University of Oregon
Pac-10 Championships
Ducks Inch Ahead at Pac-10 Championships
05/16/10 | Track and Field
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Oregon swept the men's and women's long jump and also collected titles in men's javelin, women's 10,000 meters and women's steeplechase as the Duck track and field teams posted strong showings on the first day of the 2010 Pacific-10 Championships.
In the team competition, the men led with 71 points. California was second with 43, followed by Washington (41), USC (40), Arizona State (36), UCLA (34), Stanford (33), Washington State (9) and Arizona (5).
"It's going to be tight," said Oregon Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna. "We might need a couple of breaks, but I think we will be ready for good things to happen."
On the women's side, Arizona used a big day in the field to take a slim lead with 71 points. Oregon was next with 65, followed by Stanford (33), Washington State (27), Arizona State (21.50), Washington (19), USC (17), California (11) and UCLA (8.50).
"The women were almost flawless," said Lananna. "They were really strong today."
The Men of Oregon literally needed every inch to win the javelin and the long jump.
Ashton Eaton, who won his third straight decathlon title last weekend, eked out a victory in the long jump by a centimeter on his final attempt. He went 25-7.5 to edge USC's Brenden Ames, who had gone 25-7.25 in round five. Vernell Warren finished fifth for Oregon with a seasonal-best mark of 24-2.5.
"I knew it was good; I just didn't know how good," said Eaton of his final attempt. "I'm a gamer."
The senior from Bend., Ore., became Oregon's first Pac-10 champion in the long jump since Latin Berry in 1990.
It was nearly as close in the men's javelin, where Cyrus Hostetler won with a Pac-10 meet and Edwards Stadium record throw of 253-4. He defeated Cooper Thompson of USC, whose mark went on the board at 253-3, by two centimeters.
Hostetler was one of four Ducks to score in the event, joining Alex Wolff, Mike Simmons and Britton Nelson. Wolff was fourth at 235-8, Simmons sixth at 228-7 and Nelson seventh at 215-8. That was 20 points in the javelin for the Ducks.
"Those points are really important for the team," said Hostetler, who became the first Duck to win back-to-back javelin titles since Brian Crouser in 1984-85. "Coming off an ACL tear (last summer), I really wanted to show that I can still throw. I had a good series. I was happy about it."
Meanwhile, the Oregon women used wins by Nicole Blood in the 10,000 meters, Jamesha Youngblood in the long jump and Claire Michel in the 3,000 meter steeplechase to move into solid position to defend their Pac-10 title.
Blood, running her first career 10,000 meters, won the Pac-10 title going away in 33:28.38. Teammate Mattie Bridgmon was right behind her in 33:38.79, with Lauren Zaludek eighth in 34:29.67 as the three seniors scored 19 team points.
"I was prepared for it to hurt a lost but it really didn't," said Blood. "I just tuned out the lap (counter) and before I knew it, I only had a mile to go."
The Saratoga Springs, N.Y., native became the first Oregon woman to win the 10,000 meters since Melody Fairchild in 1996. Her time was also the fourth-fastest 10K in Oregon history.
Michel broke her own school record, running 10:11.70, to become the first Pac-10 women's steeplechase champion at Oregon. The Ducks also got a point from freshman Taylor Wallace, who ran eighth in 10:39.44. That time was a 20 second PR and ranks No. 6 all-time at Oregon.
"It was a hard run" said Michel. "I knew I just had to go for it, so I did.
"I'm excited to score 10 points for the team," said the junior from Clackamas, Ore. "Today was a good day."
Youngblood broke her own school record in winning the women's long jump at 21-9. That effort came on her third attempt as she defended her Pac-10 title by nearly a foot over Stanford's Arantxa King, who went 20-09.75.
Oregon also got a long jump point from sophomore Rebecca Rhodes, who was eighth with a personal-best mark of 19-6.25.
"I'm pretty excited about that," said Youngblood. "I didn't think my jump felt that far.
"It feels really good because my family are the loudest people out here," said the native of nearby San Pablo, Calif.
The women also counted points in the high jump and shot put on Saturday.
Brianne Theisen, who won the heptathlon a week ago, placed second in the high jump with a clearance at 6-1.75. That was a PR and is the second-best bar in school history.
