Mitchum & Malone Post Top-Three All-America Honors in NCAA Third Day
AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Oregon men’s and women’s teams continued to show well in third day action Friday in the NCAA Track and Field Championships at the Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas.
Sophomore Eric Mitchum claimed second in the 110 hurdles final in a .15-second personal best and school record (13.38, w:1.2). The two-time Duck All-American ended only .06 seconds behind of the NCAA champion and Florida junior Josh Walker (first, 13.32) who entered the meet as the top seed with a season best of 13.42 from Thursday’s prelims.
"Whoa, I don’t know what to say," Mitchum said. "I felt really good from start to finish. I got a great start, and just kept attacking every hurdle and snapping through. I could only see one person to the side midway, and knew I was doing pretty good, and tried to keep it going over the eighth, ninth and 10th hurdles. The conditions were perfect, just a little tailwind."
The Calumet City, Ill., native entered the meet seeded third nationally with a windy best of 13.50 from the same exact straightaway in April’s Texas Relays, while his previous wind-legal school record of 13.53 came in mid-April’s Mt. SAC Relays. He advanced to the final on Thursday with the seventh-fastest time among the 27-man field in the opening semifinal round (13.54w, w:2.2).
"I was concentrated on this race the whole day, even when I took a final this morning," Mitchum said. "Once that was done, I went into lockdown mode and knew something good would happen. I was really able to stay low over the hurdles today and swing my arms through to keep my momentum going forward. It was great being able to do it in front of my parents, too. My mom and dad were really supportive after my race yesterday, just like always, and it was special to have them here."
Looking back over this season, Mitchum ran his 11th sub-14.00 clocking Friday in 12 races this season, including six that were faster than his pre-season best of 13.73 that ranked him second in school history heading into 2004 behind another recent Duck All-American Micah Harris (13.67, 2002).
"My goals coming into this season were to be an All-American, get the school record and win the Pac-10 title," Mitchum said. "But once I ran those times in April, I started to really believe that I could do bigger here. I have to thank Coach (Steele), my training partner AK (Ikwuakor), and the team who have all been amazingly supportive."
Mitchum becomes the eighth Duck All-American in the event, and its third runner-up with Bob Gray (1991, 13.63), and Mel Renfro (1962, 13.38). Only one Duck has posted a better NCAA finish - two-time champion Jerry Tarr who won 120 hurdles titles in 1961 (13.9) and 1962 (13.5) - and the latter year the same that he broke the American record with his 13.3 clocking. Indoors this year, Mitchum claimed his first All-America honor in the indoor 60 hurdles (7.74), after set a school record in the prelims (7.69) earlier that day.
In the men’s decathlon, the Duck duo of redshirt senior Gabriel LeMay (10th, 3,912) and redshirt sophomore Andy Young (25th, 3,495) opened duty in the first five events.
The Yoncalla, Ore., native LeMay ranked top 10 in the field in the 400 (second, 48.62), 100 (seventh, 10.89, w:2.2) and high jump (seventh, 6-5 1/2), and added marks of 21-7 1/2 in the long jump (22nd) and 41-11 1/2 in the shot put (16th). Young’s best rank came in the 400 (11th, 50.13), and he also added marks of 6-2 in the high jump (17th), 21-4 in the long jump (24th), 11.57 (w:2.7) in the100 (25th) and 36-7 in the shot put (25th)
Glancing at the duo’s personal best charts, LeMay ran a whopping .19-second improvement in the 100 over his previous mark of 11.05, his 400 clocking was a .01-second personal best, his high jump was a 3/4-inch personal best, his long jump (21-7 1/2) was only 7 1/2 inches shy of his personal best, and his shot put (41-11 1/2) was 1 foot, 4 1/2 inches shy of his personal best.
Among Young’s marks, his 100 (11.57 w:2.7) was only .26 seconds off his windy best, his shot put exactly matched his personal best (36-7), his long jump (21-4) was one foot and two inches shy of his best, and his 400 was a .14-second personal best (50.13).
Overall in the event, Rice’s top-seeded Ryan Harlan owns a 34-point lead (first, 4,232) over Mississippi State’s Trey Hardee (second, 4,198). Dartmouth’s Mustafa Abdur-Rahim and Minnesota’s Travis Brandstatter follow in third (4,143) and fourth (4,033) places, respectively.
