Men's Track Team Claims Three All-America Honors in NCAA Indoor First Day
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Oregon men’s track and field team matched its best ever All-America indoor tally with three honors in opening day action Friday in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Arkansas’s Randal Tyson Track Center.
With only seven prior All-America honors in their limited NCAA indoor history, the Duck men claimed their first ever All-America honors in the 60 hurdles and 5,000 late Friday evening to get on the board with five points and rank 21st in the team race, and added another non-scoring honor in the long jump. In the 60 hurdles, sophomore Eric Mitchum claimed All-America reviews as the top finisher in his class Friday and trailed only five seniors or juniors to take sixth overall in his second-fastest time ever (7.74). Event favorite Antwon Hicks, a junior from Ole Miss, won the event (7.61) by .06 seconds over Texas senior Jermaine Cooper (second, 7.67) and Florida junior Josh Walker (third, 7.67). "I wasn’t intimidated coming in, and was ready to try and give it my all in the final," Mitchum said. "I floated a little over the first hurdle and that slowed me some and really cost me. I made up a little in the middle, but you can’t make any mistakes when somebody wins in 7.61. I can’t be too upset, though. I’m an All-American and I’m still building towards the outdoor season." Three hours earlier in the afternoon, the Calumet City, Ill., native Mitchum won the third or three prelims with a .09-second personal best and school record (7.69). Overall, he ranked second in the 18-man field just behind Hicks (7.67) after he entered the meet seeded tied ninth nationally. "I felt relaxed in the prelim, and it didn’t seem that fast," Mitchum said. "I looked up at the clock and was a little surprised by the time. I don’t remember that much from the race - I know I didn’t look around at anybody else, and just tried to keep tunnel vision straight ahead." Mitchum entered the meet with the Ducks’ former school record with his previous personal best from last weekend in Gainesville, Fla. (7.78). Heading into the season, Mitchum owned a freshman best of 2003 (7.86) that tied the school record of Micah Harris from 2002. He made his season debut less than a month ago, and bettered the NCAA provisional mark of 7.95 in all eight of his races this season. "I’ve been getting more and more confidence lately," Mitchum said. "I had a late start because of a slight right hamstring injury early this season, and it’s hasn’t hurt me that bad because it’s pushed my training back and partially helped me peak towards today. I feel stronger and faster at this point than last year so I’m looking forward to outdoors." Redshirt senior Ryan Andrus added two more points to the Duck cause with a seventh-place finish in his NCAA indoor track debut in the 5,000 (seventh, 14:03.21). The Orem, Utah., native entered the meet seeded fourth nationally after a 15-second personal best and NCAA automatic qualifier (13:51.00) last weekend in Seattle. "Coach gave me the option whether I wanted to come or focus on my first outdoor 10K, so I decided to come here and contribute points to the team," Andrus said. "Looking back, I could have possibly gotten up to sixth if I had made my move a little sooner, but I think I have to still rate it as a pretty good race. A week ago, I wasn’t even planning on coming here before I ran my PR." Friday’s honor also netted Andrus his first track All-America honor after missing a similar plaque outdoors in the NCAA 10,000 outdoors in 2003 by one place and one second. "The past year, it was a little bit in the back of my mind about being a little short last year and getting passed at the end, although I didn’t think about it during the race today." Overall in the 25-lap contest, returning indoor and outdoor champion and South African product Alistair Cragg won by one second (13:39.63) ahead of Klamath Falls native and Stanford junior Ian Dobson (second, 13:40.91) and Iona sophomore and Kenyan Richard Kiplagat (13:41.67). The Men of Oregon added a third All-America honor thanks to redshirt junior long jumper Leonidas Watson who claimed the last U.S-based honor and missed scoring by one place (ninth, 25-2 1/2). The St. Louis Community College transfer and St. Louis native missed the final scoring place (eighth) by one inch, and trailed two Pac-10 rivals - UCLA’s Juaune Aron (fourth, 26-1 3/4) and WSU’s Matt Mason (25-7 1/2). Overall in the event, LSU’s top-seeded John Moffitt (first, 26-9 3/4) won by 3 1/2 inches over South Carolina’s Tony Allmond (26-6 1/4). Watson jumped his best mark on his second jump of the first flight, after he opened with a 24-1 1/2 try, then fouled his third attempt. After an hour break for the second flight, he leaped 23-11 3/4 on his fourth try, then passed his fifth and sixth attempts to conserve his energy for Saturday’s appearance in the triple jump. Watson entered Friday’s competition tied for eighth with a season best of 25-6 1/2 from a month ago - two weeks before he cleared a