warm-ups, but once we got going, I was able to really focus and held it together pretty well," Skipper said. "I felt decent at 17-8 and knew that I could start there since I cleared 18-8 1/4 in warm-ups. I felt really good at the 18-0 1/2 and 18-4 1/2 bars. I was really focused on my third attempt at 18-8 1/4 in the meet, and concentrated on keeping my head up and arms straight. I ran out of gas a little at the end at the 19-foot vaults, but I'm still improving and getting there. My speed on the runway is getting better, and I'm getting a better rhythm on my run-up."
Skipper, the Duck men's lone freshman NCAA outdoor qualifier, entered the pole vault as the favorite after he broke the school and Pac-10 records by 1 1/2 and 1 inches in the West Regional (18-10 1/4), respectively, two weeks ago. Earlier in the championship slate in mid-May he helped propel the Ducks to second in the Pac-10 team race with his wins in the pole vault (18-3 1/4) and decathlon (NCAA automatic 7,589, and #8 all-time for UO) and fifth-place finish in the javelin with a personal best (215-2).
Outdoors in 2004, he competed in the pole vault in six meets and cleared 18-3 or better in the last three and 17-5 all of them. He entered Saturday's competition as the top seed based on season bests (18-10 1/4), ahead of Nebraska's Eshbach (18-8 1/2), and Cal State Fullerton's Giovanni Lannaro (third, 18-4 1/2).
"I was happy to be here and help the team," Skipper said. "Watching Eric (Mitchum, 110 hurdle runner-up) yesterday really gave me confidence and showed me how big a meet this is. I have to give credit to my teammates and vault coaches who have really been helping me develop my technique to go higher and higher. I still have a long way to go, but we're improving little by little."
Looking ahead, Skipper could receive an invite to the Prefontaine Classic, Sat., June 19, at Hayward Field in Eugene, before he heads to the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif., July 9-18. The 2003 National Boys Athlete of the Year first met the Olympic Trials A qualifying standard indoors in 2004 with the nation's top collegiate indoor mark and then-school record in early February (18-8 3/4), and then posted his then-second best mark indoors in the NCAA Championships (second, 18-4 1/2).
On the track, a pair of Duck distance runners and juniors, Brett Holts and Eric Logsdon, added a pair of seventh-place finishers in the steeplechase and 5,000 to boost the team's scoring hopes.
The Bend, Ore., native Holts ran another patient race, biding time near 10th place for the opening mile of the 14-man field, before moving up to seventh in the final two laps. The two-time NCAA qualifier then kicked in hard the remainder to add his first track All-America certificate and the Ducks' 32nd honor in the event - the most for the Ducks in any of the 21 events contested. Holts' finish in the final was six places better than his pre-meet seed (13th).
"I owe everything I have to Coach Smith," Holts said. "People tend to count me out saying that I don't have the foot speed, and I don't belong here, but he's convinced me that I do. He's spent thousands of hours one on one developing my technique and preparing me to do well for this meet, physically and mentally. The national championships are the biggest and most difficult meet on the schedule, and he's dedicated everything to putting us in a position that we can achieve All-America results. I hope people realize that he really deserves a huge amount of credit for being one of the nation's top coaches."
Overall in the event, Eastern Michigan Jordan Desilets smoothly surged to the lead in the final 150 meters to win (8:42.64) over N.C. State junior Andy Smith (second, 8:45.84) and Stanford junior Ian Dobson (third, 8:48.12).
Holts wrapped up a season that featured a four-second personal best (8:44.57) from the Cardinal Qualifier in late April, and his third, top-four finish in the Pac-10 steeple (third, 8:58.28) in steamy Tucson. He received an NCAA at-large invite thanks to his season best after a foot injury slowed him in the West Regional (11th, 8:58.69) two weeks ago. Looking ahead, he could run another steeple in the upcoming weeks and qualify for the upcoming Olympic Trials. Qualifying times must be run on July 1 at the latest, and the A standard is 8:36.00, and if the field needs additional qualifiers to fill out a minimum 24-man field, the B standard is 8:42.00.
Holts' NCAA appearance was his second on the oval after he competed in the prelims in 2003 (11th-prelim, 8:54.07). He also received All-America reviews in cross country in 2002 (43rd) and was an NCAA qualifier on the trails in 2003 (70th) and 2001 (96th).
"Going into the regionals, I had a foot problem and wasn't even sure if I could run before the meet," Holts said, "and Coach said it was totally my choice. The NCAA requires you to compete and give an honest effort, so I gave it a shot for the sake of the team, and then got here as an at-large. Again, Coach said it was up to me if I could compete here, but I knew I had to give it a shot. I've worked too hard to sit at home and not be here. And it was important to show other people that our distance program deserves some respect, and we are one of the nation's best. The only way you can show that is by giving it your best against the best, and that's something the whole team, not just distance runners, was committed to this week."