In other men’s preliminary action, senior Brandon Holliday made his second NCAA appearance in the 400 hurdles (21st, 51.72) - only five places off his pre-meet seeding.
Overall in the event, Georiga junior LaRon Bennett led the field by .24 seconds (49.56), ahead of Rice junior Ben Wiggins (49.80) and LSU junior Bennie Brazell (third, 49.85). Top-seed Kerron Clement who had run 48.55 earlier this year ranked fourth Friday (49.91) just ahead of senior teammate and former NCAA champ Rickey Harris (fifth, 49.61).
The Beaverton, Ore., native Holliday qualified automatically for the collegiate finale after he took fourth two weeks ago in the West Regional final (51.02, 51.51-prelim). Overall this season, the former Pac_10 champ from 2002 lowered his personal best by more than a quarter second in the conference clash (fourth, 50.52) and climbed one spot on the UO all_time top_10 list to sixth. His only faster clocking came in his league debut two years ago when he sped to the blue ribbon (50.73).
Holliday will return for relay duty in Saturday’s evening 4x400 finale after the Ducks ranked sixth in Thursday’s prelims (3:03.73) with their second-fastest clocking ever. Other members of the quartet include sophomore Travis Anderson and Matt Scherer and junior Kedar Inico.
On the women’s side Friday, redshirt junior Sarah Malone claimed her second All-America honor and third top-14 finish in the javelin (178-1) and exactly matched her pre-meet seeding thanks to a gutty sixth and final throw.
The event finale was one of the meet’s most dramatic, as Texas A&M’s second-seeded Katy Doyle popped a six-foot personal best on her final throw (185-7) to edge USC’s top-seeded Inga Stasiulionyte. The Trojan senior, a two-time runner-up previously in 2002 and ?03, responded with an almost two-foot daily best on the ensueing and final throw of the evening, but was still three inches shy of the win (185-4). The Pac-10 showed well with another top-four finisher (Washington senior Megan Spriesterbach, 173-7), and a fourth West Regional top-seven finisher (Fresno State freshman Mallory Webb, seventh, 162-10).
"I knew coming in that I’d have to do something I had never done before and throw over 180 feet," Malone said. "I was off on my plant on my first throw and tweaked my back and my rib again, and that gave me a little scare. Once I got into the final and was fifth, I looked up at Coach (Deal) and decided to quit feeling sorry for myself and gave it all I had. I was able to get decent throws on my last two to move up to second, before Katy passed me on her last throw."
Malone’s best mark Friday came on her final throw and was only one foot, six inches off her school record thrown at the same track in April’s Texas Relays (179-7) - a mark that also ranked her third heading into the NCAA finale (and only one centimeter behind A&M’s Doyle). The Newberg, Ore., native opened the prelims with progressively-better throws of 157-5 (47.98m), 160-6 (48.92m) and 165-2 (50.34m). In the final she fouled her fourth attempt, then threw 167-5 (51.04m) and 178-1 (54.28m) on her fifth and sixth tries.
"There weren’t any headwinds today, so I knew I would have to be ready to try and use whatever tailwinds were there. Katy (Doyle, Texas A&M) stepped up, and took advantage of a great (wind) gust for her first ever 180-foot throw, and Inge got a little help on her last throw, too."
Looking back at previous NCAA appearances, Malone took All_America honors as a freshman in 2001 in Eugene (164_9) and missed similar honors by one place in 2002 (155_4). Friday’s All-America honor raised the Ducks’ tally in the event to 22 since Oregon’s first honoree in 1981. Malone’s third-place finish was the Ducks’ highest since Ashley Selman’s win in 1993 (188-5) at Tulane.
More recently, Malone earned an automatic NCAA invite after she won the West Region (173_10) in Northridge, Calif., two weeks ago. She opened the championship slate in mid-May in Tucson, Ariz., with her third Pac_10 silver medal (2003 (171_5), 2002 (171_9), 2001 (167_1)).
And the season isn’t over for Malone either. Her season best and school record (179_7) is an Olympic Trials automatic qualifier, and puts her fourth on the U.S. season best list in 2004 (behind Texas A&M’s Katy Doyle, 185-7, and post_collegians Dee O’Connell, 185_4, and Erica Wheeler, 180_10).
