Oregon Women's Track & Field Outlook - 2003
February 1, 2003
In his 27th and final season as women's track and field head coach, Tom Heinonen welcomes back a deep and talented squad that features seven All-Americans and 14 Pac-10 scorers.
Last year's outdoor squad finished 27th in the NCAA Championships and sixth in the 'Conference of Champions,' their highest placings in each since 1995 and 1999, respectively. Better yet, the Ducks graduated only one scorer from last year's Pac-10 unit and none from their NCAA travel party, hopefully indicating bigger things in 2003.
Individually, all six of last year's indoor and outdoor NCAA participants return in 2003 (Elisa Crumley, Roslyn Lundeen, Sarah Malone, javelin; Mary Etter, discus; Becky Holliday, Niki (Reed) McEwen, pole vault), as well as three Pac-10 runners-up from last season (Jenny Brogdon, high jump, Holliday and Malone). Also factor in four school record holders (Carrie Zografos, steeplechase; Malone, Holliday and McEwen), and the Ducks should continue to assault the school record books.
On the track, the sprints are anchored by senior Janette Davis - a Pac-10 scorer in the 400 last year with a mark that was less than a second away from the NCAA provisional mark. Leading the distance corps, senior Eri Macdonald missed an NCAA invite in the 800 by only .03 seconds last year, and school steeple record holder Carrie Zografos (10:42.02) was an All-American last fall in cross country (33rd).
The field event corps will again serve as a major catalyst in the team's championship runs and features two-time All-Americans in the discus (Mary Etter) and pole vault (Becky Holliday and Niki McEwen), and a trio of single honorees in the javelin - Elisa Crumley, Roslyn Lundeen and potential redshirt Sarah Malone. After strong Pac-10 showings and marks near or at the NCAA provisional level, seniors Jenny Brogdon (high jump), Amanda Brown (triple jump) and Jordan Sauvage (hammer), junior Kirsten Riley (pole vault) and redshirt senior Georgette Moyle (pole vault) will chase their first NCAA appearances.
Other returnees contending for NCAA invites in the Western Regional include high jumpers Mary Murphy and Rachael Kriz, distance runners Laura Harmon and Alicia Snyder-Carlson, and newcomer Abby Andrus, the national heptathlon junior college runner-up last season. Newcomers to watch this season include freshman Whitney Gum, the 2002 Montana prep champion in the shot put and discus, redshirt freshman Sara Schaaf, a former Oregon 4A prep champ in the 400 and 800, and Nicole Feest, a freshman from Illinois with a 10:59.7 best in the 3,200. Life in the Pac-10 Conference will be as challenging as ever with two of last year's top three NCAA finishers - UCLA and USC - among five Pac-10 that squads that placed top 30 outdoors. Individually, Pac-10 women have won eight of the 21 NCAA outdoor crowns each of the past two seasons.
The schedule resembles recent years with the Ducks hosting four meets at Hayward Field - the Oregon Preview (3/22), the Pepsi Team Invitational with Colorado, Minnesota and Washington (4/12), the Oregon Invitational (4/26), and the Oregon Twilight (5/3). The squad will also face the nation's best in March and April in regular season stops in the Stanford Invitational, Texas Relays, and Mt. SAC Relays. At season's end, the West Coast will host all of the nation's premier contests with the Pac-10 Championships at USC, the NCAA Championships at Sacramento State, and the USA Championships in Stanford, Calif.
Oregon's leagues of track and field fans should note that the NCAA outdoor qualifying process has changed dramatically with the addition of a new regional format. The U.S. Track Coaches Association prompted the NCAA to add four, two-day regionals held nationally at the end of May with the top five placers from each event automatically advancing to the NCAA Championships two weeks later. The qualifying standards, which are very similar to the Pac-10 standards the Ducks already use, are based on the 100th best performance from the previous year (with all conference champions automatically also invited to their regional). Besides the automatic advancers from each regional, an additional 6-8 athletes nationally per event will be invited by the NCAA Championships selection committee based on a season performance list (in case of injury, illness, false-start/DQ, etc.) as long as that athlete competed in the regional.
Coaches hope that the easier regional standards will enable athletes to post qualifying marks during the regular season and avoid chasing marks late in the year, while the regional competition will encourage head-to-head competition at the end of the season and increase fan and media interest.
Sprints
Returnees 100 200 400 800 Janette Davis, Sr. 12.58 24.64 54.31 2:17 Heather Murtaugh, Sr. 12.55 24.89 58.28 Torkwase Fraser, Sr. 11.7 24.5 Michelle Donovan, So. 25.53 57.69 Becky Holliday, Sr. 25.5 56.2 Sara Schaaf, RFr. 55.73 2:12.91 C'Rel McAllister, RJr. 26.34 57.8 2:17.2Newcomers 100 200 400 800 Emily Marsh, Fr. 13.1 26.1 Emily Dowling, Jr.-TR 12.40 26.01
Senior Janette Davis leads Duck returnees in the 100, 200 and 400, and she'll likely again focus on the 400 during the championship run. Last season, the Medford, Ore., native cashed in on her Pac-10 return with a sixth-place finish and broke 55.00 in five of her six races outdoors during the year.