In the women's shot put, senior Rita Santibanez took seventh with a throw of 44-4.
"It was a good day," said Theisen, a junior from Humboldt, Sask., "I'm tired now, but I was pretty excited after that high jump."
The remainder of the men's points on Saturday came in the hammer, the 3,000 meter steeplechase and the 10,000 meters.
The men collected their first points of the day in the hammer, with a fourth-place finish by Jordan Stray and a seventh-place showing from Scott Penny. Stray, a junior from Centralia, Wash., threw 203-6 on his final toss to move up to fourth. Penny a senior from Lawrence, Kan., recorded a throw of 189-11 to become a Pac-10 scorer for the first time in his career.
In the steeplechase, junior A.J. Acosta broke the form chart with a 40 second PR in running fourth in 8:52.62.
Luke Puskedra and Michael Maag closed out the scoring for the men in the 10,000 meters. Puskedra, a sophomore from Ogden, Utah, was fourth in a seasonal-best 29:10.36, while Maag, a senior from Portland, Ore., ran fifth in 29:20.18.
In Saturday's preliminary rounds, the Ducks were nearly perfect in advancing their competitors.
In the 800 meters, all three Oregon men and four of the five women advanced to Sunday's finals. For the men, it was Andy Wheating winning his heat in 1:48.63, with Elijah Greer (1:49.37) and Travis Thompson (1:49.58) also moving on. On the women's side, Oregon went 2-3-4 in heat two, with Becca Friday running a personal-best 2:06.87, Anne Kesselring clocking a seasonal-best 2:06.89 and Zoe Buckman running a seasonal-best 2:07.01. Chloe Steinbeck made the final from heat one as the last qualifier at 2:08.50.
The story was the same in the 1,500 meters where all Oregon's men's and women's runners advanced. For the women, that included Alexandra Kosinski (4:25.51), Jordan Hasay (4:25.67) and Buckman (4:25.74), who went 1-2-3 in their heat. In the men's 1,500, qualifiers included Acosta (3:46.58), Jordan McNamara (3:46.70), Matthew Centrowitz (3:46.72) and Mac Fleet (3:52.31).
Eaton and Theisen were also part of three of the most exciting preliminaries.
Theisen broke her own school record in the women's 100 meters hurdles in winning her preliminary heat in 13.49 to move on to the finals.
Eaton was thrilled with his wind-aided personal-best 10.19 in the men's 100 meters to advance to the final. That would have been the third-fastest time in school history with a legal wind. Also in the men's 100, freshman LaMichael James was the sixth overall qualifier for the final in 10.52.
In the men's 110 hurdles, Eaton was second in his heat in 14.06 to move on, while junior David Klech was third in his section in 14.36 and also advanced.
In other preliminary races, sophomore Amber Purvis advanced with the top time in the women's 100 meters, 11.46, while junior Mandy White was the No. 6 qualifier in 11.71.
In the women's 200 meters, senior Keshia Baker was the top qualifier, winning her heat in a personal-best 23.18, which was the second-fastest time in school history. Purvis also advanced in 23.18. Two other Ducks just missed the final. Mandy White was ninth overall in a legal personal best of 24.04 (No. 10 all-time at Oregon), while Michele Williams was 10th at 24.06.
In the women's 400 meters, Baker, the two-time defending champion, won her heat in a seasonal-best 53.61 to advance to the final. Junior Michele Williams also advanced to the final, running a season-best 54.08, which was tied for 10th fastest in school history. On the men's side, senior Chad Barlow ran second in his heat in a seasonal-best 46.96 to move on to the final.
Sophomore Lyndsay Pearson advanced in the women's 400 hurdles with a season-best time of 1:00.07. On the men's side, Klech moved on in 51.54.
In the 4x100 meters relays, the women broke their own school record in qualifying for Sunday's final. The team of White, Purvis, Baker and Youngblood had the fastest time on Saturday in 43.81. Meanwhile, the men's 4x100 relay team advanced by running a season-best 40.57. That team included Warren and Eaton, as well as football players Kenjon Barner and James.
"I really think we have a lot of motivation going into tomorrow," said Acosta.
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