"It’s been an incredible season so far, and I have nothing to be ashamed of," Malone said. "I feel like a completely different thrower and person then I was two years ago (at NCAA’s). I definitely have more of an appreciation for the sport. I’m still happy with my health overall, and I have a lot of things I need to work on this summer. I have plenty of power, but I definitely need to increase my speed."
Malone returns in 2005 for her redshirt senior season as the leader of arguably the nation’s top javelin unit that will also feature All-America juniors Roslyn Lundeen and Elisa Crumley who redshirted this season. Lundeen took eighth and seventh in the 2003 and 2002 NCAA finales, respectively, and Crumley earned similar honors as a freshman in 2002 (12th).
In the Ducks’ other event final Friday, the pole vault duo of senior Kirsten Larwin and freshman Emily Enders ended in a four-way tie for 15th at 12-9 1/2, and missed several close attempts at 13-1 1/2. Both Ducks opened with first-attempt makes at the opening heights of 12-3 1/2 and 12-9 1/2 on a muggy, sunny warm day that feature noticeable tailwinds.
Overall in Friday’s finale, UCLA’s top-seeded sophomore Chelsea Johnson won by four inches (14-1 1/4) over Washington junior Kate Soma (second, 13-9 1/4) and Nebraska freshman Jenny Green (third, 13-9 1/4). The Pac-10 Conference added two more top-seven finishes courtesy of UCLA sophomore Jackie Nguyen (fifth, 13-5 1/4) and Arizona senior Connie Jerz (seventh, 13-5 1/4), and two other top-15 finishers from Washington, thus giving the Conference of Champions eight of the top 18 placings. The Pac-10 has now claimed the last five women’s NCAA outdoor titles (Becky Holliday, Oregon, 2003; Tracy O’Hara, UCLA, 2002, 2000; Andrea Dutoit, Arizona, 2001), and the two prior came from West Region neighbor Cal Poly in the seven-year-old women’s event (Paula Serrano, 1999; Bianca Moran, 1998).
Larwin, a Eugene native and South High School product, ended 2004 with six, 13-foot clearances among her eight outdoor contests, with the other two also better than her preseason outdoor best of 12-10. Earlier in the championship campaign, she cleared 13_1 3/4 to tie for fifth in the West Region with Enders, and subsequently earned the top NCAA at-large invite nationally. She has raised her personal best twice this year _ 13_6 1/4 in the Pac_10 Champs (fourth) and 13_3 1/2 in the Texas Relays (fifth), and she also cleared 13_1 1/2 in two other appearances. She was an NCAA qualifier indoors in 2003 (10th, 13_3 1/2) and was shy of All_America honors only on misses (eighth ended at the same height).
Enders was tabbed the team’s newcomer of the year last week after she earned an automatic invite in the West Regional with her second_highest mark ever (fifth 13_1 3/4). Her current best came in the Pac_10 Champs (fifth, 13_2 1/4) in mid-May ? five places better than her pre_meet seed in the nation’s top pole vault league ? and a mark that moved her to fifth all_time for UO and tops among freshmen. Last year she ranked 10th among preps with her season best of 12_7, and was a Washington state champ as a junior and runner_up as a senior.
Friday’s pair of Duck finalists gave the Ducks two or more competitors in the NCAA outdoor finale for the third time in six years as Holliday and Niki McEwen turned the trick in 2003 (1st/5th) and McEwen and Karina Elstrom also competed together in 1999 (5th/18th). Enders and Larwin also became fifth-year UO assistant coach Mark Vanderville’s 13th and 14th NCAA indoor and outdoor qualifiers - a group that has featured one NCAA title, another runner-up finish and seven All-America honors.
In other action Friday, junior Sofie Abildtrup finished sixth in the first of four preliminary heats of the 400 (53.71) and stood 20th overall among the 28 entries. The Fredericksberg, Denmark native entered the meet seeded 24th with her season best of 52.92.
Overall in the 400 prelims, Texas sophomore and top seed Sanya Richards led the field (50.86), and was followed by UCLA junior Monique Henderson (second, 51.53) and Tennessee junior Dee Dee Trotter (third, 51.59).
