University of Oregon
MPSF Indoor Championships
Hull Breaks School Record as Ducks Wrap in Seattle
02/24/18 | Track and Field
Jessica Hull broke the Oregon record in the women's mile along with Lilli Burdon on Saturday as the Ducks wrapped up the MPSF Championships
SEATTLE - Jessica Hull broke the school record in the women's mile on Saturday to lead the Oregon track and field teams on the final day of the MPSF Championships at the Dempsey Indoor Facility.
The Ducks' main goal in Seattle was securing last-chance qualifiers for the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 9-10), and multiple student-athletes posted marks that will shake up the qualifying lists. The top 16 marks in individual events qualify for the national meet in College Station, Texas, along with the top 12 times in the relays.
"Pretty good weekend overall," said head coach Robert Johnson. "We were able to sneak a few more people in (to the top 16) and now we have to declare and see what happens with those kids that are on the bubble. I liked the way we competed, but we still have some things to work out and hopefully we have them figured out here in the next two weeks before we head off to College Station."
How it Happened - Women: Hull finished second in the mile in 4:31.76 to break the previous school record of 4:32.61, and Burdon also dipped below that mark in 4:32.30 to take third. Both already in position to qualify in the 3,000 meters, Hull and Burdon moved into the top 10 in the nation in the mile to give themselves and the UO women more options and scoring opportunities. Susan Ejore was eighth in 4:39.86 and Amanda Gehrich ran a PR 4:46.82.
The Women of Oregon got a big race in the 400 meters from freshman Shae Anderson (below), who ran a PR 52.83 to place second and put herself in the mix for NCAA qualifying. Venessa D'Arpino (53.33) and Sabrina Southerland (54.80) also ran personal-bests to join Anderson in the top eight.
Alaysha Johnson improved her qualifying position with a second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdle finals, running a season-best 8.03 to move into the top 10. Freshman Kaylah Robinson placed sixth overall in 8.45. Sophomore Makenzie Dunmore, who ranked sixth in the nation entering the day, took fourth in the 60 meter finals in 7.40, and freshman Lauren Rain Williams was seventh in 7.42.
In the field events, Ashlyn Hare cleared 5'7.25" (1.71m) to match her PR and finish ninth in the high jump, and Chaquinn Cook was fourth in the triple jump at 41-3.75 (12.59m). Cook's season-best of 43-0.25 was tied for 12th in the nation entering the day.
How it Happened - Men: Sophomore Braxton Canady (below) took second in the men's 60-meter hurdles final in 7.90, and he will wait and see if his season-best of 7.78, which ranked 15th nationally entering Saturday, holds for the national meet.
Junior transfers Cravon Gillespie (6.73) and Spenser Schmidt (6.85) both scored for the UO men in the 60 meter finals, finishing third and fifth, respectively. Schmidt also scored for the Ducks on Friday with a fourth-place showing in the long jump. Cameron Stone (47.23) was fifth in the 400 meters, and Orwin Emilien (47.66) was one spot out of scoring in ninth.
James West took second in the men's mile in a season-best 4:02.70 and redshirt senior Blake Haney was sixth in 4:05.26. Freshman Cooper Teare finished second in the 3,000 meters in 7:56.43 but was unable to improve on his season-best of 7:53.66, which ranks 17th in the NCAA.
After placing second in the long jump on Friday, junior Tristan James scored again with a third-place finish in the triple jump (50-4.5/15.35m). Junior Ben Milligan cleared 6'11.75" (2.13m) to take fifth in the high jump.
What it Means: Oregon was able to move into qualifying position in multiple events over the weekend while improving its position in others. With conference meets wrapping up around the country, the Ducks will now wait for the final descending order lists to see which student-athletes are qualified for the national meet. There are often scratches out of the top 16 in many events, so athletes that are just outside of the qualifying position still have a chance to get in. Finalized entries for the NCAA Indoor Championships will be released on Tuesday.
Quotable: Robert Johnson, Head Coach
More impressions from the weekend…
"It was great to see Rhesa (Foster) and Carmela (Cardama Baez) come away with wins yesterday, and we got a lot of PRs and great efforts; I thought Venessa D'Arpino and Cooper Teare really competed well. At a meet like this it's always great to put those Oregon uniforms ahead of the other guys, it's not all about the times, so I was pleased with the way we competed."
On Hull and Burdon breaking the Oregon record in the mile…
"Fantastic performances. Good job by coach (Maurica) Powell getting them ready for MPSFs and for them to put their names ahead of people like Anne Kesselring and Jordan Hasay is really a great accomplishment. They went out and showed that they're for real and we couldn't be more proud of those girls."
On Shae Anderson's performance…
"Solid showing by Shae. She's competing and continues to get better and it was good to see her go out and execute a solid race plan."
Notable: Hull and Burdon broke the UO women's mile record previously set by Anne Kesselring in 2012 … Hull and Burdon also broke Jordan Hasay's meet record of 4:35.01 (2010), along with race winner Elise Cranny (Stanford) ... Shae Anderson's 400 meter time of 52.83 ranks fifth on the UO indoor all-time list … Maddie Rabing was 11th in the shot put (46-2.75/14.09m) … Both the Men and Women of Oregon finished third in the conference team standings.
Up Next: Texas A&M will host the NCAA Indoor Championships for the second year in a row in College Station, Texas, on March 9-10.
Players Mentioned