In the 5,000, redshirt junior Eric Logsdon put his nose into the mix for a top-five finish in the opening 2/3 of the 12 1/2 lap race, then weathered the muggy weather to finish seventh at the finish line (14:22.05). Seconds later, the Canby, Ore., native followed the lead of nearly half the field that fell to the ground after the finish, trying to recover from the extreme conditions. His second track All-America honor was the 31st at the 5K/3-mile distance for the Ducks all-time - third-best among UO events.
"I felt pretty good for the first, second and third kilometers, and was still OK at the fourth," Logsdon said, "but the last 600 meters it really started to hit me, and I did what I had to do to help the team's scoring. I might have finished a little stronger if I hadn't made as big a move as early, but regardless I knew it wouldn't be easy. The weather certainly changed the tactics tonight, and I gave it all I had."
Up front in the 5,000, Arizona sophomore Robert Cheseret employed his well-publicized sit-and-kick style en route to the win (13:49.85). A runner-up in the 10,000 two nights before, Cheseret waited to pass Colorado's Dathan Ritzenhein (second, 13:52.13) in the final 150 meters after the Buff sophomore led virtually the entire race with Cheseret on his shoulder. Wisconsin junior Mat Tegenkamp took third (14:11.45) - a position he ran by himself for more than the second half of the race.
Saturday's race was Logsdon's second NCAA 5K on the oval after he took eighth in 2003 ((13:59.00). Earlier this championship season, he locked up his third Pac-10 top six honor in the 5,000 in Tucson (sixth, 14:14.86) in mid-May after he placed sixth in 2003 and fourth in 2002. In the West Regional two weeks ago, he navigated the tactical race to take fourth (14:13.45) to claim an automatic bid. His season best of 13:48.12 this year was five seconds shy of Oregon's hallowed top-10 list. He also has earned a pair of All-America honors in cross country (2003-29th, 2002 - 41st), and helped the Ducks to fifth in the latter meet.
On a personal coaching note, Holts and Logsdon secured the 10th and 31st All-America honors in their respective events in distance coach Martin Smith's coaching career at Wisconsin (8/83-7/98) and Oregon (7/98-).
The Duck sprint crew ended the evening with one more medal stand appearance, as the 4x400 unit of sophomores Travis Anderson, senior Brandon Holliday, junior Kedar Inico and sophomore Matt Scherer went sub-3:04 for the third time this season (fifth, 3:03.88) and were only one place shy of matching the Ducks' best-ever finish in the NCAA 4x400 relay.
Top-seeded Baylor won the event (3:01.03), and edged Minnesota (second, 3:01.80), Mississippi State (third, 3:03.57), Arizona State (fourth, 3:03.60) and Oregon (fifth, 3:03.88), while fourth-seeded Florida followed in sixth (3:04.71).
Anderson opened the relay with the Ducks fighting for seventh in the nine-team field, and Holliday kept the Ducks in similar position on his second leg. On the third leg, the first-year Duck Inico followed a lead-out by Baylor's highly-regarded soph Jeremy Wariner and moved up three places in the field afer the leg's opening 100 as the Ducks moved up to fourth halfway through their leg. Scherer added another steady anchor as Oregon's time was the third-fastest ever behind their mid-May Pac-10 win (3:03.49) and NCAA prelim appearance two days earlier (3:03.73) that ranked them sixth heading into the final. The same unit also broke 3:04 in the West Regional (third, 3:03.93) two weeks ago in Northridge, Calif.
The Ducks' record-breaking season also included a stop on the 2004 indoor slate, as they ran a then-school record in February at Iowa State (3:06.54), bettering the mark from the 2003 NCAA outdoor prelims (3:06.73). The Ducks' chances were also improved this meet as Scherer - fourth in the West Regional 400 final (PR 45.95) - opted not to accept an NCAA invite in the open 400 to be at full strength.
Individually, Scherer ranks third all-time for the Ducks in the 400 behind former world record holder and Olympic gold medalist Otis Davis (45.07, 1960) and former Pac-10 champ Pat Johnson (45.38, 1996). Holliday also stands sixth all-time for the Ducks in the 400 hurdles with his 2004 Pac-10 best (50.52). Anderson (46.90) and Inico (46.92) are less than .10 seconds shy of top-10 placings on the Oregon 400 career list (10th is held by former Duck Howard Moore at 46.83) based on their season and personal bests.
