University of Oregon
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Theisen Defends NCAA Heptathlon Title
06/11/10 | Track and Field
EUGENE, Ore. -- Brianne Theisen successfully defended her heptathlon title, breaking her own school record by scoring 6,094 points, to lead an active Thursday for the Oregon Ducks on day two of the 2010 NCAA Track & Field Championships at Historic Hayward Field.
Before 11,172 fans, a record for the second day of the NCAA meet, the Ducks also advanced three runners to the finals of the men's 1,500, two to the women's 1,500 final and the women's 4x400 meter relay team.
And of course, there was Ashton Eaton setting a first day PR in the decathlon.
"Our girls did okay," said Oregon Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna. "We advanced two in the 1,500 and we have a great start for tomorrow. We're in good shape."
The point-scorer of the day for the women was Theisen.
Trailing Alabama's Chealsea Taylor by four points following day one, Theisen took control of the heptathlon by winning the long jump with a combined event personal-best 20-0.25.
She followed that with a throw of 138-11 in the javelin, which was the third-best on the day, and then cruised home in the 800 meters in 2:15.40.
"It was cool," said the junior from Humboldt, Sask. "The crowd was awesome out there.
"I'm excited to do a heptathlon for (the crowd)," she said. "It's a completely different feeling winning one for the fans. It's awesome for the fans and it's awesome for us as well."
Eaton broke his own NCAA Championships decathlon 400 meters record by winning the event in 46.28. That mark was an all-conditions PR and was the seventh-fastest in school history.
The senior from Bend, Ore., scored a first-day personal best 4,500 points to take the lead over Texas A&M's Trinity Otto, who was second at 4,254.
Eaton won the 100 meters in 10.37 and then captured the long jump with a decathlon PR of 25-11. Following a throw of 41-4.25 in the shot put, he cleared 6-7.5 in the high jump before his record run in the 400.
"Obviously there are disappointments, in the high jump and shot, but it's a multi so you get it back in other places," said Eaton. "I couldn't be happier with the 400."
Marshall Ackley also used a personal best in the long jump to lead his first day. The senior from Nyssa, Ore., leapt 22-6.25. He also ran 11.21 in the 100 meters. Ackley followed that with decathlon bests in both the shot put (41-9.25) and high jump (6-1.5).
The senior from Nyssa, Ore., finished his day with a time of 50.06 and was 16th overall with 3,745 points.
"The crowd pushed me so much today to do what I did," said Ackley. "I'm just hoping they can push me again."
A total of five Ducks advanced to Saturday's finals in the 1,500 meters.
The men were a perfect three-for-three with junior A.J. Acosta winning his heat in 3:40.95 and sophomore Matthew Centrowitz taking third in the same race in 3:41.27. Senior Andrew Wheating also advanced by finishing third in heat one in 3:45.24.
"All three of our guys qualified," said Centrowitz. "Can't ask much more than that."
On the women's side, freshman Jordan Hasay took third in her heat in 4:17.90 to automatically qualify for the finals, while junior Alexandra Kosinski placed seventh in her race in a personal-best 4:15.67, but advanced on time. Senior Zoe Buckman was sixth in heat two in 4:19.02.
"I was so happy I got in, a PR by 3 seconds," said Kosinski, whose time was No. 9 on the UO career list. "I did get a little tired but I didn't realize we were running so fast."
The women were also successful in qualifying for the final of the women's 4x400 meter relay. The team of Jamesha Youngblood, Amber Purvis, Michele Williams and Keshia Baker won its heat in 3:33.51.
"We find it pretty important to win the race," said Williams. "Placing top two is definitely important, getting the preferred lanes four, five, six is a definite focus."
Sophomore Luke Puskedra was 14th in the men's 10,000 meter final in 29:27.37.
In the field events, senior Cyrus Hostetler took 10th in the men's javelin with a throw of 225-4, while junior Alex Wolff was 14th at 220-9.
Youngblood was 17th in the women's triple jump with a mark of 41-5.75.
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