University of Oregon
NCAA West Regional Championships
Wheating Wins 800, Yurkovich Defends NCAA West Regional Javelin Title
06/01/08 | Track and Field
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -- Rachel Yurkovich defended her NCAA West Regional women's javelin title, Andrew Wheating's undefeated season rolled on and Oregon advanced another nine competitors and the men's 4x400 relay team to the NCAA Championships during Saturday's action at Matador Track and Field Complex. The top five individuals and three relay teams in each event automatically advance to the NCAA Championships June 11-14 in Des Moines, Iowa. The next seven finishers are eligible for at-large bids, which will be announced Monday.
"Both teams had a very good day," said director of track and field Vin Lananna. "We basically advanced just about everyone through that we thought we could.
"There were a number of performances that stood out," Lananna said. "I think we'll be very pleased with the team we have going to the NCAA Championships."
Yurkovich, a junior from Newberg, Ore., threw 180-11 on her second attempt to win the javelin. The three-time Pac-10 champion was 20 feet better than her nearest competitor, Stephanie Ralls of Cal State Northridge, who was second at 160-11. Oregon's Ashley McCray was 12th at 145-11.
"All my throws felt pretty good today, but the second one definitely felt the best," said Yurkovich, who passed on her final two throws. "It's always nice to win, but the real goal was just to get through to nationals and stay healthy."
In the men's 800 meters, sophomore Andrew Wheating moved into the lead with 220 meters left and then used a little extra kick with 30 meters to go to hold off USC's Duane Solomon and win in a time of 1:47.93. Solomon finished second in 1:48.52. Wheating, from Norwich, Vt., has yet to lose a race in 2008. Senior Mike McGrath was seventh in a time of 1:50.37.
"I just felt like running," said Wheating, sending up a Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump accent. "Seriously, the plan was to stay on the leader and then when I felt comfortable, make my move.
"So I waited until I felt like I was in a good position and went for it," he said. "I gave a little burst there at the end just to make sure no one snuck in at the line."
In the women's 800 meters, Zoe Buckman ran a personal-best 2:02.50 to finish second to Alysia Johnson of California (2:00.77). Almost from the opening gun, the sophomore from Canberra, Australia, settled into second behind Johnson and crossed the tape with the fifth-fastest time in school history.
"We had a particularly impressive day in the 800 meters," said Lananna. "Zoe (Buckman's) 2:02 is a really outstanding mark, and Andrew Wheating has become a runner. He's learned to win races in different ways and use his versatility,"
Sophomore Keshia Baker finished second in the 400 meters, running 53.50 and trailing only USC's Carol Rodriguez (52.58). With Rodriguez comfortably ahead, Baker made her move on the final turn, pulling away from remainder of the field to lock up her trip to the NCAAs.
Colin Witter-Tilton cleared a personal-best 17-1 in the men's pole vault to finish fifth. The sophomore from Oro Valley, Ariz., was seeded 22nd of the 28 NCAA West Regional entrants to the pole vault, but now moves on to Des Moines after clearing 17-1, his third clearance of the day, on his first attempt.
Sophomore A.J. Acosta ran a strong race to finish fourth in the men's 1,500 meters. He led early and was in the top four the entire race to cruise home in 3:43.41 to advance to Des Moines. Senior Joaquin Chapa finished 10th in a time of 3:48.74.
Kasey Harwood ran her fourth-straight sub-60:00 400 meter hurdles to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships. The senior from Polson, Mont., ran fifth in 59.78 to advance.
In the men's 200 meters, Phil Alexander finished just .003 behind Darryl Elston of Arizona State, but his time of 20.975 was good enough for fifth, as the senior from Keizer, Ore., moved on to Des Moines.
Oregon had a successful showing in the men's hammer with Colin Veldman advancing to Des Moines with a fifth place finish and two others finishing in the top 12. Veldman, a senior from Fort Collins, Colo., threw 209-9 on his second attempt. Veldman later came back to throw a season-best 183-3 in the discus to finish ninth.
Freshman Jordan Stray took eighth in the hammer with a throw of 203-07, while junior Steven Johnson placed 12th with a mark of 196-03. Those two will both go into the pool for at-large berth consideration for the NCAA Championships. Coming into the meet, Stray was ranked 16th nationally.
Oregon ran 3:05.77 in the men's 4x400 meter relay to finish second behind USC (3:05.16) and advance to the NCAA meet. The Ducks' quartet was comprised of Marcus Dillon, Alexander, Chad Barlow and Ashton Eaton.
In the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase, freshman Claire Michel broke the Oregon school record with a time of 10:26.62. She finished seventh in her heat, and broke Dana Buchanan's 2006 school mark -- 10:33.77 -- by more than seven seconds. Sophomore Brooke Giuffre ran a nine-second P.R. to finish 13th at 10:38.08. That mark ranks fourth on Oregon's top-10 list.
Junior Chris Winter took sixth in the men's steeplechase in a time of 8:48.42. Freshman Isaac Stoutenburgh took 10th in 8:57.19.
Freshman Alex Kosinski placed seventh in the women's 1,500 meters with a time of 4:25.41. She was ranked 19th nationally coming into the meet.
In addition to the nine Ducks and the men's 4x400 relay team who earned NCAA Championship berths Saturday, Nicole Blood (women's 5,000 meters), Sarah Pearson (women's 5,000 meters) and Carlos Trujillo (men's 5,000 meters) advanced on Friday to join heptathlete Brianne Theisen and decathlete Ashton Eaton to give Oregon 14 automatic entries to Des Moines. The Ducks also have another 24 eligible for NCAA at-large consideration.
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