In the decathlon's second and final day action, assistant coach and decathlon mentor Bill Lawson continued to work his magic as a pair of in-state products - redshirt senior Gabriel LeMay and redshirt sophomore Andy Young - took 11th and 13th with scores of 7,517 and 7,302 points. The duo far exceeded their pre-meet seedings of 20th and 16th, respectively, based on their NCAA provisional marks from the Pac-10 Champs in early May (7,333/7,372).
LeMay ran a windy personal best in the 110 hurdles by .47 seconds (19th, 15.24w, w:4.4), and his 1,500 (third, 4:21.58) was a four-second personal best. Among his other Saturday events, his discus (11th, 131-2) mark was only three inches of his personal best, and his javelin (19th, 150-9) and pole vault (eighth, 15-1) were each only four inches shy of his all-time dec marks.
Young led the field in the pole vault with a personal best (17-0 3/4), and added other final day marks in the 110 hurdles (20th, 15.26, w:2.0), discus (21st, 121-9) , javelin (18th, 168-2) and . His pole vault mark was an eight-inch personal best, his 1,500 was a .83-second personal best over his former marks from early May's Pac-10 finale (16-4 3/4 / 4:21.94), and his javelin mark was only four feet shy of his personal best (172-3) also from Pac-10s.
LeMay and Young became the second Duck duo under Lawson to earn same-year NCAA invites since 2001, and the duo were 31 and 246 points shy of All-America honors that went nine deep in the event.
At the national level, the decathlon has quick re-emerged as a Duck specialty, and has featured one NCAA title and two more All-America honors since 2000 under Bill Lawson. In the recent Pac-10 Championships, the Ducks went 1-3-4-5 for 25 points in the event against the nation's top decathlon conference that featured seven, +7,000-point scorers in the league clash. LeMay and Young registered 158- and 193-point personal bests in the Tucson, Ariz.-hosted event, and indoors the pair were also NCAA provisional qualifiers (5,443 / 5,385) and ranked 17th and 20th nationally with their first- and third-place scores from the Mountain Pacific Championships in late February.
On the women's side, redshirt junior Laura Harmon made the Ducks' lone final day appearance in the 5,000 and took 18th in her NCAA debut (17:18.41). The Vancouver, Wash., native ran in a pack of 8-9 runners vying for 13th place in the opening two kilometers, before the group splintered progressively as the race wore on. Harmon maintained position near her ending placing for much of the way, and improved on her 21st-place pre-meet seeding based on her season best of 16:33.17.
Up front in the 12 1/2-lap race, Providence senior Kim Smith surged out to a 40-meter lead in the opening half-mile en route to a 36-second win (15:48.8). Stanford junior Sara Bei kicked up to second in the final straight (second, 16:24.90) ahead of Notre Dame sophomore Molly Huddle (third, 16:25.44).
Harmon had earned an NCAA automatic invite thanks to one of the Ducks' most impressive efforts in the West Regional two weeks before. She reeled off a 13-second personal best boosted by a kick that moved her up four places in the final lap (third, PR 16:33.17). After Pac-10 appearances in the 1,500 the past two seasons, she claimed her first league points in the 5K two weeks before in Tucson, Ariz. in mid-May (eighth, 17:21.57). She also led the Ducks this season in the 1,500 (4:30.88) and 3,000 (PR 9:45.52) outdoors in 2004, and returns as the Ducks' top harrier this fall as the Women of Oregon have finished fifth in the Pac-10 Cross Country Champs the past two fall seasons.
Complete final meet results are available at the www.TexasSports.com and www.NCAAsports.com websites.
Looking ahead to summer action, three Ducks - Skipper, sophomore 110 hurdler Eric Mitchum and junior javelin thrower Sarah Malone - are automatically qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, July 9-18 at Cal State Sacramento's Hornet Stadium. More Olympic Trials meet information is located at the www.SacSports.com website, and U.S. rankings are available at the www.usatf.org and www.trackandfieldnews.com websites.
Duck track and field fans can also catch many Olympic hopefuls at the Prefontaine Classic, slated for Sat., June 19 at Hayward Field, and more meet info is at the www.PreClassic.com website.
FOURTH DAY FINAL RESULTS
NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Mike A. Myers Stadium
University of Texas
Austin, Texas
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Results Websites: www.NCAAsports.com and www.TexasSports.com
Women's Team Scores - 1, UCLA, 69. 2, LSU, 68. 3, Nebraska, 58. 4, Texas, 42. 5, Florida, 29. 6, Stanford, 27. 7t, South Carolina, 24. 7t, Georgia, 24. 7t, Tennessee, 24. 10t, Miami, 22. 10t, Arkansas, 24. 12, USC, 18. 13, Texas A&M, 22. 14, North Carolina, 16. 15, Georgia Tech, 14. 15, BYU, 14. 15, Cal Poly, 14. 18, Auburn, 13. 18, Washington, 13. 20, Arizona State, 12. 34t, Oregon, 6.
