Malone Takes Second in NCAA Javelin Final
SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? Redshirt senior Sarah Malone took second in the women’s javelin Friday and paced third day action for the University of Oregon men’s and women’s teams in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Cal State Sacramento’s Hornet Stadium.
In her final collegiate appearance, the Newberg, Ore., native Malone opened with a throw of 51.10m, then followed with prelim efforts of 169-4 (51.61m) and 158-9 (48.38m), then fouled her three throws in the final.
Oregon redshirt junior Roslyn Lundeen added ninth place (152-8) ? one position and 2 feet, 1 inch shy of the eighth and final scoring position - while top seed and Air Force junior Dana Pounds won the event by 16 feet (185-4) over Malone, and Virginia senior Inge Jorgensen (third, 165-2).
“Of course I would have loved to win, but I’m not upset with second,” Malone said. “However, in the grand scheme of things, whatever place I got didn’t really matter that much to me personally. What was important was how much I’ve grown as a person and athlete and the credit goes to my coach, my teammates, family and friends. I haven’t been able to practice much the past three weeks (because of an upper leg injury before from mid-May) so I was glad to get the points for the team that I did.”
Malone entered the meet as the second seed based on her 7 foot, 3-inch school record in the West Regional two weeks before in Eugene (186-10). She had earned two prior All-America honors with her seventh- and third-place NCAA finishes in 2001 and 2004, and had missed a fourth honor by one place as a sophomore in 2002 (14th).
At the U.S. level, she took second on the same Sacramento runway last July in the U.S. Olympic Trials and also competed at the same meet and location as a prep senior in 2000.
Lundeen wrapped up a solid return to the collegiate scene after she redshirted the 2004 season to heal several injuries. The Victoria, B.C. native posted marks of 150-9 (45.95m), 157-8 (46.53m) and 145-8 (44.40m) in the prelims Friday, and in the finals opened with a foul, then threw 140-4 (42.79m) and 145-9 (44.43m) on her fifth and sixth attempts.
“It wasn’t a pretty day,” Lundeen said. “Although my body felt good, I didn’t feel any rhythm and didn’t have much in my arm. It was nice to at least get to the finals, and just being here happy and healthy this season was an important thing in itself.”
UO’s fourth-ranked all-time javelin thrower Lundeen claimed All-America honors as a freshman in 2002 (seventh) and sophomore (eighth), and is a three-time top-four Pac-10 placer (third in 2005, second in 2003 and fourth in 2002).
Friday’s javelin marks were unusually low with eighth place at 154-9 ? more than four feet behind the same place the previous four years - 161-6 (2004), 159-0 (2003), 164-2 (2002), and 163-6 (2001).
In first day action in the heptathlon, junior Lauryn Jordan ranked 14th after four events with a score of 3,301 points ? only 23 points shy of her first-day personal best from the Pac-10 Championships in early May (5,324).
Jordan posted first day marks of 14.38 in the 100 hurdles (w:0.4, 20th), 5-5 1/4 in the high jump (11th), 41-7 1/4 in the shot put (fourth), and 25.25 in the 200 (w:-1.6, 13th). In comparison to her heptathlon personal bests, her 100 hurdles mark was a personal best by .22 seconds, her high jump was 2 1/2 inches off her PR (5-7 3/4), her shot put was a 9 1/2-inch best, and her 200 was a personal best by .17 seconds event into a noticeable headwind (-1.6 mps).
Overall in the competition, Georgia junior Jessica Stockard paced the field with 3,554 points, ahead of Eastern Michigan senior Lela Nelson (second, 3,531) and Washington State sophomore Diana Pickler (third, 3,485).
In the 400 prelims, senior Sofie Abildtrup took 16th in the semifinals (53.99), and was only .51 seconds off her season best (53.48) that ranked her 27th in the field before the meet. Two days before in the rainy prelims, the returning runner-up had ranked 16th overall with a near-season best of 53.61, while last season in the Austin finale she ranked 31st in the prelims (53.71).
“I would have liked to run under 53.00, but I have to be happy that I did better than last year and made it through two rounds,” Abildtrup said. “I tried to go out harder today, but on the backstretch I wasn’t able to stay as tall, and I ran out of gas at the end. Regardless, I was really happy that I gave it my all against the best collegiate girls.”
Overall in her career, she end her two-year stint at UO ranked top-10 all-time for the Ducks in the 100 (10th, 12.01), 200 (seventh, 23.93) and 400 (third, 52.92). The Herning, Denmark native also led the team in other stages of the championship slate and was a West Regional scorer in 2005 (fourth, 53.63) and in the Pac-10 Championships in 2004 (fifth, 53.22) and 2005 (fifth, 54.13).