Sophomore Michelle Donovan was the team's top sprint newcomer last season, ranking third in the 400 (57.69), and will set her sights on the Pac-10 standard of 55.44 this season. A pair of seniors - Torkwase Fraser and Heather Murtaugh - will competed in the 100, 200 and/or 400, and junior and foreign exchange student Emily Dowling owns a lengthy club resume from the Australian club ranks. Murtaugh set herself up for a strong final go-around after indoor personal bests in 2003 of 7.82 in the 60 and 24.89 in the 200.
After working out with the middle distance group last year, redshirt freshman Sara Schaaf has trained this season with the sprint group. The 2000 prep 4A state champion as a junior set her personal best (55.73) as a prep senior - less than a quarter-second shy of the Pac-10 qualifying standard. Junior C'Rel McAllister owns similar versatility and could appear in the 200, 400 or 800, and looks forward to her second year with the sprint corps in 2003.
The 4x100 relay pool will consist of Dowling, Fraser and Murtaugh, and several others could step down from a crowded 4x400 pool. The long relay is anchored by seniors Davis and Eri Macdonald, junior Annette Mosey, sophomores Donovan and McAllister, redshirt freshman Schaaf, and freshmen Emily Marsh and Dowling. The Ducks' stable of hurdlers - senior Alicia Snyder-Carlson, junior transfer Abby Andrus and sophomore Kayla Mellott - could also pass the baton at various distances.
Hurdles
Returnees 100H 400H Alicia Snyder-Carlson, Sr. 61.51 Kayla Mellott, So. 63.58 Maegan Traver, So. 68.43Newcomers 100H 300H/400H Abby Andrus, Jr.-TR 14.34 -/62.70 Emily Marsh, Fr. 46.03/-
Senior Alicia Snyder-Carlson paces Duck returnees in the 400 hurdles and ranks 10th all-time in school history (61.51). The Kihei, Hawai'i native was the only Pac-10 runner in 2002 to also qualify in the steeplechase, and was 1 1/2 seconds away from another invite in the 800. Last season, sophomore Kayla Mellott clocked a best of 63.58 - only 1 1/2 seconds away from the Pac-10 qualifying standard of 62.04 - and ranked third among Pac-10 freshmen.
Junior Abby Andrus transfers from Paradise Valley Community College with Pac-10-caliber marks in both the 100 (14.34) and 400 hurdles (62.70), although her availability will be split between the heptathlon and high jump. Freshman Emily Marsh was a versatile sprinter and hurdler as a prep in Pullman, Wash., and will likely focus on the 400 hurdles in college.
Distances
Returnees 800 1,500 3,000/3KSt. 5K Eri Macdonald, Sr. 2:06.37 4:35.79 Annette Mosey, Jr. 2:10.55 4:35.78 Erinn Gulbrandsen, RJr. 2:14.80 4:41.02 Beth Jackson, So. 2:17.80 Carrie Zografos, RSr. 2:11.85 4:26.98 9:49.94/10:42.02 Laura Harmon, RSo. 2:12.55 4:29.49 9:53.55 17:12.04 Magdalena Sandoval, RSo. 4:49.56/5:10.71 9:45.88 Alicia Snyder-Carlson, Sr. 2:12.56 -/5:04.63 (mile) 11:07.85Newcomers 800 1,500/1,600 3,000/3,200 Nicole Feest, Fr. 10:13/10:59.7 Chelsea Manesh, Fr. 2:17.54 4:51.99 Krissy Sonniksen, Fr. 2:28 4:55/- 11:00.99 Eleanor Gordon, Fr. 2:25 4:56/- 10:45/- Kim Gaviglio, Fr. 18:52 (5K-road)
Senior Eri Macdonald leads the Duck middle distance troops and has an NCAA invite in the 800 firmly in her sights after missing by only .03 seconds last year with her best of 2:06.37. A three-time Pac-10 veteran in the 800, she also has earned Pac-10 invites the past two seasons in the 1,500 and was one of four Duck qualifiers in the metric mile in 2002. Junior Annette Mosey shares a similar profile with Pac-10 qualifying marks and personal bests in the 800 (2:10.55) and 1,500 (4:35.78) in 2002, although a winter season stress fracture has limited her training early in the year.
