Duck Women's Track Outlook - 2005
In 2005, the Duck women’s program will combine several faces with several of the nation's elite athletes for its annual Pac-10 and NCAA clashes. As always, the team will be balanced with talent spread among nearly every event, and anchored by a national-class field events corps.
Last year’s individual and team success showed that the Ducks are on the right track.
Eight of the team's 11 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships qualifiers were meet newcomers, and 17 UO women appeared on or climbed the school's all-time top-10 lists. Team-wise, the scaled-back squad totaled 58 points in the Pac-10 Championships and nearly doubled pre-meet scoring projections to repeat seventh against the nation's deepest league.
The throws unit boasts three javelin All-Americans who have combined for six honors among their seven NCAA trips, and all three rank among the top-10 returning collegians based on personal bests. Redshirt senior and javelin school record holder Sarah Malone won the West Regional last May, then posted second- and third-place Olympic Trials and NCAA finishes in the summer. Two-time All-Americans and juniors Elisa Crumley and Roslyn Lundeen look forward to renewed health after they redshirted 2004 to rehab various injuries. Senior shot putter Bree Fuqua added an NCAA invite outdoors in her first season in Eugene, and stands second all-time in school history.
The pole vault returns a pair of NCAA veterans in redshirt junior Hannah Moore and sophomore Emily Enders who made indoor and outdoor trips, respectively, in ?04. Their hard work continued Oregon’s success in the event that has featured seven All-America honors and 14 NCAA appearances since 2000 under assistant coach Mark Vanderville.
Among returning national qualifiers on the oval, senior Sofie Abildtrup moved to third all-time for the Ducks in the 400 with her Pac-10 prelims PR, redshirt senior Laura Harmon converted a 13-second personal best in the West Regional 5,000 into an NCAA invite, and redshirt senior Magdalena Sandoval logged a 39-second best in the 5K for an indoor school record and NCAA automatic invite.
Several key newcomers will add immediate help on the track. Freshman Julie Schmidt-Scherer arrives from Denmark to boost the team in the 200, 400 and 4x400, and junior transfer Mandi Fitz-Gustafson, a two-time Pac-10 steeplechase scorer for Arizona State, headlines a five-member distance newcomer class. Junior heptathlete Lauryn Jordan transfers in as an obvious NCAA hopeful, and could chase Pac-10 points in various jumping events. Junior hammer thrower Brittany Hinchcliffe ranked top 30 in the U.S. in 2004 (200-3) as she added 13 feet to her personal best.
The outdoor schedule is similar to years past with four regular season home meets at Hayward Field spaced among March, April and May. Eugene's track faithful can cheer the green and gold a fifth time as the West Coast's top talent chases NCAA invites in the third annual West Regional Championships, Fri.-Sat., May 27-28.
March and April also include visits to Tucson, Stanford and the Mt. SAC Relays in Los Angeles, and the Ducks may send a unit to the prestigious Drake Relays. The NCAA Championships return to Sacramento, June 8-11 for the first of three straight seasons, and the USA Championships follow two weeks later, June 23-26 in Carson, Calif., just south of downtown Los Angeles.
SPRINTS
Returnees Bests (100, 200, 400)
Sofie Abildtrup, Sr. - 100 12.01, 200 23.93, 400 52.92
Sara Schaaf, RJr. - 400 55.73
Michelle Donovan, Sr. - 25.95, 400 56.72
Kayla Mellott, Sr. - 400 58.22
Amanda Santana, So. - 400 58.98
Newcomers - Bests (100, 200, 400)
Julie Schmidt-Scherer, Fr. - 200 24.45, 400 54.97
Ashley Bridenbeck, Fr. - 100 12.1, 200 25.56
Kalindra McFadden, Fr. - 100 12.35, 200 25.00
Irie Searcy, RFr. - 100 12.6, 200 25.6, 400 57.4
Senior Sofie Abildtrip enjoyed a smooth transition to the collegiate scene last spring, as the Herning, Denmark native quickly climbed UO all-time lists in the 100 (10th, 12.01), 200 (seventh, 23.93) and 400 (third, 52.92). She competed in both the 200 and 400 in the 2004 Pac-10 Championships and took fifth in the latter event. Overall in the May stretch run, the former Danish national champion stepped up with three clockings faster than her preseason best of 54.16.
Senior Michelle Donovan got off to a fast start in 2004 and lowered her indoor bests in the 400 (57.53) and 800 (2:15.68) by one and two seconds, respectively. This season, she will answer the team's needs in the 400 and relays, and may chase a Pac-10 trip in the 800.
