Duck Track Teams Set to Soar at Drake & Stanford
EUGENE - In their fifth weekend of their outdoor slate, the Oregon track and field teams return to the Drake Relays for the first time since 1999 and send 23 M&W sprinters, jumpers and throwers to the Midwestern relay classic.
A handful of men’s distance runners will head to the Cardinal Invitational, Sun., May 1 for the evening distance races.
The following week, the Ducks wrap up their regular season in the Oregon Twilight, Sat., May 7, against another melange of collegiate and post-collegiate talent, while the UO decathletes and heptathletes compete in the Pac-10 multi-events at UCLA’s Drake Stadium, Sat.-Sun., May 7-8.
Last weekend in the Oregon Invitational in Eugene, freshman Galen Rupp weathered a mid-race fall to still run a regional 5,000 qualifier (fifth, 13:50.10). Duck men’s sprinters climbed all-time charts in the 200 (Richard Del Rincon, #6, 20.93), 400 (Kedar Inico, #8, 46.56) and 110 hurdles (A.K. Ikwuakor, #7, 14.03). For the women, redshirt senior Sarah Malone won the javelin with another +170-foot throw (first, 173-1), and redshirt senior Bree Fuqua won the shot put (52-11 1/2) and discus (155-10).
Last Thursday and Friday, juniors Andy Young and Lauryn Jordan notched provisional scores in the decathlon (first, 7,329) and heptathlon (second, 5,020). Three days later on Mon., April 25, Young was tabbed the Pac-10 Men's Field Athlete of the Week in the award's third edition of 2005.
THIS WEEK'S MEET INFORMATION
Meet: Drake Relays
Location: Drake Stadium, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa
Dates: Friday-Saturday, April 29-30
Friday : First UO Event: 10 am (CT), W PV; Last UO Event: 5:45 pm (CT), M 4x400
Saturday : First UO Event: 10:30 am (CT), M Hammer; Last Event: 6 pm (CT), M 4x400
Results Website: www.DrakeRelays.org
Top Schools: Air Force, Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Central Michigan, Colorado State, Drake, Eastern Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Arizona, Northern Iowa, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Rice, SMU, Texas Tech, Tulsa, Wisconsin, Wyoming, UTEP.
Meet: Cardinal Invitational
Location: Cobb Track & Angell Field, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
Date: Sunday, May 1
Sunday: First UO Event: 6:50 pm, M 800; Last UO Event: 8:35 pm, M 5,000
Results Website: www.GoStanford.com
WEEKLY WOMEN’S PREVIEW: Fuqua Looks to Up UO Shot Put Record.
Senior Sofie Abildtrup has run 400 and 200 season bests (54.37 / 24.32) in the Oregon and Golden Bear Invites the past two weeks and will play key parts on the Ducks’ 4x100, 4x400 and sprint medley relays in a simulation of the rounds of the Pac-10 Championships less than three weeks away. Senior 400 hurdler Kayla Mellott leapfrogged up two places in the Pac-10 rankings and is now second thanks to last weekend’s 1.47-second season best (60.15). The returning Pac-10 scorer Mellott (seventh in '04) ranks just ahead of freshman Kasey Harwood in the Pac-10 (third, 60.73), while the duo stand seventh and eighth all-time for UO. Junior Lauryn Jordan already ranks fourth outdoors for the Ducks in the triple jump with her season best of 40-11 1/2 - one inch from third (41-0 1/2) and 4 3/4 inches from second (41-4 1/4). She will also set her sights on the UO all-time outdoor long jump list and her outdoor best of 19-3 1/2 is 4 1/4 inches away from 10th place (19-7 1/2). Indoors in ?05, Jordan broke the school long jump best with her leap of 19-11.5 in a last-chance pentathlon, while she also ranks fourth all-time indoors in the high jump (5-8). Two-time All-American and redshirt senior Sarah Malone still ranks top five nationally thanks to her season best two weeks ago at Cal (first, 177-1), and she again topped the 170-foot line in her Oregon Invite win (173-1). The twice-honored javelin All-America pair of Roslyn Lundeen and Elisa Crumley look to climb the national and regional lists and own season bests of 158-9 and 144-10, respectively. Redshirt junior Brittany Hinchcliffe and redshirt senior Bree Fuqua return to the hammer and shot put rings as school record holders after their winning tosses of 199-2 and 53-11, respectively, in the Pepsi Team Invitational three weekends ago in Eugene. Last weekend in rainy conditions in the Oregon Invite, Hinchcliffe took fourth (192-11), and Fuqua won the shot put (52-11 1/2) and discus (155-10). Redshirt senior Katie Kersh entered the season with a hammer best of 174-11, and has topped that mark in 2005 in the Oregon Preview (fourth, 176-8), Pepsi Team Invite (second, 175-9) and Oregon Invite (sixth, 179-7).