mark of 52-10 1/4 in the triple jump that ranks him eighth nationally. Sophomore Matt Scherer made his second NCAA appearance in the 400 and first indoors, and missed advancing to the final by .32 seconds and four places. The Sumner, Ill., native finished fourth in the second of four heats (46.77), as his section winner Jerry Harris of TCU (46.06) led the field’s 15 finishers. Scherer entered the meet seeded 13th with a season best of 46.40 a month ago in Ames, Iowa - a clocking that broke the Oregon indoor school record and moved him to fifth all-time for the Ducks. He made his NCAA debut outdoors in 2003 as a freshman and ran his outdoor best (46.47) that then ranked him sixth in school history. On the women’s side, junior Hannah Moore became the Ducks’ 12th NCAA pole vault entry in pole vault Mark Vanderville’s five-year tenure overseeing the event. The Reno, Nevada native Moore ended 13th overall (12-11 1/2) in a field that featured four Pac-10 vaulters and three All-Americans - Chelsea Johnson of UCLA (second, 13-11 1/4), Connie Jerz (third, 13-7 1/4) and Kate Soma (fifth-tie, 13-3 1/2). Moore opened the day with a second-attempt clearance at the opening height of 12-5 1/2 and third-try make at 12-11 1/2, before she missed her three attempts at 13-3 1/2. "It was a good effort for my first national meet, and I’m continuing to raise my vaulting to a higher level," Moore said. "Before last week, I had been hoping to have a major breakthrough technically, and it was great for it to finally come together. There was definitely more pressure here than other meets I’ve been to, and I had to try and harness that extra energy before I started to get comfortable." Moore still could take satisfaction with her second-highest clearance ever Friday. She entered the meet seeded 10th after her 1 foot, 1 1/4 inch personal best last weekend (13-5) for her first ever NCAA provisional mark, and one that raised her to third all-time for the Ducks. Prior to the 2004 indoor season, she owned an indoor best of 11-8 in 2003, and an all-time best of 12-6 1/4 from the West Regional outdoors last spring. Redshirt junior Magdalena Sandoval gave a valiant effort in the 5,000 and ran the first 3/4 of the race in seventh place before she lost momentum in the final kilometer and dropped back to 17th (16:29.69). The Los Alamos, N.M. native had entered the meet seeded sixth with an NCAA automatic time (16:04.40) from a month before in Seattle that was a 40-second personal best that also moved her to eighth all-time for the Ducks. However, she had suffered a slight hamstring the following week, and has had to alter her training to various degrees since. Overall in the event, Providence’s Kim Smith set a three-second meet record (15:14.18) and edged Stanford’s Alicia Craig (second, 15:45.08) and Notre Dame’s Molly Huddle (third, 15:58.42). Friday marked Sandoval’s second NCAA appearance after she recovered from a hard fall in the opening quarter-mile of the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championships last fall. She got up in last place, and had the courage to pass more than half of the nation’s best 255 runners to finish 105th on the 6K course. Another Duck distance runner saw action in the 800 as redshirt senior Eri Macdonald closed her collegiate career with her NCAA debut (14th, 2:09.14). The Honolulu, Hawai’i native entered the meet seeded 14th overall thanks to her 1 1/2-second indoor personal best in Seattle last weekend (2:06.75), and Friday’s time ranked as her third fastest ever indoors. All-time for the Ducks she stands seventh in the event thanks to her outdoor best from 2002's Washington Dual win (2:06.37). This indoor season, she also led the Duck season best list in the mile with her season opener also in Seattle (4:54.85). Friday’s appearance ended a string of qualifying bad luck when she missed an NCAA outdoor invite in 2002 by .04 seconds and was just over a second away as a sophomore outdoors in 2002. Overall in the event, Tennessee’s Nicole Cook won the first heat (2:04.03) in which Macdonald placed eighth of eight entries, followed closely by LSU’s Neisha Bernard-Thomas (second, 2:04.33), North Carolina’s returning outdoor champ Alice Schmidt (2:04.64) and Michigan’s Katie Erdman (fourth, 2:04.77). Akron’s Beata Rudzinska won the second section (2:06.53), ahead of Kentucky’s Beth Heimann (second, 2:06.69) and Florida’s Kamille Bratton (third, 2:07.00). Overall, the host and pre-meet favorite Arkansas led the men’s team scoring (first, 23), ahead of Florida and Texas (second-tie, 21), Purdue (fourth, 13), and LSU and UCLA (fifth, 11). On the women’s side, UCLA is tied atop the team standings with Florida (first, 29), ahead of Georgia (third, 26), Nebraska (fourth, 23 1/2) and LSU (fifth, 16). Complete meet results are available at the
Looking ahead to Saturday’s second and final day action, the Ducks look forward to appearances by senior pentathlete Abby Andrus, freshman pole vaulter Tommy Skipper, triple jumper Leonidas Watson and the men’s 4x400 of Matt Scherer, Travis Anderson, Roderick Dotts and Brandon Holliday.