Men's Team Scores - 1, Arkansas, 65 1/2. 2, Florida, 49. 3, LSU, 31. 4t, TCU, 30. 4t, SMU, 30. 4t, Ohio State, 30. 7, Baylor, 27. 8, Texas Tech, 26 1/2. 9, Oregon, 26. 10, Wisconsin, 22. 11, Arizona State, 22. 12, Arizona, 21. 13t, Tennessee, 20. 13t, Nebraska, 20. 15t, Minnesota, 18. 15t, Boise State, 18. 17, UCLA, 16. 20t, Rice, 15. 20t, Mississippi State, 15. 20t, Florida State, 15.
MEN'S RESULTS
Steeplechase - 1, Jordan Desilets, Eastern Michigan, 8:42.64. 2, Andy Smith, N.C> State, 8:45.84. 3, Ian Dobson, Stanford, 8:48.12. 4, Aaron Fisher, Ohio Stae, 8:49.53. 5, Steve Zieminski, Florida, 8:53.84. 6, Jochen Dieckfoss, Boston, 8:55.02. 7, Brett Holts, Oregon, 8:57.75. 8, Matt Adams, BYU, 8:59.11.
5,000 - 1, Robert Cheseret, Arizona, 13:49.85. 2, Dathan Ritzenhein, Colorado, 13:52.13. 3, Matt Tegenkamp, Wisconsin, 14:11.45. 4, Louis Luchini, Stanford, 14:1.44. 5, Kyle King, Baylor, 14:18.38. 6, Kyle Goklish, Arizona, 14:20.73. 7, Eric Logsdon, Oregon, 14:22.05. 8, Steve Sundell, Columbia, 14:23.97.
4x400 - 1, Baylor, 3:01.03. 2, Minnesota, 3:01.80. 3, Mississippi State, 3:03.57. 4, Arizona State, 3:03.60. 5, Oregon, 3:03.88. 6, Florida, 3:04.71. 7, UCLA, 3:06.63. 8, LSU, 3:06.67. 9, Seton Hall, 3:08.71.
Pole Vault - 1, Tommy Skipper, Oregon, 18-8 1/4 (5.70m). 2, Yoo Kim, UCLA, 18-4 1/2. 3, Eric Eshbach, Nebraska, 18-4 1/2. 4, Paul Gensic, Air Force, 18-0 1/2. 4, Jeremy Scott, Arkansas, 18-0 1/2. 6, Sage Thames, Texas Tech, 18-0 1/2. 7, Jon Takahashi, Cal Poly, 17-8 1/2. 8, Bobby Most, Texas Tech, 17-8 1/2. 8, Giovanni Lanaro, Cal State Fullerton, 17-8 1/2.
Final Decathlon Standings (After 10 Events - 25 entrants) - 1, Ryan Harlan, Rice, 8,171. 2, Trey Hardee, Mississippi State, 8,041. 3, Mustafa Abdur-Rahim, Dartmouth, 7,937. 4, Travis Brandstatter, Minnesota, 7,736. 5, Hans Uldal, Missouri, 7,661. 6, Ashraf Fadel, Wisconsin, 7,624. 7, Justin Youngblod, Texas-San Antonio, 7,589. 8, Chris Wineberg, Cincinnati, 7,584. 11, Gabriel LeMay, Oregon, 7,517. 13, Andy Young, Oregon, 7,302.
UO Individual Decathlon Results (Event - Rank, Mark, Points)
Gabriel LeMay - 110 Hurdles - 19, 15.24w, w:4.4, 821; Discus - 11, 131-2, 39.99m, 664; Pole Vault - 8, Gabriel LeMay, 15-1, 4.60m, 790; Javelin - 19th, 150-9, 45.95m, 529; 1,500 - 3, 4:21.58, 801.
Andy Young - 110 Hurdles - 20, 15.26, w:2.0, 818; Discus - 21, 121-9, 37.12m, Pole Vault - 1, 17-0 3/4, 5.20m, 920; Javelin - 15th, 168-2. 1,500 - 2, 4:21.11, 804.
WOMEN'S RESULTS
5,000 - 1, Kim Smith, Providence, 15:48.86. 2, Sara Bei, Stanford, 16:24.90. 3, Molly Huddle, Notre Dame, 16:25.44. 4, Emmily Chelanga, Iona, 16:33.97. 5, Clara Horowitz, Duke, 16:34.44. 6, Renee Metiever, Colorado, 16:37.60. 7, Jennifer Kramer, Boston College, 16:40.26. 8, Erika Schneble, Vanderbilt, 16:46.45. 18, Laura Harmon, Oregon, 17:18.41.
- www.GoDucks.com -
Players Mentioned