WEEKLY MEN’S PREVIEW: Sprints Continue to Surge Ahead.
THIS WEEK'S TENTATIVE ENTRIES & SCHEDULE
Drake Relays
Drake Stadium, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa
Friday, April 29
10 am - W Pole Vault - Emily Enders
10:41 am - M 4x100
11:15 am - M Javelin - Matt Adams, Lars Mueller Laursen, Brian Wuethrich
11:30 - W Discus - Bree Fuqua
Noon - W Triple Jump - Lauryn Jordan
2 pm - M High Jump - Jeff Lindsey
2:16 pm - M 100 - Richard Del Rincon
3 pm - M Pole Vault - Jon Derby, David Moore
3:21 pm - W 400 Hurdles - Kasey Harwood, Kayla Mellott
3:30 pm - W Javelin - Elisa Crumley, Roslyn Lundeen, Sarah Malone
3:30 pm - W Shot Put - Bree Fuqua
3:36 pm - M 400 Hurdles - A.K. Ikwuakor
3:45 pm - M Long Jump - Jordan Kent, Leonidas Watson
5:20 pm - W 4x400 prelims
5:45 pm - M 4x400 prelims
Saturday, April, 23
10:30 am - M Hammer - Paul Etter
10:30 am - M Triple Jump - Leonidas Watson
10:43 am - W Sprint Medley (200-200-400-800)
1:45 pm - W Hammer - Brittany Hinchcliffe, Katie Kersh
2:33 pm - 110 Hurdles - A.K. ikwuakor
2:38 pm - 110 Hurdles - Eric Mitchum
2:40 pm - W Long Jump - Lauryn Jordan
4:21 pm - M 800 Final - Roderick Dotts
4:52 pm - M 200 - Jordan Kent
5:42 pm - W 4x400 final
6 pm - M 4x400 final
Cardinal Invitational
Cobb Track & Angell Field, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
Sunday, May 1
6:50 pm - M 800 - Robert Gillespie
7:15 pm - M Steeple - Kyle Alcorn, Brett Holts, Scott Wall
7:45 pm - M 1,500 - Nick Dalton
8:35 pm - M 5,000 - Eric Logsdon
MIDWESTERN CONNECTION: Illinois Natives Head to Hawkeye State.
The Men of Oregon have three team members from Illinois that will likely see friends and family in the Drake Stadium stands this weekend. All-America 400 meter sprinter Matt Scherer is from Carthage, Illinois, about 220 miles southwest of Des Moines on the west central Illinois border. The 2002 Red Hill High School graduate accounted for all 28 of team’s state third-place points his senior season in the state meet (100, third, 11.12; 200, second, 22.16; 400, second, 47.55; triple jump, fifth, 44-0 3/4). He owned prep bests of 10.41 in the 100, 21.81 in the 200 and 46.67 in the 400, and was also a decorated prep basketball player and golfer. Returning NCAA 110 hurdle runner-up Eric Mitchum hails from Calumet City, Ill., near Chicago, grew up 340 miles from Des Moines, and attended Mt. Carmel High School. The 2002 prep graduate owned then-bests of 13.82 in the 100 hurdles and 37.17 in the 300 hurdles, and was the state runner-up in both events as a senior. Their sprints mentor, assistant coach Dan Steele, is a native of Moline, Ill., 170 miles due east of Des Moines on the central Illinois border. He was an NCAA champion for Eastern Illinois and a two-time Drake Relays victor.
DUCKS @ DRAKE: UO Returns to Classic for First Time Since ?99.
2005 UO WOMEN’S OUTLOOK: Field Events Again Pace Charge in ?05.
2005 DUCK MEN’S SEASON PREVIEW: UO Flexes Depth Around the Track.
NEWCOMERS TO WATCH: Del Rincon, Hinchcliffe and Jordan Go Green in ?05.
