Wednesday, June 10
Eugene, OR
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: GoDucks.com
Smith Wins First UO Shot Put Title Since 1982
06/10/26 | Track and Field
Redshirt freshman Ben Smith's NCAA Outdoor Championships debut at Hayward Field on Wednesday ended with him atop the podium.
EUGENE, Ore. — Legends emerge during the championship season of track and field. Ben Smith's emergence is taking place while the Oregon thrower is still just a freshman.
Making his NCAA Outdoor Championships debut Wednesday at Hayward Field, Smith won Oregon's first shot put title since 1982. The redshirt freshman from Fremont, Wisc., unleashed a personal-best put of 21.04m/69-0.5 feet on his third attempt, adding an NCAA Outdoor crown to the Big Ten Conference and NCAA West First Round titles he won earlier this postseason.
Smith's put trails only the 21.06/69-1.5 in 1982 by Dean Crouser, who won the NCAA Outdoor title that season. He was the last UO man to do so in the shot put until Smith on Wednesday.Â
"I'm at home, everyone's here, the team is behind me — it's awesome," said Smith, who also is entered in the discus Friday.
Smith's win combined with Kobe Lawrence's second straight fourth-place finish in the NCAA Outdoor meet provided the Ducks with 15 team points Wednesday. Pat Vialva and Daniel Thrana added three more in the javelin, putting Oregon in second through six of 21 events entering Friday's final session of the men's meet; Nebraska was the first-day leader with 28 points, followed by the Ducks' 18.
"We're trying to hopefully win this team title," said Lawrence, whose best put Wednesday was a season-best 20.21m/66.3.75. "So coming out and setting the tone, getting 15 points on the board early, that's a big deal for us and I'm happy we were able to do that."
Smith set the tone early on his series, taking the lead with his opening put of 19.52/64-0.5. He unleashed the winner on his third attempt, which was more than two feet farther than the next-best throw in the competition.
"The whole meet I was kind of rushing everything," Smith said. "I was a little nervous — first time at outdoor nationals. With that one I just focused on technique, slowed it down. It felt good."
The Ducks on the track also had a good day for the most part. Benjamin Balazs was the No. 2 overall qualifer in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and Oregon put three men into Friday's 1,500-meter final. Kai Graves-Blanks had to stomach the disappointment of not advancing in the 110 hurdles, but he did help the UO men qualify for the final of the 4x100 relay.
Balazs ran the steeple in a season-best 8:24.68. He called his race "pretty much ideal," which several other runners in his heat couldn't say after finding trouble with the various barriers. The multiple falls in front of him "kind of raises the heart rate a little," Balazs said, but he kept his calm and looked comfortable by race's end.
"I haven't really had a steeple where I really tested myself this year, so it was a little scary coming into this," Balazs said. "But once I got like halfway through that race, it's like, oh yeah, I'm where I need to be."
Birnbaum also finished near the front of his heat in the 1,500, taking second in 3:38.87. Four places back, and the last automatic qualifier to Friday's final from the slower of Wednesday's two heats, was teammate Tomas Palfrey.
Running eighth off the final turn, Palfrey was caught up in traffic but worked his way to the rail and moved up the field to make it to Friday.
"It was messy the whole way, but I just tried to stay relaxed," he said. "I was feeling good. It's just messy, so kind of waited for my time. Five is as good as one (when it comes to qualifying automatically for the final)."
Elliott Cook also was the final qualifier from his heat to reach Friday's final. He ran a season-best 3:36.77, also moving up multiple places in the homestretch to finish seventh and make the final as the last qualifier based on time.
"We got out a lot hotter than I expected," Cook said. "I saw the split through 300 and was like, all right, it's gonna be the heat they get seven through. So I wasn't too worried when the kicking started. I got caught up on the rail in the last 100 meters, but I kind of played it cool."
Recent experience from the championship season taught Cook to remain relaxed and work himself into qualifying position.
"Since the first round of regionals I've been giving my family a heart attack," Cook said. "Because every race seems to be as close as possible to not making it, and then I somehow find a way through. You know, I was a little cute in the first round of regionals; I was seventh as well. So I keep finding my way. I'm trying to be patient this season. I'm not quite in the fitness I want to be in, but I'm rallying, and I'm ready to do something in the final."
Wednesday Results | NCAA Championships
q – advances to Friday finals
MEN
1500 Meters – semifinal
7. Elliott Cook – 3:36.77q (SB)
12. Simeon Birnbaum – 3:38.87q
16. Tomas Palfrey – 3:39.56q
Â
10,000 Meters – final
23. Evan Burke – 29:14.90
Â
110m Hurdles – semifinal
19. Kai Graves-Blanks – 13.57
Â
3,000m Steeplechase – semifinal
2. Benjamin Balazs – 8:24.68q (SB)
Â
4x100m Relay – semifinal
7. Graves-Blanks/Ize-Iyamu/Valley/Barbarin – 38.54q
Â
Shot Put – final
1. Ben Smith – 21.04m/69-0.5 (PB, UO #2) [10 points]
4. Kobe Lawerence – 19.87m/65-2.25 (SB) [5 points]
Â
Javelin – final
7. Pat Vialva – 75.04m/246-2 [2 points]
8. Daniel Thrana – 74.90m/245-9 [1 point]
Making his NCAA Outdoor Championships debut Wednesday at Hayward Field, Smith won Oregon's first shot put title since 1982. The redshirt freshman from Fremont, Wisc., unleashed a personal-best put of 21.04m/69-0.5 feet on his third attempt, adding an NCAA Outdoor crown to the Big Ten Conference and NCAA West First Round titles he won earlier this postseason.