In 2002, redshirt senior Carrie Zografos enjoyed a breakthrough season with Pac-10 invites and sizable personal bests in the 1,500 (4:26.98) and steeplechase (10:42.02). The Duck school record holder over the barriers followed with fifth place in the Pac-10 showdown and ended the season two seconds away from the NCAA provisional mark. This season she comes off an All-America finish in cross country (33rd) after top-eight Pac-10 (eighth) and Western Regional efforts (sixth).
Senior Alicia Snyder-Carlson may see additional time in the steeplechase depending on her busy schedule. She dipped below the Pac-10 qualifying mark and overcame a leg stress fracture to win her only appearance last season (11:07.85). She ran the 800 twice outdoors in 2002 and dropped her best by more than five seconds (2:12.56) and was 1 1/2 seconds away from a third league invite.
Redshirt junior Erinn Gulbrandsen, redshirt sophomore Taylor Bryant, sophomore Beth Jackson and freshman Chelsea Manesh will vie for work in the 800 and 1,500. Gulbrandsen was only a second away from a Pac-10 mark in the 1,500 in 2001 (4:41.02) before redshirting in 2002, and her 800 best of 2:14.80 ranks her sixth in one of the squad's deepest events. Bryant is a former 3A state champ in the 800 who turned in her busiest harrier season as a Duck last fall, and Jackson lowered her best to 2:17.80 last spring. Manesh was a district prep 800 champion as a senior with a best of 2:17.54 and ran three races in her debut collegiate harrier season in 2002.
In the longer distances, redshirt sophomore Laura Harmon is primed for big gains with another season of training under belt. The Vancouver, Wash., native finished top 25 in the Pac-10 (19th) and Western Regional (24th) last fall, and was a Pac-10 qualifier on the track in the 1,500 (4:29.49) and 5K (17:12.04) in 2002. Redshirt sophomore Magdalena Sandoval is another candidate for duty in the 5,000, and last fall the Los Alamos, N.M. native ran top-four among Duck harriers in her four races, including the Western Regional (30th). Indoors in 2003, she logged a 30-second PR in the 3K in her only indoor race.
Freshman Nicole Feest leads a five-woman class of six redshirt or true freshman that could run events from the 1,500 up to the 5,000. The Lombard, Ill., native Feest tied for the most races last fall on the Duck varsity (six), and scored in three of them, and as a prepster owned a 3,200 track best of 10:59.7.
After a two-year break from the sport, redshirt freshman Haripurkh Khalsa joined the Duck roster a year ago and could gravitate towards the 5K in her collegiate debut season of racing, as could true freshmen Eleanor Gordon, Kim Gaviglio and Krissy Sonniksen. Gordon is a Eugene native that ran on the varsity harrier unit last fall, and Sonniksen was a state placer on the trails in 2001. Gaviglio from Bend, Ore., joined the team at the end of the fall collegiate 2002 season after not competing in high school.
Jumps
Returnees HJ PV LJ TJ Jenny Brogdon, Sr. 5-9 1/4 Mary Murphy, Sr. 5-8 Rachael Kriz, Jr. 5-7 1/4 Becky Holliday, RSr. 14-4 Niki (Reed) McEwen, RSr. 14-1 1/4 Kirsten Riley, Jr. 12-10 Georgette Moyle, RSr. 12-7 1/4 Hannah Moore, So. 11-8 Amanda Brown, Sr. 19-4 40-2 3/4 Clarice Hayward-Lee, So. 37-11 1/2 Maegan Traver, So. 36-6 3/4
Returnees HJ PV LJ TJ Abby Andrus, Jr.-TR 5-7 18-10 3/4
In 2003, the high jump should again contend as the Ducks' deepest event and returns two Pac-10 scorers and three jumpers with bests of 5-8 or better. Three-time Pac-10 qualifier and senior Jenny Brogdon led the unit in the 2002 Pac-10 showdown with a runner-up Pac-10 placing (5-9 1/4) and a personal best that ranks her sixth all-time in Duck history. Junior Rachael Kriz claimed her first Pac-10 points last year (seventh, PR 5-7 1/4) after entering the meet ranked in a tie for 15th. In her first season for the Ducks in 2002, senior Mary Murphy earned her first Pac-10 invite and owns a personal best of 5-8. Junior heptathlete Abby Andrus transfers in with a 5-7 best to add even more depth.
Keeping true to tradition, the pole vault again offers a stable of national-class talent. In her first season for the Ducks in 2002, redshirt senior Becky Holliday claimed a pair of All-America honors - including Oregon's highest NCAA showing ever in the event outdoors last June (third) - and followed with a fifth-place USA finish. Earlier in the year in the Mt. SAC Relays, the Sparks, Nev., native raised Oregon's outdoor school record to 14-1 1/4 - eight inches higher than the preseason mark - and a height that ranked her third among collegians and 11th in the U.S. in 2002.