The first_year Duck transfer and Danish record holder Abildtrup made her NCAA debut after earning an at-large NCAA invite thanks to her 1 1/2_second personal best in the Pac_10 400 prelim in mid-May (52.92). She is the fourth Duck to rank top_10 in the school history in the 100, 200 and 400 with her 2004 season bests of 12.01 (#10), 23.93 (#7) and 52.92 (#3). She also scored for the Ducks in the Pac-10 Champs in the 400 final (fifth, 53.22) and as the 4x400 anchor (sixth, 3:42.23).
With one day remaining in the team races, the Arkansas men hold a narrow two-point lead with 25 points, boosted by a win in the 100 by junior Tyson Gay Friday and a win Thursday night by Alistair Cragg in the 10,000. Florida follows in second place with 23 points and featured wins Friday by the 4x100 and 110 hurdler and junior Josh Walker. TCU (third, 18), SMU (fourth, 16) and Texas Tech (fifth, 13) round out the men’s top five. In the women’s race, Nebraska owns a four-point lead atop the leader board (first, 38), over meet favorites UCLA (second, 34), LSU (third, 31) and Texas (fourth, 21).
Full meet results and a revised schedule are available at the www.TexasSports.com and www.NCAAsports.com websites.
Looking ahead to Oregon’s final day action Saturday, competitors include LeMay and Young in the decathlon (Noon CT start), top-ranked Tommy Skipper in the pole vault (6:45 pm CT), Brett Holts in the steeplechase (7:25 pm CT), Laura Harmon and Eric Logsdon in the M&W 5,000 (8:55 / 9:15 pm CT) and the men’s 4x400 relay (9:45 pm CT).
THIRD DAY FINAL RESULTS
NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Mike A. Myers Stadium
University of Texas
Austin, Texas
Friday, June 10, 2004
MEN’S RESULTS
First Day Decathlon Standings (After 5 Events - 25 entrants) - 1, Ryan Harlan, Rice, 4,232. 2, Trey Hardee, Mississippi State, 4,198. 3, Mustafa Abdur-Rahim, Dartmouth, 4,143. 4, Travis Brandstatter, Minnesota, 4,033. 5, Maurice Smith, Auburn, 4,032. 6, Justin Youngblood, Texas-San Antonio, 4,008. 7, Joshua Kinnaman, ASU, 3,975. 8, Edwin Biloott, McNeese State, 3,961. 9, Chris Wineberg, Cincinnati, 3,924. 10, Gabriel LeMay, Oregon, 3,912. 11, Jereme Richardson, Idaho, 3,906. 12, Joe Detmer, Wisconsin, 3904. 25, Andy Young, Oregon, 3,495.
UO Individual Decathlon Results (Event - Rank, Mark, Points)
Gabriel LeMay - 100 - 7th, 10.89 w:2.2, 885 points; Long Jump - 22nd, 21-7 1/2, 7.59m, 718; Shot Put - 16th, 41-11 1/2, 12.79m 654; High Jump - 7th, 6-5 1/2, 776; 400 - 2nd, 48.62, 879.
Andy Young - 100 - 25th, 11.57 w:2.7, 738; Long Jump - 24th, 21-4, 6.50m, 697; Shot Put - 25th, 36-7, 11.15m, 555; High Jump - 17th, 6-2, 1.88m, 696; 400 - 11th, 50.13, 809.
110 Hurdles - 1, Josh Walker, Florida, 13.32. 2, Eric Mitchum, Oregon, 13.38. 3, Joel Brown, Ohio State, 13.43.
WOMEN’S RESULTS
400 - Prelims - 1, Sanya Richards, Texas, 50.86. 2, Monique Henderson, UCLA, 51.53. 3, Dee Dee Trotter, Tennessee, 51.59. 20, Sofie Abildtrup, Oregon, 53.71.
Pole Vault - 1, Chelsea Johnson, UCLA, 14-1 1/4. 2, Kate Soma, Washington, 13-9 1/4. 3, Jenny Green, Nebraska, 13-9 1/4. 15t, Emily Enders, Oregon, 12-9 1/2. 15t, Kirsten Larwin, Oregon, 12-9 1/2.
Javelin - 1, Katy Doyle, Texas A&M, 185-7. 2, Inga Stasliuonyte, USC, 185-4. 3, Sarah Malone, Oregon, 178-1. 4, Megan Spriesterbach, Washington, 173-7.
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