A group of four freshmen could see frequent action in various events. Julie Schmidt-Scherer arrives from Copenhagen, Denmark and claimed Danish junior national titles in the 200 and 400 indoors and outdoors in 2003, then scored wins in the senior national championships in ?04. Kalindra McFadden won three Montana state titles in the 100 and 200, and Ashley Bridenbeck was a six-time Oregon state finalist in the 100 and 200. Redshirt freshman Irie Searcy redshirted last spring, and was a prep state qualifier in the 200 and 400 and relays.
In the relays, UO looks to springboard off its success in the Pac-10 Championships when the team scored a four-second season best (seventh, 3:42.23) and finished a place higher than their pre-meet seed. Abildtrup is the an obvious anchor candidate for the 4x400 relay, and could be joined by Donovan, Schmidt-Scherer, Pac-10 800 scorer Sara Schaaf, or Pac-10 400-hurdle veterans Kayla Mellott and Amanda Santana.
HURDLES
Returnees - Bests (100H, 400H)
- Kayla Mellott, Sr. - 400H 60.72
- Amanda Santana, So. - 100H 15.84w, 400H 61.3h/62.46
Newcomers - Bests (100H, 300H)
- Lauryn Jordan, Jr. - 100H 14.90
- Kalinda McFadden, Fr. - 100H 14.64
- Kasey Harwood, Fr. - 300H 44.10
The Ducks graduated their top 100 and 400 hurdler from 2004 (Abby Andrus), but look to again challenge for Pac-10 points in the latter event.
Junior transfer Lauryn Jordan will anchor the team in the 100 hurdles and took fifth in the 2004 California community college championships (14.90).
In the 400 hurdles, senior Kayla Mellott chopped .58 seconds off her personal best in 2004 to climb two spots to seventh all-time for UO (60.72). She claimed her first Pac-10 points (seventh), and stands fifth among Pac-10 returnees with her hand-timed personal best of 60.8 from last May’s Oregon Twilight. Sophomore Amanda Santana dropped almost four seconds off her 400 hurdle freshman marks to a hand-timed best of 61.3, and was one of three UO runners to make the Pac-10 trip in the event (12th-prelims).
Freshman Kasey Harwood could race either the 800, hurdles or steeplechase. The Polson, Mont., native won three combined state titles in the 100 and 300 hurdles and another in cross country. Fellow frosh and Montanan Kalindra McFadden won three state 2A 100 hurdles titles for Belgrade and Bozeman High Schools.
DISTANCES
Returnees - Bests (800, 1,500, 3K, 5K, 10K)
- Sara Schaaf, RJr. - 800 2:07.89, 1,500 4:38.04
- Michelle Donovan, Sr. - 800 2:15.68
- Laura Harmon, RSr.- 1,500 4:29.49, 3K 9:45.52, 5K 16:33.17
- Magdalena Sandoval, RSr. - 3K 9:33.56i, 5K 16:04.40i, 10K 36:30.65
- Haripurkh Khalsa, RJr. - 3K 10:08.20, 5K 17:25.33
Newcomers -Bests (800, 1,500, 3K, Steeple, 5K)
- Mandi Fitz-Gustafson, RJr. - 800 2:16.9, 1,500 4:37.86, 3K 10:17, Steeple 10:51.81
- Katie Leary, Fr. - 1,500 4:36.76, 3K 10:00.38
- Emily Mathis, So.-TR - 800 2:13.98, 1,500 4:44.31
- Heather Fitz-Gustafson, Fr. - 800 2:18, 1,500 4:39.43, 3K 10:27.33
- Kasey Harwood, Fr. - 800 2:12
- Sarah Pearson, Fr. - 800 2:15.4, 1,500 4:36.17, 3K 9:56.92
Women's distance coach Marnie Mason is quickly stocking talent from the 800 up through the 10,000, and is excited about the unit’s future.
In the middle distances, redshirt junior Sara Schaaf has evolved into one of the Pac-10’s top 800 threats. A former pupil of Mason's at Klamath Union High School, she dipped below 2:10 in the 2004 Pac-10 and West Regional meets to claim top-eight finishes in each (fifth/eighth). She added Pac-10 1,500 qualifiers in both of her sophomore outings ? each sub-4:40 ? and ran in the cross country team's top five in last fall’s three biggest races. Long sprinter and senior Michelle Donovan stood third indoors for UO in the 800 last winter with a 1 1/2-second personal best in her only junior race (2:15.68).