“Today, just like every time I stepped into the blocks, I was thinking about my teammates and doing my best for them,” Abildtrup said. “It’s been a great time being a Duck, and I’ll most remember my Danish national record at the Pac-10s last year. Rock (Coach Rock Light) has done a great job of preparing all of us to keep improving and also staying healthy.”
Overall in the event, UCLA’s Monique Henderson led the field by .23 seconds with her winning time (51.28), ahead of South Carolina sophomore Stephanie Smith (second, 51.51) and Florida sophomore Tiandra Ponteen (third, 51.53).
On the men’s side, junior Eric Mitchum logged his second straight top-four finish in the 110 hurdles final Friday evening with a .03-second season best, and finished fourth (13.53, w:0.7) behind returning NCAA champ and Florida senior Josh Walker (13.39), Ole Miss senior Antwon Hicks (second, 13.42) and South Carolina freshman Jason Richardson (third, 13.50).
“I really thought I could win, so I’m disappointed,” Mitchum said. “None of my phases were very good, so I’ll have plenty of motivation for next year. I really wanted to score as many points as possible to help the team out.”
Mitchum matched his pre-meet seeding that was based on his prior season best of 13.56 from the Mt. SAC Relays in mid-April. The Calumet City, Ill., native made his third appearance in the collegiate finale for the Duck and was second last year in the final with his school record (13.38) and was the top freshman in the semifinals on the same Hornet Stadium track in 2003 (14th overall, 13.89).
In the final of the men’x 4x100 relay, the Ducks ran their second school record in three days and took sixth (39.20) overall. The quartet of juniors Richard Del Rincon and Matt Scherer, senior Kedar Inico and redshirt sophomore Jordan Kent claimed UO’s third All-America honor in the event, and first in more than 20 years after the Ducks took fourth in 1972 and 1971.
“This is a great honor for the program ? being an All-American with another school record,” Kent said, “but it’s even more sweet for me after missing last year. Even though I had some problems with my hamstring recently, I felt pretty good today and I had virtually all my speed.”
The quartet entered the meet seeded ninth nationally based on their prior season best and pre-NCAA meet school record (39.29) from their Pac-10 Championships runner-up finish in mid-May. Two days before Friday’s final, the Ducks lowered that school record in the prelims by .07 seconds and ranked seventh in the field (39.22). Overall this season, the quartet has now run nine of the fastest 12 times in school history.
“This is an amazing experience,” Oregon junior and lead-off leg Del Rincon said. “I was so proud to be able to do this with some special teammates who are like family. The talent here is so amazing, so to accomplish your goals in the final and be an All-American is special. My legs felt great and I felt fresh and relaxed. This is nothing like the junior national championships I was at last year.”
In semifinal action in the 400, senior Kedar Inico claimed the final time qualifier for Saturday’s final (eighth overall, fourth in second heat 45.22) with a .29-second personal best. Junior teammate Matt Scherer also ran a .05-second personal best and ranked 11th overall and sixth in the first heat (45.70).
On the Oregon all-time lists, Inico climbed one spot from third to second and passed former Pac-10 champion Pat Johnson (45.38, 1995), and was only .15 seconds behind former world record holder Otis Davis (45.07, 1960), while Scherer remained fourth all-time for UO.
The duo qualified for Friday’s second round after they ranked ninth and 14th in Wednesday’s rainy prelims (46.5 / 46.46), respectively.
Overall in Friday’s semifinal, Baylor senior Darold Williamson led the field by .61 seconds (44.27), ahead of Mississippi State Jamel Ashley (second, 44.98) and Arkansas senior Terry Gatson (third, 44.93).
In the men’s triple jump, senior Leonidas Watson finished 19th in the prelims (50-9 1/4) and was 1 foot, 1 3/4 inches from advancing to Saturday’s 12-man final. The St. Louis Mo., native opened with a leap of 50-7 1/2w (w:2.4), then jumped 47-9 3/4 (w:2.0) and 46-7 1/4 (w:1.5) on his second and third attempts.
Watson entered the meet seeded seventh nationally with a season and personal best of 53-8 3/4 that ranked him fourth all-time for UO and earned him runner-up honors in the Pac-10 Championships at UCLA in mid-May. He was an All-American for the Ducks indoors in the long jump in 2005 (fourth, 25-11) and 2004 (ninth, 25-2 1/2) and also an NCAA qualifier in the indoor triple jump in 2004 (13th, 50-1 3/4).
Overall in the event Friday, top seed and BYU senior Rodrigo Mendes led qualifying by 1 foot 11 1/2 inches with his mark of 57-6 1/2. A pair of recent NCAA indoor champions - USC senior Allen Sims and Indiana senior Aarik Wilson ? followed in second (55-7) and third (55-1), respectively.
Complete results and third-day heat sheets are available at the www.NCAAsports.com , www.HornetSports.com and www.FlashResults.com websites.