DUCK WOMEN’S NEWCOMERS
Ashley Bridenbeck, Fr., Lake Oswego, Ore. - 100 12.1, 200 25.56
Heather Fitz-Gustafson, Fr., The Dalles, Ore. - 800 2:18, 1,500 4:39.43. 3,000 10:27.33
Mandi Fitz-Gustafson, RJr.-TR, The Dalles, Ore. - 800 2:16.9, 1,500 4:37.86, Steeple 10:51.81
Kasey Harwood, Fr., Polson, Mont. - 800 2:12, 300H 44.10, 400H 60.73
Britney Henry, Jr.-TR, Spokane, Wash. - HT 211-8, JT 119-0
Brittany Hinchcliffe, RJr.-TR, Olympia, Wash. - HT 200-3, DT 154-11
Lauryn Jordan, Jr.-TR, Stockton, Calif. - HJ 5-8 1/2, LJ 19-10, TJ 40-8 1/4, Hep 5,020
Katie Leary, Fr., Klamath Falls, Ore. - 1,500 4:36, 3,000 10:00.38
Emily Mathis, So.-TR, Henley, Ore.- 800 2:13.98, 1,500 4:44.31
Kalindra McFadden, Fr., Bozeman, Mont. - 200 25.00, 100H 14.64, HJ 5-4.5
Sarah Pearson, Fr., Eugene, Ore. - 800 2:15.4, 1,500 4:32.85, 3,000 9:56.92
Irie Searcy, RFr., Portland, Ore. - 100 12.6-h, 200 25.6-h, 400 57.8-h
Julie Schmidt-Scherer, Fr., Copenhagen, Denmark - 200 24.45, 400 54.97, LJ 18-5 1/4
DUCK MEN’S NEWCOMERS
Matt Adams, Jr.-TR, Chino Valley, Ariz. - JT 203-3, DT 156-1
Brian Bartow, Jr.-TR, Grants Pass, Ore. - Dec. 6,671, JT 209-0
Nick Dalton, Sr.-TR, Clevedon, New Zealand - 1,500 3:50, 3,000 8:30
Richard Del Rincon, Jr.-TR, LaMesa, Calif. - 100 10.40 / 10.23w (w:3.7), 200 20.87 / 20.57w, 400 47.92
Montrell Dunn, Jr., Las Vegas, Nevada - LJ 23-10, TJ 49-7, 49-10w
Cody Fleming, Jr.-TR, Sparks, Nevada - 6,741, HJ 6-7, DT 154-2
Rob Gillespie, Fr., Eugene, Ore. - 400 49.12, 800 1:54.20
Steve Green, RFr., Malta, Mont. - TJ 46-0-ind, 45-7-hs
Michael Hill, Jr.-TR, Bend, Ore. - HT 169-1
Lars Mueller Laursen, Jr.-TR, Copenhagen, Denmark - JT 233-6
Galen Rupp, Fr., Portland, Ore. - 1,500 3:45.3, Mile 4:01.8, 3,000 8:03.57, 5,000 13:37.91, 10,000 29:09.56
Joel Sauvain, Fr., Canby, Ore. - 1,500 3:58, 3,000 8:44
Pat Swick, Fr., Las Vegas, Nevada - 800 1:59, 1,600 4:22, 3,200 9:22
Jacob Tolbert, RFr., San Jose, Calif. - LJ 22-10, TJ 45-9 1/4
Scott Wall, Fr., Portland, Ore. - 3,000 8:30.11, Steeple 9:26.89
Patrick Werhane, RFr., Beaverton, Ore. - 1,500 4:08, 3K 8:34.56, 5K 14:54.24, 10K 30:49.95
Chris Winter, Fr., North Vancouver, B.C. - 1,500 3:53, 3,000 8:31.17, Steeple 8:54.94
J.K. Withers, Fr., Santa Rosa, Calif. - 800 1:53.21, 1,600 4:10.7, Mile 4:13.15, 3,000 8:36.17
Brian Wuethrich, Fr., North Bend, Ore. - JT 200-3, SP 56-3 (HS)
PICKS OF THE PAC-10: Skipper & Abildtrup Claimed Weekly Honors in 2004.
