University of Oregon
Husky Classic
Wheating (800), Centrowitz (Mile) Set School Records
02/15/09 | Track and Field
SEATTLE, Wash. -- Andrew Wheating set stadium and University of Oregon records in the 800 meters, while Matthew Centrowitz broke the school record in the mile Saturday at the Husky Classic at the Dempsey Indoor Facility.
The Ducks also collected a number of NCAA Indoor Championships-qualifying performances in the distance events, while also recording four personal bests in the pole vault.
"It was another great day," said Associate Director of Track and Field Dan Steele. "We've had three good meets in a row and as coaches, we're really excited about the consistency we're seeing from this team right now. We're pretty excited about where we are at this point in the season."
Wheating, a 2008 Olympian at 800 meters, won his first 800 race of 2009 in a stadium and Oregon indoor record 1:47.03. He was nearly a second faster than Tevan Everett of Texas, who finished in 1:47.82. Both marks were NCAA automatic qualifiers. Wheating's time broke the previous school record of 1:48.07 set by Simon Kimata in 2002.
Centrowitz, a sophomore from Arnold, Md., broke the 4:00 barrier in the mile for the first time in his career to win Saturday's race in a school-record 3:57.92. He finished just ahead of David Torrence of Golden Bear Track Club, who ran 3:58.15. Centrowitz broke teammate A.J. Acosta's year-old UO record of 3:58.52. Centrowitz's time was also an NCAA automatic qualifier. Senior James Withers also ran well in the mile, finishing with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:03.24.
The men's 5,000 meters saw the four Ducks record NCAA marks with personal best times. Senior Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott led the way with a third-place finish in 13:41.66. That was an NCAA automatic time and was No. 3 on the UO career list, not mention a PR by 14 seconds. Freshman Luke Puskedra also ran an NCAA automatic time, finishing fifth in 13:46.52. That time was just behind Kiptoo-Biwott for fourth on the UO indoor list.
With Galen Rupp's American record of 13:18.12 Friday night in Fayetteville, Ark., three of the school's four top times in the indoor 5,000 meters have come in the last two days.
The other two Duck NCAA provisional qualifiers in the 5,000 meters were senior Scott Wall, who finished 11th in 13:54.20, and sophomore Diego Mercado, who ran 13:57.79. Mercado's time was a 15 second personal best, while Wall eclipsed his previous mark by :03.
Other men's highlights included junior Brian McGinty's personal best in the pole vault, 16-7.25, a mark that tied him with teammates Colin Witter-Tilton and Ashton Eaton for fourth on Saturday. Eaton's clearance was also an indoor best for the junior from Bend, Ore.
Junior Chad Barlow ran a season-best 47.34 in the 400 meters, winning his heat and finishing fourth overall, while Eaton was fifth in the 60 meters hurdles in 7.99, just off his PR of 7.91.
On the women's side, junior Mattie Bridgmon set a 24-second personal best in finishing fifth in the 5,000 meters in 16:09.29. That mark was No. 3 all-time on UO indoor list and an NCAA provisional time.
Junior Nicole Blood set a personal-best in the mile, running 4:41.72 to finish ninth in an exceptional field. Blood's time was an NCAA provisional mark and ranked No. 3 all-time at Oregon. Stanford's Lauren Centrowitz won the mile in 4:37.07.
Senior Lindsey Scherf added another NCAA provisional mark in the 3,000 meters with her fifth-place time of 9:19.25.
Melissa Gergel continued her consistent pole vaulting. The sophomore from Glenwood, Ill., set a personal best in the event by a half-inch, clearing 13-9.75. It was the third straight meet that Gergel had matched or improved upon her NCAA automatic qualifying clearance. Also in the pole vault, sophomore Jordan Roskelley had an indoor PR of 12-6 to tie for 10th.
Other women's highlights included Mandy White's indoor personal best in the 200 meters, 24.65. That time was good for third place on Saturday and was No. 4 all-time on the UO indoor list. White also won her preliminary of the 60 meters in 7.66 and was seventh in the final in 7.75.
"The kids have put in some tough weeks and deserve a weekend off," said Steele. "Maturity, poise and consistency have been themes of this season.
"We've set specific qualifying goals each meet and we've been successful in nearly every mark that we've gone after," said Steele. "It doesn't usually go like that and the coaching staff is just really pleased with the group we have right now."
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