FIRST DAY FINAL RESULTS NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Randal Tyson Track Center, University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. Friday, March 12, 2004 WOMEN’S RESULTS 800 - Prelims - Heat 1, Nicole Cook, Tennessee, 2:04.03. 2, Neisha Bernard-Thomas, LSU, 2:04.33. 3, Alice Schmidt, North Carolina, 2:04.64. 4, Katie Erdman, Michigan, 2:04.77. 5, Ashley Patten, Missouri, 2;07.12. 6, Ada Anderson, Iowa State, 2:07.59. 7, Michelle Lahann, Iowa, 2:08.21. 8, Eri Macdonald, Oregon, 2:09.14. Heat 2 - 1, Beata Rudzinska, Akron, 2:06.53. 2, Beth Heimann, Kentucky, 2:06.69. 3, Kamille Bratton, Florida, 2;07.00. 4, Nikeya Green, Wake Forest, 2:07.25. 5, Caitlin Reese, Auburn, 2;07.27. 6, Nelli Hammons, Utah, 2;08.52. 7, Kameisha Bennett, Tennessee, 2:12.63. FS - Leslie Treherne, Tennessee. 5,000 - Final - 1, Kim Smith, Providence, 15:14.18. 2, Alicia Craig, Stanford, 15:45.08. 3, Molly Huddle, Notre Dame, 15:58.42. 4, Vicky Gill, Florida State, 16:00.62. 5, Melissa Gulli, Texas A&M, 16:02.72. 6, Kristin Price, N.C. State, 16:06.05. 7, Emily Kroshus, Princeton, 16:08.17. 8, Jamie Krzyminski, Michigan State, 16:09.45. 9, Laura Turner, BYU, 16:13.80. 10, Renee Gunning, N.C. State, 16:23.08. 11, Amy Hastings, ASU, 16:24.58. 13, Rachel Evjen, Florida State, 16:25.38. 14, Paige Miller, Duke, 16:27.12. 15, Tara Struyk, West Virginia, 16:28.88. 16, Kalin Toedebusch, Colorado, 16:28.95. 17, Magdalena Sandoval, Oregon, 16:29.69. Pole Vault - 1, Fanni Juhasz, Georgia, 13-11 1/4. 2, Chelsea Johnson, UCLA, 13-11 1/4. 3t, Connie Jerz, Arizona, 13-7 1/4. 3t, Jenny Green, Nebraska, 13-7 1/4. 5t, Kate Soma, Washington, 13-3 1/2. 5t, Kira Sims, Akron, 13-3 1/2. 7t, Jackie Rodgers, Kent State, 13-3 1/2. 7t, Beth Hinshaw, Rice, 13-3 1/2. 9t, Jennifer Lincoln, Arkansas, 13-3 1/2. 11, Jessi Graff, Nebraska, 12-11 1/2. 12, Jennifer Bennett, Missouri, 12-11 1/2. 13, Hannah Moore, Oregon, 12-11 1/2. 14, Laura Olson, Buffalo-SUNY, 12-5 1/2. 15, Sara Dougherty, Penn State, 12-5 1/2. 16, Suzanne Makinson, Appalachian State, 12-5 1/2. MEN’S RESULTS 60 Hurdles - Final - 1, Antwon Hicks, Ole Miss, 7.61. 2, Jermaine Cooper, Texas, 7.67. 3, Josh Walker, Floirda, 7.67. 4, Richard Phillips, George Mason, 7.68. 5, David Oliver, Howard, 7.69. 6, Eric Mitchum, Oregon, 7.74. 7, Shannon Armstrong, Wichita State, 7.80. 