On Monday (4/25/05), redshirt junior Andy Young was tabbed the Pacific-10 Conference Men’s Field Event Athlete of the Week after he won the Oregon Invitational decathlon with an NCAA provisional score of 7,329 points on Thu.-Fri., April 21-22. He notched a season best in eight of the 10 events, and only five collegians had scored higher decathlon totals before last weekend. Young was an NCAA decathlon competitor for the Ducks in 2004 (13th - 3 places higher than his seed), and is a two-time Pac-10 top-five finisher in (third in ’04, fifth in ’03). The other men’s honor from the track event category went to Arizona State sophomore Aaron Aguayo who placed fourth in the Oregon Invitational 5,000 (13:49.11) last Saturday. Aguayo finished less than a second ahead of Duck freshman Galen Rupp (fifth, 13:50.10) who fell mid-race but still got up to run one of UO’s fastest all-time frosh 5Ks in his collegiate debut. On the women’s side, Washington sophomore Ashley Lodree won the track honor for her league-leading time and win in the Oregon Invite 400 hurdles (59.65), and UCLA senior Jessica Cosby was decorated for her wins in the shot put (55-11 1/2 ? U.S. leader) and discus (206-11) in the UC San Diego Triton Invite. In 2004, Tommy Skipper took UO’s second honor in the fifth and final edition of the award that season (5/10). The then-freshman from Sandy, Ore., won the conference decathlon title in his collegiate event debut with an NCAA automatic score (7,589) that was 89 points above the NCAA automatic standard, and 105 points better than runner-up Arizona State senior Joshua Kinnaman (second, 7,484). Skipper gave Oregon its fourth straight Pac-10 decathlon title and 11th overall including Pac-8 history dating back to 1965. Among final day marks, he led the pole vault marks by almost a full foot with his clearance of 17-4 1/2, was also 18 feet better than the field in the javelin, and also topped the field the first day in the 100 (10.69) and shot put (44-6 3/4). In the award’s opening edition of 2004 (4/12), Sofie Abildtrup claimed similar honors for the women’s track category. The Saturday before (4/10/04), she helped Oregon to team wins over Colorado, Minnesota and Washington in the Pepsi Team Invite and claimed individual blue ribbons in the 200 (23.94) and 400 (54.49), and also ran a 54.40-second split on the victorious 4x400 relay. Looking back to 2003, the Duck men tied with USC for the most weekly Pac-10 Athlete of the Week honors with USC (4), among the five editions that honor both a track and field event performer. The Duck men claimed the most field event honors (2), USC held court for most track honors (3), and UCLA claimed the other field event honor (1). Among current Ducks tabbed in 2003, Brett Holts was selected in the men’s track category after he took the Pac-10 steeplechase lead with his four-second personal best in the Cardinal Invitational (8:48.81, Fri., 5/2). The week before (Mon., 4/28), Adam Jenkins was selected in the field event category after he leapfrogged teammate John Stiegeler to the top of the Pac-10 javelin rankings, thanks to his three-foot personal and six-foot, seven-inch season best in the Oregon Invitational (221-4). Another current Duck, Sarah Malone, won an honor in early May 2001 for her javelin school record and Oregon Twilight win (174-0).
TRACKWIRE NCAA PREDICTIONS
Available online since the 1997 season, the Trackwire 25 has established itself as the most widely respected and reported ranking of Division I collegiate track & field teams. During the collegiate track season, weekly updates are available via email, and free registration is available at www.trackwire.com. The Trackwire 25 is compiled by respected track & field statistician Gary Verigin.
