University of Oregon
Oregon Preview
Ducks Open Outdoor Track Slate in Oregon Preview
03/19/05 | Track and Field
EUGENE - The University of Oregon men's and women's track and field teams rode blustery spring winds to 11 wins (7W, 4M) and 11 regional qualifying marks (8W, 3M) in Saturday's outdoor season opener, the Oregon Preview at Hayward Field.
UO's field event corps paced the women with wins in all four throws events and the pole vault. Redshirt senior Bree Fuqua won the shot put (51-3 3/4) and discus (156-10) with regional qualifiers in both. The NCAA shot put veteran was only 1 foot, 5 inches off her outdoor shot put best from last season (52-8 3/4), and 7 feet, 3 inches off last year's discus PR (164-1). Redshirt senior Sarah Malone also braved 20-30 mph gales early in the day to win the javelin (150-11) over fellow All-America teammate Elisa Crumley (second, 142-6), as both easily topped the 141-6 regional qualifying mark. Crumley made her first appearance for the Ducks since the summer of 2003 after she redshirted outdoors in 2004 after fall season arm surgery. She last competed in an Oregon jersey in the 2003 NCAA (13th, 153-5) and USA Championships (15th, 133-3). In the hammer, redshirt and unattached Duck junior Britney Henry won her Hayward Field debut (first, 201-2) over Team XO member and former UCLA All-American Cari Soong (second, 198-11). Henry joined the Ducks last fall and threw for LSU in 2004 (207-9 PR) and Southeast Louisiana in 2003, and will sit out this year due to NCAA twice-transfer rules. Also in the hammer, redshirt junior and WSU transfer Brittany Hinchcliffe followed in third place (184-1). The Bellevue, Wash., native made her official UO debut after she redshirted last year (although she threw 200-3 unattached). Saturday's mark moved her to fourth all-time for the Ducks in the event behind Jordan Sauvage (first, 191-4), Maureen Morrison (second, 186-6) and junior teammate Megan Kriz (third, 185-0).
Redshirt junior pole vaulter Hannah Moore donned an Oregon singlet on the outdoor circuit for the first time since 2003, and won (12-5 1/2) on fewer misses over sophomore teammate Emily Enders (second, 12-5 1/2). Both athletes had to nearly call the competition off at the next height (12-9 1/2), as strong tail winds kept knocking the bar off for a 15-20-minute stretch, before the weather calmed enough for three attempts by each. On the track for the UO women, redshirt junior Sara Schaaf cruised to a 1 1/2-second win in the 400 (57.42) over Willamette's Mariah Hanson (second, 58.90). Freshman distance runner Sarah Pearson added a 1 1/2-second victory herself in the 1,500 (4:38.33) over OSU's Katilin Poggi (second, 4:39.86). The South High School product Pearson was barely two seconds off her prep personal best (4:36.17) that came as a junior in the 2003 4A state championship, also held at Hayward Field.
Rexius improved his wind-aided personal best from his prior mark of 14.93 from 2004, while Ikwuakor was nearly a half-second off his Duck best from 2004 (52.32). On the regional qualifying charts, Rexius was less than a half-second off the 14.33 qualifying mark, and Ikwuakor was .35 seconds off his standard (52.51). The duo also returned to run the second and fourth legs on the 4x400 relay that won the meet's final event (3:21.68) by more than a second over Lane CC (second, 3:23.09). Other Duck baton passers included Rob Gillespie and Andy Young on the first and third legs, respectively. In other track action, junior newcomer Richard Del Rincon made his Duck debut in the 100 (10.4-hand-timed) and was edged by .1 seconds by unattached entrant Jeremy Senn (10.3). (No wind info was available). Other Duck entries on the track includes unattached freshman entrant J.K. Withers (800, second, 1:55.61) and senior sprinter and middle distance runner Roderick Dotts who stepped up to the 1,500 (seventh, 4:05.07). Senior Paul Etter led field event action with a 3 foot, 1 inch personal best in the hammer (second, 203-4), and trailed only former Duck and two-time All-American and Pac-10 champion Adam Kriz (first, 204-2). The second-year Duck and former Clackamas transfer Etter debuted on the UO all-time list in eighth place, and jumped ahead of Jeremy Robinson (202-7) and Nick Anastassiades (202-1). Also in the hammer, junior transfer and first-year Duck and unattached entrant Mike Hill (seventh, 169-1), enjoyed a 21-foot PR in his debut for the Ducks after he transferred to UO last fall from Linfield. In the javelin, the newcomer pair of junior Matt Adams and freshman Brian Wuethrich placed second (202-5) and third (202-0) as they set their sights on the West Regional qualifying standard (202-2). The duo also topped their previous personal bests of 199-10 and 194-6, respectively, that came in 2004 for Central Arizona JC and North Bend High School (North Bend, Ore.). Portland State sophomore Jordan Senn won the event with a regional qualifier of his own (218-1).
Duck sophomore Brandon Tower added a win for the Ducks in the discus (151-8), and edged Adams (second, 137-11) and unattached Duck junior Cody Fleming (third, 135-9).Tower placed second earlier in the day in the shot put with a 2 foot, 2 1/2 inch outdoor best (50-9 1/4) and trailed unattached entrant Jim Webster (first, 54-6 1/2). In the pole vault, redshirt junior Jon Derby navigated Saturday's ever-changing tailwinds to second placed (16-6 3/4) behind Southern Oregon's Robbie Johnson (first, 17-3). Derby's final clearance equaled the West Regional mark to earn a regional invite for the third straight year, and was only three inches off his outdoor personal best (16-9 1/4). Looking back over Saturday's action, the Duck squads showcased barely half of their teams since practice the past week was effected by winter term final exams. The UO teams also came off one of their busiest and most decorated indoor campaigns that ended the prior week in the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., March 11-12. The Men of Oregon claimed one NCAA title and eight All-America awards among their nine entries, and the UO women were represented individually by Laura Harmon in the 5,000. Looking ahead, UO may send a few distance runners to the Stanford Invitational next weekend, Fri.-Sat., March 25-26 in Palo Alto, Calif. More meet info is available at the
Players Mentioned