Redshirt senior Niki (Reed) McEwen rejoins the squad after redshirting outdoors in 2002. The five-time NCAA participant and two-time All-American raised the Duck indoor school record to 13-9 3/4 last season with Holliday, and at the end of 2002, ranked 16th in the U.S. As the collegiate scene continues to raise the bar, so does junior Kirsten Riley who cleared a personal best and NCAA provisional mark of 12-10 last year both indoors and outdoors. In the Pac-10 finale, she took sixth for her first scoring honors against the nation's toughest conference that featured 17 NCAA provisional or automatic qualifiers indoors and outdoors in 2002.
Redshirt freshman Hannah Moore was the team's top addition last season in the pole vault and upped her personal best by nearly a half-foot indoors to 11-5 3/4, and more recently cleared 11-8 in her 2003 indoor season opener.
In the horizontal jumps, senior Amanda Brown is primed to lead the Ducks again. In her three Pac-10 long jump appearances, she has posted personal bests in her seventh and eighth-place finishes in 2001 (19-4w) and 2002 (18-10) respectively. Brown also found success in her debut campaign in the triple jump in2002, and ranks fifth all-time for the Ducks (40-2 3/4) thanks to her sixth-place mark from the Pac-10 finale.
Sophomore triple jumper Clarice Hayward-Lee ranked fourth among Pac-10 freshman last season (37-11 1/2) and could join the Ducks' all-time top-10 list with a leap of 39-3 or better. Sophomore Maegan Traver was one spot behind among league freshman list in 2002, and popped a windy best of 37-2 1/4 at the end of the season.
Throws
Returnees SP DT HT JT Mary Etter, Sr. 49-11 1/4 177-5 176-10 Jordan Sauvage, Sr. 39-10 153-8 183-9 Dani Keyser, RJr. 42-8 155-10 Jill Hoxmeier, Jr. 37-8 147-5 158-10 Sarah Malone, Jr. 179-2 Elisa Crumley, So. 169-7 Roslyn Lundeen, So. 40-7 3/4 166-11Newcomers SP DT Whitney Gum, Fr. 44-5 136-3
The team's top point-getter the past two seasons, senior Mary Etter is two-time All-American and four-time Pac-10 scorer in the discus and shot put, and also ranks second among UO returnees in the hammer (176-10) for the squad. Last season she made noticeable gains in the shot put, improving her best nearly two feet and was an NCAA provisional qualifier (PR 49-11 1/4). All-time for the Ducks she ranks second in the discus, and fourth in the shot put and hammer.
The Duck javelin throwers have historically ranked among the nation's best, and last year's group accounted for NCAA qualifiers, two All-Americans, and 20 of the team's 67 points in the Pac-10 finale.
Sophomore Roslyn Lundeen wrote a fairytale ending to 2002, overcoming an injury-riddled regular season and food poisoning the day before the NCAA finale to still lead the Ducks' All-America crew (seventh, 165-4). This season, she'll take aim at her best of 166-11 and enters the season ranked third all-time in Canadian history with the national record only 1 foot, 5 inches away. Sophomore Elisa Crumley also earned All-America accolades iun the collegiate finale (12th), and her 169-7 best pegged her ninth in the U.S. last year. All-American and school record holder Sarah Malone may redshirt to help heal lingering injuries after ranking fifth among Americans in 2002. Adding depth in the dual setting, junior Rachael Kriz threw 130-5 last year off limited practice - with the Pac-10 standard (142-8) not far away.
In the hammer, senior Jordan Sauvage has steadily matured into a consistent leader for the Ducks. Last season Oregon's second-ranked all-time thrower was rewarded with her first Pac-10 points (eighth) and an NCAA provisional mark after popping a personal best (183-9) in the conference closer.
Several other Northwest natives should continue to close in on various Pac-10 standards. Junior Dani Keyser is a two-time letterwinner, and her shot put personal best (42-8) is nine inches shy of the Pac-10 qualifying mark. Junior Jill Hoxmeier ranks third among returnees in the hammer with a best of 158-10, respectively, and improved her best by more than eight feet last season. Freshman Whitney Gum claimed Montana state prep titles in 2002 in the shot put and discus and owns prep bests of 44-5 and 136-3, respectively.
Heptathlon
Newcomer Score Abby Andrus, Jr. 4,903
Junior Abby Andrus, the national junior college runner-up in 2002 with a personal best of 4,903 points, provides instant scoring help. Her heptathlon personal best ranks second among Pac-10 returnees after the graduation of five, +5,000-point scorers last season. Individually, she owns strong marks in the high jump (5-7), 100 hurdles (14.34), long jump (18-10 3/4), 400 hurdles (62.70) and 800 (2:18).