Men’s Top 25 Teams
1. Arkansas, 69
2. Florida, 60
=3. Arizona, 42
=3. LSU, 42
5. Stanford, 34
=6. USC, 29
=6. Arizona State, 29
=8. Indiana, 28
=8. Florida State, 28
10. Auburn, 27
11. Oregon, 24
12. Texas, 20
13. Wisconsin, 19
=14. Mississippi State, 18
=14. Boise State, 18
=14. Michigan, 18
17. BYU, 17
18. Virginia Tech, 16
=19. UCLA, 14
=19. Dartmouth, 14
=19. North Carolina, 14
=19. Georgia, 14
=19. Oklahoma, 14
24. Texas Tech, 13
25. Baylor, 11
UO Men’s Individuals
5K - 10th, Galen Rupp, UO
110 Hurdles - 2nd, Eric Mitchum, UO
4x400 Relay - 9th, UO
Pole Vault - 1st, Tommy Skipper, UO
Long Jump - 4th, Leonidas Watson, UO
Triple Jump - 8th, Leonidas Watson, UO
Women’s Top 25 Teams
1. Texas, 65
2. South Carolina, 49
=3. Florida, 43
=3. Tennessee, 43
5. UCLA, 42
6. Miami, 39
7. Stanford, 37
8. Nebraska, 30
9. USC, 25
10. Texas Southern, 20
11. North Carolina, 19,
=12. BYU, 17
=12. Washington State, 17
14. Duke, 16
=15. Arizona State, 15
=15. Auburn, 15
=15. Alabama, 15
=18. Georgia, 14
=18. Georgia Tech, 14
=20. Oklahoma State, 13
=20. Clemson, 13
22. Baylor, 12
=23. Kansas State, 11
=23. Kansas, 11
=23. Cal Poly, 11
=23. Arkansas, 11
=23. Wake Forest, 11
UO Women’s Individuals
JT - 3rd, Sarah Malone, UO
JT - 12th, Roslyn Lundeen, UO
RUPP WEATHERS FALL IN FAST 5K: Frosh Makes Collegiate Debut.
EUGENE (4/21-23/05) ? The Duck track and field teams welcomed a smattering of top West Coast collegiate and post-collegiate talent Saturday to the final day of the Oregon Invitational, at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. Freshman Galen Rupp debuted for the Ducks in the men’s 5,000 with a dramatic effort in the evening’s final event. After an opening 4:25 mile led by several foreign post-collegians, the Portland native Rupp weathered a mid-race fall just behind the event’s pace-setters after the 6-minute mark near the track’s northeast corner, and immediately jumped back up still in 10th place. After an ensuing 62-second lap, Rupp wisely continued to progressively move back up to the leaders with a pair of 65-66 second quarters and was back in fifth place with approximately a mile to go, then even moved into fourth with less than 600 to go. The Duck eventually crossed the line in fifth place with a regional qualifier (13:50.10) just behind Arizona State sophomore Aaron Aguayo (fourth, 13:49.11). Other top Duck distance marks came from junior Roderick Dotts (800, sixth, two-second Duck best 1:50.46), redshirt seniors Eric Logsdon (1,500, ninth, two-second PR 3:46.50) and Brett Holts (steeplechase, second, season debut 8:47.22) and sophomore Kyle Alcorn (steeple, sixth, half-second PR 8:53.77). The Duck sprinters and hurdlers won four events and climbed the UO all-time charts courtesy of junior Richard Del Rincon (200, 20.93, w:0.7 - #6 all-time at UO), senior Kedar Inico (400, 46.56, #8 all-time at UO), junior A.K. Ikwaukor (110 hurdles, 14.03, w:1.3 - #7 all-time) and the 4x100 of Del Rincon, Matt Scherer, Inico and Jordan Kent (40.00). Scherer and Ikwuakor also logged solid marks in the 400 and took second (46.57) and fourth (47.59), respectively, while junior Eric Mitchum took second in the 400 hurdles (52.15) in a .05-second personal best behind former teammate Brandon Holliday (first, 51.47). Both Scherer’s and Mitchum’s marks were regional qualifying times. In the field, Kent returned to win the long jump for the Ducks by six inches (24-9 3/4, w:0.0) in his first appearance on the runway since the 2003 midseason. Other top marks off the track for the UO fold belonged to junior Jeff Lindsey (high jump, third, 6-8 3/4), redshirt sophomore David Moore (pole vault, fifth, 16-0 3/4) and senior thrower Paul Etter (hammer, sixth, 197-4). Friday night in the men’s 10,000, redshirt freshman and Beaverton product Patrick Werhane moved up to third late in his 25-lap debut (30:49.95). In the decathlon Thursday and Friday, redshirt junior Andy Young won the decathlon with a solid NCAA provisional score of 7,329 points that might net an NCAA return for the Newberg, Ore., native. Young entered the meet with a prior best of 7,372 that placed him third last May in the 2004 Pac-10 Championships. Among his marks Friday, his winning 1,500 was almost a six-second best (4:14.20), his javelin mark (169-9) was 1 foot, 1 inch off his decathlon best, his pole vault (16-6 3/4) was 5 1/2 inches off his PR, and he also posted solid marks of 15.42 in the 110 hurdles (w:2.1) and 119-7 in the discus. On the first day, Young, he posted marks of 11.50 in the 100 (w:2.7), 21-8 1/4 in the long jump (w:2.6), 37-4 in the shot put, 6-1 1/2 in the high jump and 50.06 in the 400. Duck junior and unattached redshirt athlete Brian Bartow added second place (PR 6,671), and Oregon junior Cody Fleming followed in seventh with a nine-event score of 5,862 points after a no-height in the pole vault.
