University of Oregon
UCLA
100 Meter Ash! Eaton Leads Ducks to Win Over UCLA
04/19/09 | Track and Field
EUGENE, Ore. -- Ashton Eaton won the 100 meters, the long jump and led off Oregon's clinching 4x400 meter relay team as No. 1 Oregon defeated No. 16 UCLA 84-79 in a scintilating dual meet before 5,039 fans Saturday at Historic Hayward Field.
"It was a great day and terrific crowd coming down to the last event," said Oregon associate head coach Dan Steele. "It was great to see the stars come through and get the points. Also I was happy for our third place finishes because those decide the meet. Those things make a difference."
The Ducks had sweeps in the 5,000 meters, both hurdles and the javelin to counter the Bruins' sweeps in the 200 meters, triple jump, shot put and discus.
All that trading off meant that the teams entered the final event, the men's 4x400 meters, tied at 79-79. Oregon's quartet of Eaton, Marshall Ackley, Travis Thompson and Chad Barlow was neck-and neck with UCLA until the Bruins dropped the baton on the final exchange, and Barlow raced around the final 400 meters, armed extended at the finish line to bring home the victory in 3:12.21.
"We were figuring it was going to come down to the last race," said Eaton. "I just wish they wouldn't have dropped (the baton). That would have been one of those epic Hayward Field moments.
"This win is just a great confidence booster, and a good precursor for the Pac-10's," he said.
Eaton, a junior from Bend, Ore., won the 100 meters in a personal best 10.49 seconds, which was also an NCAA Regional qualifying mark. He also scored a personal best in the long jump at 25 feet, 8 inches, though that mark came with a non-legal wind of plus 3.0.
"I PR'd in the long jump and the 100, so I'm pretty happy," said Eaton. "The 100 was cool because I was surrounded by UCLA guys."
Sophomore David Klech also had a big day with wins in the 110 and 400 meter hurdles. The sophomore transfer from UCLA won the 110 hurdles in 14.37 and the 400 hurdles in 50.77. Marshall Ackley ran a personal-best 52.92 in the 400 meter hurdles, while freshman Eric Hersey took second in the 110 hurdles in 14.53. Sophomore Justin Cross picked up a couple of points for the Ducks with third-place finishes in both events.
"I knew it was gonna be a close meet, said Klech. "To have a chance, our hurdle crew had to step it up."
Galen Rupp led the Oregon sweep at 5,000 meters, running 13:55.75 in his first outdoor race of the season. Luke Puskedra was second in 14:03.45 and Danny Mercado was third in 14:09.75. All three reached the regional standard.
It was also an Oregon sweep in the javelin with Cyrus Hostetler winning with a meet-record throw of 257-2. Alex Wolff took second at 229-10 and Britton Nelson was third at 208-3.
In addition to anchoring the 4x400 meter relay team, Barlow won the 400 meters in a personal-best 46.70. That tied the meet record of 46.7 set by Dacre Bowen in 1976.
Andrew Wheating made his outdoor debut a successful one, running an NCAA regional time of 1:48.78 to win the 800 meters. Thompson finished third in the race in 1:50.09 to earn a point for the Ducks.
Oregon went 1-2 in the 1,500 meters with Shadrack Biwott just nipping Matthew Centrowitz. Biwott clocked 3:47.76 with Centrowitz crossing in 3:47.77. Both were NCAA regional times.
Senior Chris Winter was a winner in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in 8:57.41.
UCLA won the 4x100 meter relay in 40.39 with the Ducks close in a season-best 40.73. That time, run by Vernell Warren, Eaton, Matt Butcher and Barlow, was an NCAA regional qualifier.
The Bruins' Taylor Hobson had an impressive day with a win in the high jump with a clearance of 7-1 and runner-up finishes in the long jump (25-2.5) and triple jump (48-10.75).
The Ducks countered with Vernell Warren's second-place finish in the high jump (6-10.75) and third place mark in the long jump (24-1.75).
Oregon also got points in the hammer from Jordan Stray's second-place finish (201-1) and Steven Johnson's third-place throw (195-10), as well as Colin Witter-Tilton's third-place clearance in the pole vault (16-6.75). Johnson's throw was a season-best effort.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Melissa Gergel tied for fifth in the pole vault at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. The sophomore had a season-best clearance of 13-7.25.
- www.GoDucks.com -
Players Mentioned
