University of Oregon
Razorback Invitational
Three Wins Open Razorback Invitational
01/30/16 | Track and Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Oregon track and field team opened the Razorback Invitational in impressive fashion, Friday night, garnering two event wins and a school record to kick off what promises to be a competitive weekend.
The men's distance medley relay closed the night with a win after overcoming some early obstacles. A 1,200-meter run from Blake Haney put the Ducks near the front of the pack at the end of the first leg, but 400-meter runner Ben Thiel was tripped up almost immediately after the exchange by a fallen runner. Thiel recovered quickly, however, before passing the baton to Niki Franzmair who did his part to pull the leaders closer.
Edward Cheserek handled the anchor duties for the Ducks as he did during the team's win at the NCAA Championships last season and produced another stellar performance to earn his team a victory. The junior quickly erased a 20-meter deficit before breaking off at his own pace with 800 meters remaining. Cheserek was all by himself during the final lap and crossed the finish line in in 9:30.95, clocking an unofficial mile split of 3:55.70.
The time will be very competitive in terms of NCAA qualifying, as will the women's DMR time of 11:03.61. The team of Annie Leblanc, Ashante Horsley, Raevyn Rogers and Alli Cash finished second only behind a late-surging Oklahoma State.
While there was limited individual competition Friday night, the Ducks were able to earn two more event wins by dominating the weight throw. Brittany Mann, who already holds the shot put school record, surpassed her personal best by more than six feet with a mark of 68-7.25 (20.91m), to break Britney Henry's 2007 school record in the event. The distance won the event by nearly four feet and ranks fifth in the NCAA so far this season.
All-American Greg Skipper had similar success on the men's side, winning with a mark of 72-2.25 (22.00m), one of three throws over 70 feet on the evening. That distance ranks third in the NCAA this season heading into Friday's competition.
Redshirt sophomore Travonn White made his debut in the long jump, making it an impressive one at that. The transfer took fifth in the competition, leaping 24-11.75 (7.61m) which is also fifth on the school record list. He was joined by All-American Nate Moore who took seventh at 24-3 (7.39m). Jasmine Todd also finished seventh in the women's long jump with a best of 20-8 (6.30m)
Cole Walsh improved upon his season opener by setting an indoor personal best in the pole vault, clearing 17-1 to finish fifth.
On the track, Hannah Cunliffe started her season by running the fifth-fastest 60-meter time two weeks ago and followed that by moving up to 200 meters to record the sixth-fastest time in school history. The transfer from Oklahoma won her heat in 23.54 to finish seventh overall while sophomore Ariana Washington took 12th in 23.89.
Marcus Chambers finished eighth in the men's 200, just missing a personal best time by crossing the finish line in 21.40.
A group of heptathletes were the first to compete as Mitch Modin and Joe Delgado finished the first day in seventh and ninth, respectively. Modin just missed a first day personal best with 3,115 points which included an indoor record of 23-0 (7.01m) in the long jump. Delgado will head to day two with 2,836 points after indoor personal bests in the long jump (21-9.5/6.64) and high jump (6-2.75/1.90m).
The meet will resume Saturday with the heptathlon picking up at 9 a.m. Fans can watch the action live by tuning into the SEC Network from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. PT.
Players Mentioned