JORDAN HIKES HEP BEST: Duck Newbie Goes NCAA Provisional in 2005 Debut.
EUGENE (4/21-23/05) ? On the women’s side in the Oregon Invitational last weekend, senior Sofie Abildtrup won the 400 (54.37) in a .42-second personal best, and also met the regional qualifying standard (54.61) for the first time this season. Senior Kayla Mellott chopped almost 1 1/2 seconds off her 400 hurdle season best en route to an almost half-second personal best (second, 60.15), and the seventh-ranked Duck all-time also drew closer to sixth-ranked Sharon Otterstedt on the UO all-time list (59.86, 1988). In the distances, redshirt junior Sara Schaaf took fifth in the 800 (2:10.38) and almost anchored the 4x400 to a comeback win (second, 3:44.76) over Washington (first, 3:44.58). Among other distance efforts, freshman Sarah Pearson ran a four-second personal best in the 1,500 (ninth, 4:32.85), junior Mandi Fitz-Gustafson ran an 18-second season best in the steeple (11th, 11:09.20), and redshirt senior Laura Harmon ran her first outdoor regional qualifier this season in the 5,000 (seventh, 16:39.37). Redshirt senior Sarah Malone paced the field events with a javelin win and another +170-foot throw (first, 173-1), and All-America teammate Roslyn Lundeen trailed in third place (157-1), less than two feet off her season best. In the hammer, redshirt junior Brittany Hinchcliffe paced the Ducks’ official entries (fourth, 192-11), and redshirt senior Katie Kersh added sixth (179-7) with an almost three-foot improvement on her previous PR that moved up one spot all-time at UO to #6 past Mary Etter (seventh, 176-10, 2001). Overall in the event, Duck redshirt Britney Henry took second (206-4) behind Team XO’s Cari Soong (first, 211-6). In the day session, senior Bree Fuqua won both the shot put (52-11 1/2) and discus (155-10) ? not far off her respective season bests of 53-11 (a school record) and 165-4 despite the cool wet conditions. Redshirt senior Rachel (Kriz) Wallace also logged a quarter-inch personal best in the high jump (fourth, 5-5). In the heptathlon Thursday and Friday, junior Lauryn Jordan finished second with a provisional score of 5,020 points ? 20 points better than the NCAA provisional standard. Idaho All-American Manuela Kurrat won the event with a personal best and NCAA automatic score of 5,711 points. Jordan’s score moved her to eighth all-time for the Ducks, and improved on her former personal best of 4,895 from 2004 when she competed for San Joaquin Delta College in California.
COACHING UPDATE: Gray Assumes Interim Director Title.
Outdoors in 2005, the Ducks are under the temporary direction of associate athletic director Gary Gray, who stepped into the role of interim director of track and field after the resignation of former coach Martin Smith on Fri., March 18. Gray serves as the department’s compliance director and also held prior titles of assistant athletic director and director of student services since he joined the staff in 1984. The State Center, Iowa native already oversaw the program as part of his administrative duties, and serves in the same capacity for the cross country and wrestling teams.
TYSON ON BOARD: Former Duck Tabbed Interim Men’s Distance Coach.
HAYWARD FIELD PROFILE: Eugene Welcomed its Ninth NCAA Finale in ?01.
