University of Oregon
Stanford Invitational
Big PRs in the Javelin, Four PRs in the 10K Highlight Ducks? First Day at Stanford
03/28/09 | Track and Field
EUGENE, Ore. -- In just his second meet as a Duck, Cyrus Hostetler unleashed the best javelin throw by an Oregon competitor in eight years and was within striking distance of John Stiegeler's school record at the first day of the Stanford Invitational Friday at Cobb Track and Angell Field.
And in late night running on Friday, four Ducks ran times in the 10,000 meters that rank among the top 10 all-time for the University. Also Friday evening, Nicole Blood set a personal best as the top collegian in the women's 5,000 meters.
Hostetler, a junior from Dundee, Ore., by way of Lane Community College, surpassed his own personal best by more than four feet with a winning throw of 245 feet, 3 inches that came on his first attempt. That mark ranked third all time at the University, trailing only Stiegeler's school record of 252-10 from the 2001 season and Art Skipper's 251-8 from 1992.
All three Ducks in the men's javelin at Stanford set PR's. Junior Alex Wolff threw 224-11 on his fifth attempt to finish third and PR by nearly five feet. The biggest PR of the day came from sophomore Britton Nelson, who had a 17-foot personal best on this third throw to win the lower flight of the javelin with a mark of 210-9.
With that effort, the Aurora, Ore., native also notched his first career NCAA regional qualifying throw to join Hostetler and Wolff on the Ducks' growing list of NCAA qualifiers.
School and Pac-10 record holder Rachel Yurkovich just missed breaking her own marks on Friday. She won the women's javelin with a throw of 190-11 that was a mere two inches off her record of 191-1 set last year. Yurkovich, a senior from Newberg, Ore., held off Olympian Kim Kreiner, whose top mark was 183-4. Oregon's Ashley McCrea was third at 165-9.
Yurkovich's winning throw came on her second attempt.
Oregon did see a school record in the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase. Claire Michel ran 10:23.14 to finish 10th in a fast heat and break her own record by :03. The sophomore from Clackamas, Ore., and senior Dana Buchanan both ran NCAA regional-qualifying times. Buchanan, from Beachburg, Ont., set a PR in her first varsity 3,000 steeplechase in nearly three years. She ran 10:28.53 to place 12th and record a :05 PR.
Later Friday night, four distance runners set personal bests in the 10,000 meters that all ranked among the top 10 in school history. Senior Shadrack Biwott ran an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 28:28.83 in finishing seventh (fifth collegian). The Eldoret, Kenya, native set a personal best by :32 and his time was the fourth-best in school history.
Also in the men's 10,000 meters, twins Diego and Danny Mercado both hit NCAA provisional times and lifetime bests. Diego Mercado finished 12th in 28:48.54, which is the eighth-best 10,000 time in school history, while Danny Mercado ran 28:53.02 in a 14th-place finish that was Oregon's No. 10 all-time mark. Diego ran a :26 PR, while Danny had an :11 PR.
On the women's side, junior Mattie Bridgmon set a PR by an amazing 3:21 in running 33:37.73. She finished sixth overall and second among collegians in recording the sixth-fastest time in school history.
Running her first outdoor 5,000 meters of the season, Blood clocked 15:42.13 to eclipse her previous best by just over a second. The junior from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was the top collegian and finished third overall to Maureen McCandless of New Balance (15:34.31) and Rachel Marchand (15:39.96), running unattached. Blood's time ranked fourth on the UO top-10 5,000 meters list.
Also, sophomore Betsy Bies took second in her heat of the 5,000, finishing in an NCAA regional-qualifying time of 16:50.89.
In the men's 5,000 meters, senior Scott Wall set an :05 personal best in a 13th-place finish in 13:49.40. The Portland, Ore., native was sixth among collegians Friday night and notched an NCAA regional mark.
In his outdoor debut for Oregon, sophomore David Klech won the men's 400 meter hurdles in 50.75. That time was the ninth-fastest in school history and also an NCAA regional mark. It was also just .41 off a personal best for the San Ramon, Calif., native.
In the women's 1,500 meters, sophomore Alexandra Kosinski just missed a personal best with a fourth-place finish in 4:19.84. Her time, an NCAA regional qualifier, was just .7 off her best 1,500 mark.
In other action for Oregon:
Junior Chad Barlow ran a season-best 47.10 to win the 400 meters and earn an NCAA regional time.
Senior Chris Winter also hit an NCAA regional time with his eighth-place finish in the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase in 8:52.44.
Senior Vincent D'Onofrio hit a PR in the men's 1,500 meters to win section four in 3:50.61.
Senior Leah Worthen won her section of the women's 400 meter hurdles in 1:02.22 and finished third overall.
Sophomore Jamesha Youngblood leapt 19-3 to tie for second in the long jump.
Freshman Eric Hersey matched a season best in the men's 110 meter hurdles by running 14:53 to advance to Saturday's final.
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