In the 5,000, redshirt senior Laura Harmon uncorked the biggest Duck surprise in the 2004 West Regional. In weeks prior, she took eighth in the Pac-10 Champs, and entered the region meet seeded 17th, but passed four runners in the last lap to take third and earn an NCAA invite. In cross country last fall, she followed with her first All-America harrier honor, and her fourth- and 31st-place Pac-10 and NCAA finishes were UO's highest in each since 1997 and 1998, respectively.
Another redshirt senior, Magdalena Sandoval, gives the Ducks another All-America hopeful in the 5,000 or 10,000. Indoors as a junior in '04, she reeled off a 39-second personal best in the 5,000 (16:04.40) to rank sixth nationally among collegians. An NCAA harrier veteran in 2003, she landed Pac-10 first-team cross country accolades in weeks prior for her fifth-place finish, then added ninth place in the West Regional.
Redshirt senior Mandi Fitz-Gustafson will lace up her racing spikes again after she redshirted in 2003-04. The Arizona State transfer was eighth in the Pac-10 steeplechase in 2002 and '03, and her personal best of 10:51.81 would stand second all-time for UO.
Redshirt junior Haripurkh Khalsa knocked 32 seconds off her 3,000 best in her 2004 indoor debut (10:08.20), and outdoors debuted on the Pac-10 oval in the 5,000 (14th). In cross country, the former walk-on has finished top-five for the cross country in eight straight races, including six runs in the team's top three.
Sophomore transfer Emily Mathis arrives from Boise State and could race the 800, 1,500 or steeplechase. She bettered her prep 800 best by almost four seconds in her Oregon Invite win in Eugene last April (2:13.98), and ran the 800 in the 2004 WAC Championships both indoors (ninth-prelims, 2:16.86) and outdoors (11th-prelims, 2:14.52).
A class of four freshmen arrives with an immediate contribute to compete. Klamath Falls native Katie Leary took third in the 4A state 1,500 and 3,000 as a junior in 2003 with personal bests in both (4:36.76/10:00.38) before she missed the senior edition because of an injury. Eugenean Sarah Pearson finished second in the 4A state 1,500 (4:40.32) as a junior and senior at South High School, and was third in the 3,000 as a senior (9:57.79). Heather Fitz-Gustafson of The Dalles won the state 3A crown in the 3,000 as a junior among her six, top-five placings in the 1,500 and 3,000. Freshman Kasey Harwood piled up eight wins in the Montana 1A state track meet and another in cross country as a senior, and is a potential entry in the 800, hurdles or steeplechase.
JUMPS
Returnees - Bests (HJ, PV, LJ, TJ)
- Rachael (Kriz) Wallace, Sr. - HJ 5-8
- Hannah Moore, RJr. - PV 13-5i
- Emily Enders, So. - PV 13-2 1/4
- Clarice Hayward-Lee, Sr. - TJ 40-8 3/4
- Maegan Traver, Sr. - LJ 17-6 1/4, TJ 39-7
Newcomers - Bests (HJ, PV, LJ, TJ)
- Lauryn Jordan, Jr.-TR - HJ 5-8 1/2, LJ 19-10, TJ 40-8 1/4
- Kalindra McFadden, Fr. - HJ 5-4 1/2, LJ 16-10, TJ 37-6 1/4
- Kim Calcagno, Fr. - PV 11-6
The Ducks feature Pac-10 scorers in three of the four jumps, including several individuals in each with national aspirations.
In the high jump, redshirt senior high jumper Rachael (Kriz) Wallace will chase her third Pac-10 points after she placed fifth in 2004 and seventh in '02. She cleared a 5-8 personal best as a junior in '04 to move to into a tie for eighth all-time for UO. Junior transfer Lauryn Jordan was the 2004 California junior college high jump champ thanks to a 5-7 season best.
Redshirt junior pole vaulter Hannah Moore upped her indoor personal best in 2004 by a whopping one foot and nine inches to 13-5 ? a height that moved her to third all-time for UO indoors behind a pair of All-Americans. An NCAA qualifier indoors in '04, she ranked 37th overall in the U.S. at year’s end, and stands third among Pac-10 returnees in 2005.
Sophomore Emily Enders improved her pole vault personal best by more than seven inches as a frosh in '04 to 13-2 1/4. She capped the campaign with fourth- and fifth-place Pac-10 and regional placings, respectively, and was one of six freshmen to compete in the 27-woman NCAA outdoor finale.
Freshman Kim Calcagno was a three-time top-six Oregon state prep finisher ? including fourth as a senior in '04 (11-6) ? and owns a better prep best than two of the Ducks' three NCAA qualifiers in 2004.