2005 NCAA INDOOR M RECAP: Ducks Claim Sixth with Eight All-Americans.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (3/11-12/05) ? In the 41st edition of the NCAA Indoor Men’s Track and Field Championships, the University of Oregon men’s team posted a best-ever sixth-place finish and 29 points, thanks to six top-eight efforts in the Randal Tyson Track Center. Individually, the Duck men claimed eight All-America honors among their nine entries, including their first-ever NCAA indoor crown courtesy of sophomore Tommy Skipper (pole vault, 18-4 1/2). Other men’s All-Americans included senior Leonidas Watson (long jump, fourth, 25-11), junior Eric Mitchum (60 hurdles, fourth, 7.73), the men’s 4x400 relay (fifth, 3:05.26), seniors Kedar Inico (400, sixth, 46.62) and Eric Logsdon (3,000, seventh, 8:04.27), and juniors Matt Scherer (400, ninth, 47.15) and Ryan Voge (heptathlon, 10th, 5,209). The only Duck not to place top-10 was redshirt junior pole vaulter Jon Derby who no-heighted. Their sixth-place team finish was the third top-20 NCAA indoor effort in three years as Oregon took ninth in 2002 and 18th in 2004 with 15 and 13 points, respectively. The Ducks also paced the Pacific-10 Conference in the team results, and were followed by Arizona (10th, 20 points), Arizona State and Stanford (13th-tie, 15 points), USC (22nd, 10), UCLA (25th, 9) and Washington (28th, 7), while California and Washington State did not score. The UO men also led the league in NCAA indoor qualifiers (9), ahead of Arizona State (7), Stanford (5), Arizona (4 entries, 3 athletes), UCLA (3), Washington (2), Washington State (2), California (1) and USC (1). Looking ahead to 2006, the Duck men graduate only three scorers and nine points from 2005’s NCAA indoor meet. Overall in the team race, meet host and favorite Arkansas tallied 56 points to edge Florida (second, 46), Wisconsin (third, 43) and Auburn (fourth, 37).
2005 NCAA INDOOR W RECAP: Harmon Debuts on NCAA Indoor Oval.
Oregon’s lone women’s NCAA indoor representative, redshirt senior Laura Harmon placed 15th in the 16-woman 5,000 meters (17:24.21) in her third race of the season at the distance. The Vancouver, Wash., native matched her pre-meet seed the first day which was based on her season best and NCAA provisional mark of 16:18.56 which she ran in mid-February in the Husky Classic in Seattle. Harmon also bettered the NCAA provisional mark of 16:45.00 in the UW Invitational at January’s end (16:29.17). Harmon followed the lead of teammate Magdalena Sandoval who made UO’s first-ever NCAA women’s indoor 5,000 appearance in 2004, and NCAA automatic qualifier with her school record (16:04.40) and a contender for All-America honors until the final kilometer when she faded from seventh to 17th because of a pre-race injury. In the 23rd edition of the NCAA women’s team race, Tennessee won its first NCAA crown with 46 points and became the seventh different school to win the indoor team title. Florida followed in second place (36), ahead of Miami (third, 32), Nebraska (fourth, 29) and South Carolina (fifth, 28).
ALL-AMERICA EQUATION: Breaking down the NCAA Honor.
Based on their NCAA Championships performances, individuals are awarded All-America honors by the U.S. Track Coaches Association. The top-eight finishers from each event are honored regardless of citizenship, and any additional U.S. finishers that are among the top eight American finishers are also rewarded. If necessary, the U.S.-based honors can even extend to the top performances in the preceding qualifying round if there are not eight Americans in the event’s final.
THE ROAD TO SACTO: Explaining the Outdoor Regional System.
In contrast to the indoor season where athletes qualify based on season bests that meet NCAA automatic and provisional qualifying standards, the outdoor season relies on a head-to-head regional system that features four, two-day regionals, drawn in a vertical fashion geographically. This year, Eugene is one of four sites that will host a regional Fri.-Sat., May 27-28, and regional qualifying standards are based on the 100th best performance nationally from 2004 (while all conference champions are also automatically invited to their respective regional). Except for the 10K and heptathlon/decathlon (which still operate on an automatic/provisional standard system), the top-five finishers from each individual regional event and top three relay placers automatically advance to the NCAA Championships, nearly two weeks later (June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.). Besides the automatic advancers from each regional, an additional 6-8 athletes nationally per event are 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 placed top eight in the regional. Coaches hope that the easier regional qualifying standards (compared to previous national automatic/provisional standards) enable athletes to obtain marks during the regular season and avoid 'chasing marks', especially in mid- to late-May, while the regional competition encouraged head-to-head competition at the end of the season and increase fan and media interest. The switch to the regional method was made prior to the 2003 season, the same year the championships field sizes were increased approximately 40 percent. Most individual events were previously 18-21 deep with relays inviting 11-12 entries, and grew to 27-29 and 15-16, respectively. Previous men's and women's fields were set at 388 athletes among the 21 individual and relay events, and in 2003, the number expanded to 544 each.
