University of Oregon
NCAA West Regional
Great 800s Highlight Day Two in Austin
05/30/10 | Track and Field
AUSTIN, Texas -- It would have been difficult for the races on the track to have gone much better for the Ducks on Friday at the NCAA West Regional Trark & Field Championships.
All five men's and women's 800 meter runners advanced to the semifinals in Eugene, as did Keshia Baker in the women's 400 meters and Mandy White in the women's 100 meters, plus Jordan Stray in the men's hammer and Jamesha Youngblood in the women's long jump at a steaming Mike A. Myers Stadium.
"Everybody's done what they needed to do," said Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna. "Tomorrow is a big day for us."
Oregon was impressive in rolling through the two 800 quarterfinals.
After freshman Elijah Greer bolted to the lead at the bell lap to win his men's heat in 1:49.51 and automatically advance, Travis Thompson and Andrew Wheating put on a show in heat two.
Thompson took the pace out hard through the first 400 meters as UCLA's Cory Primm and Scott Crawford stayed in touch, while Wheating cruised along in fourth. Wheating then moved hard along the backstretch to get around Thompson and the UCLA runners, as Missouri's Blake Irwin also moved up.
Wheating shifted into overdrive off the final curve and won in a nation-leading 1:46.44. Primm took second in 1:47.51 with Irwin third in 1:47.53 and Thompson fourth in 1:47.60.
"I knew Travis was going to do that so I just stayed relaxed and saw what I had left the last 100 meters," said Wheating a senior from Norwich, Vt., who will attempt to qualify in the 1,500 meters on Saturday. "I think the hard part is over with two races yesterday and the 800 today. Now I can just relax and get it done."
The top three from each 800 heat automatically advanced to the NCAA Championships June 9-12 in Eugene, while the next three fastest times, Thompson's being among them, also moved on.
"I've been so nervous all day," said an elated Thompson, who ran a PR and the seventh-fastest time in school history. "I'm kind of speechless at this point.
"I'm just so happy right now to be able to run NCAA outdoors at home in Eugene," said the Newport, Ore., native.
"I told (Thompson) not to be in third with Wheating behind him," said Lananna with a smile. "Not a good idea. But he got through."
What the women's 800 meters lacked in drama, the Ducks made up for in domination.
Freshmen Anne Kesselring and Becca Friday cruised to a 1-2 finish in heat one to automatically advance to the semis in Eugene. The two Ducks out-kicked Utah's Lucy Yates around the final turn to pull away. Kesselring, from Nurnberg, Germany, won in 2:06.71, while Friday was second in 2:07.01.
"I just wanted to make sure I ran all the way through," said Friday, from Bellingham, Wash., "My coach said run 815 meters."
Kesselring said she was more focused on winning than posting a fast time.
"I was more nervous than yesterday," said Kesselring. "I wanted to finish first here to get a good (seed) for Eugene."
Baker, the three-time Pac-10 400 meter champion, won her heat in an efficient 51.60 at the hottest point of the day.
"I've been drinking a lot of water. It felt just like Eugene," joked the senior from Fairfield, Calif. "I wanted to get a good lane in Eugene. I think the 400 meters is going to be very competitive."
Just like yesterday, when Vernell Warren was an unexpected qualifier in the men's long jump, the Ducks again saw an impressive individual performance, this time by White in the women's 100 meters.
The junior from Lake Oswego, Ore., ran fourth in heat one in 11.57 and then watched the scoreboard to see if her personal-best time would stand up. It did by the slimmest of margins, .01 seconds, as she grabbed the third and final at-large spot for Eugene.
"I had a good start. I had a good finish," said White, whose time was the second-fastest in school history. "(Advancing) makes it even better."
Jamesha Youngblood had a best of 21-3.25 in the women's long jump that was third in her flight and fourth overall and advanced to Eugene.
"The overall goal of the day was just to get a good jump and save some energy," said the junior from San Pablo, who attempted just two jumps on Friday.
In the men's hammer, Stray, a junior from Centralia, Wash., advanced to the NCAA finals in Eugene with an eighth-place throw of 209-3. Senior Scott Penny threw 194-10 and missed advancing by less than a meter.
In Oregon's only preliminary race on Friday, Amber Purvis blazed to victory in her opening round heat of the women's 200 meters in 23.12. The sophomore from Hercules, Calif., was just .03 off her own school record time in advancing to Saturday's final with the third-fastest preliminary time.
In other action, senior Chad Barlow ran a seasonal-best 46.79 to finish seventh in his quarterfinal heat of the 400 meters, but did not advance.
In the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase, junior Claire Michel finished eighth in her quarterfinal heat in 10:48.24 and freshman Taylor Wallace was 11th in her heat in 10:50.18. Neither advanced.
In the men's high jump, sophomore Danny Marconi cleared 6-9, while junior David Klech made 6-7. Neither moved on.
In the men's pole vault, senior Colin Witter-Tilton shook off a broken pole on his first attempt to clear a bar at 16-8.75 before falling just short at 17-0.75.
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