Senior triple jumper Clarice Hayward-Lee made a leap forward under jumps coach Rock Light in 2004, and raised her personal best by more than 1 1/2 feet to 40-8 3/4. That mark moved her to fifth all-time for UO, and ranked sixth in the Pac-10 and 11th in the region on season best lists. Senior Maegan Traver followed suit and upped her best by almost two feet as a junior, and scored seventh in her Pac-10 debut with a 8 1/2-inch PR (39-7).
Jordan will lend a helping hand in the horizontal jumps, and was her junior college conference champion last year in both the long jump (19-8), and triple jump (39-10 1/2). Fellow heptathlete and freshman Kalindra McFadden was a two-time Montana state runner-up in the high jump and triple jump champion.
THROWS
Returnees - Bests (SP, DT, HT, JT)
- Bree Fuqua, RSr. SP 52-8 3/4, DT 164-1
- Megan Kriz, Jr. 185-0
- Katie Kersh, RSr. 174-11
- Sarah Malone, RSr. 179-7
- Elisa Crumley, RJr. 169-7
- Roslyn Lundeen, RJr. 166-11
Newcomers - Bests (SP, DT, HT, JT)
- Britney Henry, Jr.-RS-TR 207-9
- Brittany Hinchcliffe, RJr.-TR 154-11 200-3
Oregon already features one of the nation’s top javelin corps, and is ready to make noise at the elite level in several other events.
In the shot put and discus, redshirt senior Bree Fuqua enjoyed a successful first Duck go-around in 2004 after she transferred from Wisconsin. The Badger shot put record holder, tacked another 1 foot, 3 1/4 inches onto her personal best as a Duck (52-8 3/4) ? a mark that placed her fourth in the regional and netted her first NCAA invite. She also led UO in the discus, and her junior best (164-1) was less than three feet from the UO all-time top-10 list.
The hammer throw is well-stocked and led by redshirt junior Brittany Hinchcliffe who improved her best by more than 13 feet as a redshirt in 2004 (200-3). She stood 29th overall in the U.S. last year, and topped the official Duck record by almost nine feet (191-4) - set by former NCAA qualifier Jordan Sauvage in 2003. Junior transfer Britney Henry also bettered that mark easily last year for LSU (school record 207-9), and was an NCAA and Olympic Trials qualifier, but will redshirt the ?05 campaign.
In her first season tossing the ball and chain, junior Megan Kriz stepped up like a veteran. The Pac-10 and regional qualifier paced UO in five of her seven outdoor contests in 2004, including a personal best in the Oregon Twilight (185-0) that moved her to third all-time in school history. Redshirt senior Katie Kersh entered her Duck career in '04 with a prior best of 173-5. Altogether, she topped 170 feet in three outdoor contests, including a pair of 174-footers in the Oregon Invite (PR 174-11) and Oregon Twilight (174-0).
The javelin unit expects to be busy rewriting the Oregon record books in 2005. Redshirt senior Sarah Malone will try to become only the third Duck to earn three javelin All-America honors after she took third in 2004 and seventh as a freshman in '01. The school's record holder since her freshman season upped her best another five inches as a junior and capped the 2004 collegiate slate with a West Regional win, Pac-10 runner-up finish and NCAA third-place effort ? UO's highest NCAA javelin placing since Ashley Selman's win in 1993.
Redshirt juniors Elisa Crumley and Roslyn Lundeen return from redshirt seasons to chase their third NCAA javelin All-America honors. Lundeen placed top eight in the NCAA contest as a freshman and sophomore in 2002 and ?03 (seventh/eighth), and Crumley was top 13 in the same editions (12th in ?02 /13th-prelims in ?03). Together, they will try to become the first UO javelin trio to nab All-America honors in the same NCAA meet after four duos turned the trick before.
HEPTATHLON
Newcomers - Bests
- Lauryn Jordan, Jr.-TR - 4,895
- Roslyn Lundeen, RJr. - 4,483
- Kalindra McFadden, Fr. - NA
Junior Lauryn Jordan is an obvious hopeful to chase Oregon's 10th NCAA heptathlon appearance since 1993. The first-year transfer from San Joaquin Delta College near Stockton, Calif., won the California juco league title with a 102-point personal best last May (4,895), to go along with other league titles in the high jump, long jump and triple jump.
Freshman Kalindra McFadden owns promising potential after she claimed nine Montana state titles in the 100, 200, high jump, triple jump and 100 hurdles. Redshirt junior Roslyn Lundeen is well known for her All-America javelin career, but the versatile athlete may chase points in the Pac-10 heptathlon, too. The British Columbia provincial champion tallied a personal best 4,483 points as a high school senior in 2001, and began re-honing her skills in various events in 2004.
- www.GoDucks.com -