2004 OLYMPIC TRIALS REVIEW: Malone Takes Second in Javelin.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (7/9-18/04) ? In the 2004 U.S. finale last July at Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium, Sarah Malone claimed UO’s highest placing of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials. The Newberg, Ore., native Malone took second in the 12-woman javelin final (Sun., 7/12) with a daily best of 177-11 (54.22m) on her final throw, and was edged only by American record holder and Nike entrant Kim Kreiner (first, 182-7). Her top-three Olympic Trials finish was the first step towards qualifying for the U.S. team for the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece (8/20-29). However, she fell short in subsequent attempts to meet the Olympic ?A’ qualifying standard of 198-5 (60.50 meters) by August 8. At the end of the season, she ranked sixth in the U.S. and 95th in the world with her Texas Relays school record (179-7) from April. Malone made her second Olympic Trials trip after she competed as a prep for Newberg High School in Sacramento in 2000 (eighth-flight, 156-11, 47.84m) ? the same year she ranked third among preps and 38th in the U.S. (Prep implement 172-0). On the men’s side, Eric Mitchum placed seventh in the first of two 110-hurdles semifinals and ranked 14th among the 16 finishers with his clocking of 13.53 (w:0.6) ? his second fastest-ever wind-legal time and third best overall (13.38-NCAA, 13.50w-Texas Relays). Former Duck Micah Harris also competed in the same race on the meet’s final day and ranked eighth in the section and 15th overall among the two races (13.55). Among collegians, Mitchum ranked third in the semifinal results behind Ohio State’s Joel Brown (ninth, 13.39, w:1.6) and Ole Miss’s Antwon Hicks (11th, 13.45, w:0.6). Mitchum ran two rounds the day prior on Saturday (7/17), and clocked times of 13.67 in both the prelims (third-fourth heat, ninth overall, w:-0.8) and quarterfinals (fourth-third heat, 14th overall, w:-1.1). Going into the meet, Mitchum tied for 11th with Harris on the 2004 U.S. season best list in the 110 hurdles with his NCAA runner-up time and school record from mid-June in Austin, Texas (13.38, w:1.2). Looking back over ?04, Mitchum ran 15 sub-14.00 clockings in 16 races overall, including 10 efforts that were faster than his preseason best of 13.73 that ranked him second in school history heading into ?04 behind former UO record holder Harris (13.67, 2002). On the opening event of the opening day of the meet, freshman Tommy Skipper just missed advancing to the pole vault final (Fri., 7/9). The Sandy, Ore., native needed three attempts to clear the opening height of 17-8 1/2, then missed his three tries at 18-0 1/2. The event’s youngest competitor, Skipper tied for 14th overall, and if he would have cleared 17-8 1/2 on one of his first two tries he would have qualified for the 12-man final. The prelims marks were all noticeably hampered by a steady to strong crosswind from right-to-left that caused havoc to many approaches in the short, one-minute window for each attempt. One victim was American record holder Jeff Hartwig who no-heighted at his opening bars at 18-0 1/2. Skipper entered the meet ranked 10th in the U.S. on the 2004 best list that included seven Americans that had cleared 19 feet indoors and outdoors.
ONLINE TRACK RESOURCES
UO Athletics: www.GoDucks.com
Pacific-10 Conference: www.pac-10.org
NCAA Championships: www.ncaasports.com
NCAA Championships Outdoor Host: www.HornetSports.com
NCAA: www.ncaa.org
College Track Results: www.TrackShark.com
USATF Oregon: www.usatf-oregon.org
USA Track and Field: www.usatf.org
USOC: www.olympic-usa.org
IAAF: www.iaaf.org
High School T&F Info: www.dyestat.com
Oregon Track Club: www.oregontrackclub.org
Prefontaine Classic: www.preclassic.com
World Championships: www.helsinki2005.fi
World Rankings: www.tilastopaja.net
Runner’s World: www.runnersworld.com
Trackwire: www.trackwire.com
T&F News: www.trackandfieldnews.com
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