University of Oregon
NCAA Indoor Championships
Cheserek Takes Two at NCAA Indoors
03/12/16 | Track and Field
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Edward Cheserek stole the show during the first day of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, adding two more national championships to his collection and helping the Men of Oregon earn 20 points between the 5,000 and distance medley relay.
Heading into the day, even the Ducks coaches were unsure if they would use Cheserek in both events, with the 3,000 looming on Saturday. In the 5,000, it was a two-man race with Virginia Tech's Thomas Curtin but Cheserek pulled away with two laps remaining to win in 13:47.89. It wasn't until the junior came off the track at the end of the 5,000 that a final decision was made.
“I cooled down and talked to (my coach) and he said, 'Are you sure you want to run the DMR?'” Cheserek said after his day was over. “And I said 'Why not? Let me try it.'”
Cheserek had some help in his second race of the night. Matthew Maton ran the 1,200-meter leg before handing off to Ben Thiel for 400 meters. Grant Grosvenor started the third leg in the middle of the pack, and ran an unofficial 800 of 1:47.82, the fastest split in the field, and handed off to Cheserek. The Newark, N.J., native had his work cut out for him against Washington, which had this year's NCAA mile leader on the anchor leg, Izaic Yorks. Cheserek made his way behind Yorks and with 100 meters left, began his move to win a second NCAA title in the span of 30 minutes, crossing the finish line in a meet record 9:27.27 and a split of 3:52.84 over 1,600 meters.
“I was a little scared because the 5,000 went out so hard,” said head coach Robert Johnson. “I kind of wanted it to be a little slower and then get moving in the latter part of the race but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise so we'll take it.”
Greg Skipper added five more points in the weight throw to bring the men's leading point total up to 25 after the first day. Skipper finished fourth, marking back-to-back years as an All-American in the event. The senior's best throw came on his third attempt, reaching 73-11.75 (22.55m), setting a personal best and breaking his own school record.
On the women's side, Oregon received two points from its distance medley relay of Lilli Burdon, Ashante Horsley, Annie Leblanc and Ashley Maton who finished seventh in 11:05.76.
The Ducks also did plenty to set themselves up for the final day of competition, advancing 10-of-12 to finals races on Saturday.
Hannah Cunliffe will be in two finals tomorrow after running the fastest preliminary time in the 60 of 7.12 and the second fastest 200 of the day in 22.96. Both times were personal bests for the sophomore, and the 60-meter time ties English Gardner for the Oregon school record and the sixth-fastest time in NCAA history.
Cunliffe will have company in both events. Jasmine Todd qualified for the 60 final in 7.23 and Oregon newcomer Deajah Stevens will join her in the 200 after running a personal best of 22.98. The time for Stevens moves her up to No. 4 on the Oregon all-time list, right behind her teammate who will share the track with her tomorrow.
Oregon athletes had the fastest times in both the men's and women's hurdles thanks to Devon Allen and Sasha Wallace. Allen started things off with a school record of 7.58 and Wallace followed with a mark of 7.97. Alaysha Johnson will join Wallace in tomorrow's final after running a personal best of 8.08 in the prelim to take sixth. Johnson improved on her previous best of 8.12 which already ranked second in school history behind Wallace, and the two best hurdlers in school history will look to continue their tremendous seasons by adding points to the Ducks' tally on Saturday.
The Ducks will also have two competitors in the men's mile final, as Blake Haney and Sam Prakel each qualified through the prelims. Haney used his speed to win the second of two very tactical heats in 4:09.33. Prakel finished fifth in the first heat but qualified through with a time of 4:07.76.
Raevyn Rogers held her position as the top qualifier in the women's 800, leading the field in 2:03.13. Rogers was joined by her teammates Annie Leblanc and Brooke Feldmeier with all three of the Ducks in the second heat. Leblanc just missed a finals appearance, finishing 10th and missing the cut by just over a tenth of a second.
Mitch Modin finished the first day of the heptathlon in 12th place and will look to move up into scoring position on Saturday. The sophomore finished the day strong, clearing 6-6 (1.98m) in the high jump and tallying 3,131 points.
Modin will start the second day of competition at 10 a.m. PT before field events start at 12 p.m., followed by action on the track at 2 p.m. The meet will be broadcast live on ESPN3 beginning at 1:55 p.m. PT.
Photos from the first day of the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham. Day two coming up! #GoDucks
Posted by Oregon Track and Field on Saturday, March 12, 2016