Smith's put trails only the 21.06/69-1.5 in 1982 by Dean Crouser, who won the NCAA Outdoor title that season. He was the last UO man to do so in the shot put until Smith on Wednesday.Â
"I'm at home, everyone's here, the team is behind me — it's awesome," said Smith, who also is entered in the discus Friday.
Smith's win combined with Kobe Lawrence's second straight fourth-place finish in the NCAA Outdoor meet provided the Ducks with 15 team points Wednesday. Pat Vialva and Daniel Thrana added three more in the javelin, putting Oregon in second through six of 21 events entering Friday's final session of the men's meet; Nebraska was the first-day leader with 28 points, followed by the Ducks' 18.
"We're trying to hopefully win this team title," said Lawrence, whose best put Wednesday was a season-best 20.21m/66.3.75. "So coming out and setting the tone, getting 15 points on the board early, that's a big deal for us and I'm happy we were able to do that."
Smith set the tone early on his series, taking the lead with his opening put of 19.52/64-0.5. He unleashed the winner on his third attempt, which was more than two feet farther than the next-best throw in the competition.
"The whole meet I was kind of rushing everything," Smith said. "I was a little nervous — first time at outdoor nationals. With that one I just focused on technique, slowed it down. It felt good."
The Ducks on the track also had a good day for the most part. Benjamin Balazs was the No. 2 overall qualifer in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and Oregon put three men into Friday's 1,500-meter final. Kai Graves-Blanks had to stomach the disappointment of not advancing in the 110 hurdles, but he did help the UO men qualify for the final of the 4x100 relay.
Balazs ran the steeple in a season-best 8:24.68. He called his race "pretty much ideal," which several other runners in his heat couldn't say after finding trouble with the various barriers. The multiple falls in front of him "kind of raises the heart rate a little," Balazs said, but he kept his calm and looked comfortable by race's end.
"I haven't really had a steeple where I really tested myself this year, so it was a little scary coming into this," Balazs said. "But once I got like halfway through that race, it's like, oh yeah, I'm where I need to be."
Birnbaum also finished near the front of his heat in the 1,500, taking second in 3:38.87. Four places back, and the last automatic qualifier to Friday's final from the slower of Wednesday's two heats, was teammate Tomas Palfrey.
Running eighth off the final turn, Palfrey was caught up in traffic but worked his way to the rail and moved up the field to make it to Friday.
"It was messy the whole way, but I just tried to stay relaxed," he said. "I was feeling good. It's just messy, so kind of waited for my time. Five is as good as one (when it comes to qualifying automatically for the final)."
Elliott Cook also was the final qualifier from his heat to reach Friday's final. He ran a season-best 3:36.77, also moving up multiple places in the homestretch to finish seventh and make the final as the last qualifier based on time.
"We got out a lot hotter than I expected," Cook said. "I saw the split through 300 and was like, all right, it's gonna be the heat they get seven through. So I wasn't too worried when the kicking started. I got caught up on the rail in the last 100 meters, but I kind of played it cool."
Recent experience from the championship season taught Cook to remain relaxed and work himself into qualifying position.
"Since the first round of regionals I've been giving my family a heart attack," Cook said. "Because every race seems to be as close as possible to not making it, and then I somehow find a way through. You know, I was a little cute in the first round of regionals; I was seventh as well. So I keep finding my way. I'm trying to be patient this season. I'm not quite in the fitness I want to be in, but I'm rallying, and I'm ready to do something in the final."
Wednesday Results | NCAA Championships
q – advances to Friday finals
MEN
1500 Meters – semifinal
7. Elliott Cook – 3:36.77q (SB)
12. Simeon Birnbaum – 3:38.87q
16. Tomas Palfrey – 3:39.56q
Â
10,000 Meters – final
23. Evan Burke – 29:14.90
Â
110m Hurdles – semifinal
19. Kai Graves-Blanks – 13.57
Â
3,000m Steeplechase – semifinal
2. Benjamin Balazs – 8:24.68q (SB)
Â
4x100m Relay – semifinal
7. Graves-Blanks/Ize-Iyamu/Valley/Barbarin – 38.54q
Â
Shot Put – final
1. Ben Smith – 21.04m/69-0.5 (PB, UO #2) [10 points]
4. Kobe Lawerence – 19.87m/65-2.25 (SB) [5 points]
Â
Javelin – final
7. Pat Vialva – 75.04m/246-2 [2 points]
8. Daniel Thrana – 74.90m/245-9 [1 point]
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