8, Garland Martin, Middle Tennessee State, 7.86. Prelims - Heat 1 - 1, Josh Walker, Florida, 7.70. 2, David Oliver, Howard, 7.71. 3, Jermaine Cooper, Texas, 7.71. 4, Richard Phillips, George Mason, 7.72. 5, Garland Martin, Middle Tennessee State, 7.76. 6, Matt Mason, WSU, 7.79. Heat 2 - 1, Antwon Hicks, Ole miss, 7.67. 2, Roy Cheney, Clemson, 7.77. 3, Montrell Person, Georgia Tech, 7.80. 4, Colin Aina, Rhode Island, 7.81. 5, Selim Nurudeen, Notre Dame, 7.84. 6, Kerron Clement, Florida, 7.87. Heat 3 - 1, Eric Mitchum, Oregon, 7.69. 2, Shannon Armstrong, Wichita State, 7.75. 3, Mike Thomas, Arkansas, 7.77. 4, Shamar Sands, Auburn, 7.82. 5, Aries Merritt, Tennessee, 7.85. 6, Dwight Ruff, Florida, 7.95. 400 - Prelims - Heat 1 - 1, Darold Williamson, Byalor, 46.26. 2, Pete Coley, LSU, 46.56. 3, Mitch Potter, Minnesota, 46.73. 4, Reggie Witherspoon, Florida, 47.98. Heat 2 - 1, Jerry Harris, TCU, 46.06. 2, Kerron Clement, Florida, 46.41. 3, Lewis Banda, ASU, 46.48. 4, Matt Scherer, Oregon, 46.77. Heat 3 - 1, Jason Barton, ASU, 46.11. 2, Kelly Wiliie, LSU, 4.45. 3, Quentin Bowens, Seton Hall, 46.91. Heat 4 - 1, Jeremy Wariner, Baylor, 46.08. 2, Obra Hogans, Seton Hall, 46.33. 3, Rickey Harris, Florida, 46.34. 4, Terry Gatson, Arkansas, 47.60. 5,000 - 1, Alistair Cragg, Arkansas, 13:39.63. 2, Ian Dobson, Stanford, 13:40.91. 3, Richard Kiplagat, Iona, 13:41.67. 4, Dathan Ritzenhein, Colorado, 13:42.09. 5, Matt Tegenkamp, Wisconsin, 133:44.0. 6, Simon Bairu, Wisconsin, 13:54.46. 7, Ryan Andrus, Oregon, 14:03.21. 8, Adam Sutton, Providence, 14:03.47. 9, Antony Ford, Montana, 14:04.60. 10, Joe McAlister, Iona, 14:09.31. 11, Rod Koborsi, Georgetown, 14:10.51. 12, Kyle Goklish, Arizona, 14:14.74. 12, Kyle King, Baylor, 14:16.13. 14, Sean Connolly, Iona, 14:30.05. Long Jump - 1, John Moffitt, LSU, 26-9 3/4. 2, Tony Allmond, South Carolina, 26-6 1/4. 3, Aundre Edwards, TCU, 26-1 3/4. 4, Juaune Armon, UCLA, 26-1 3/4. 5, Mike Morrison, Florida, 25-7 1/2. 6, Matt Mason, WSU, 25-7 1/2. 7, George Kitchens, Clemson, 25-4. 8, Lejuan Simon, LSU, 25-3 1/2. 9, Leonidas Watson, Oregon, 25-2 1/2. 10, Kevin Bartlett, Auburn, 24-9 1/4. 11, Brian Veal, SW Texas State, 24-7 1/4. 12, Darryl Reeves, SC State, 24-4 1/2. 12, Magnus Ahlen, Manhattan, 24-4 1/2. 14, Arthurs Abolins, Nebraska, 23-11 3/4. -
