Current, Future & Former Ducks Look Forward to USA Track Champs
EUGENE? In its final action on the U.S. track and field circuit this season, the University of Oregon will send 11 current athletes to the USA Outdoor Championships, Thu.-Sun., June 23-26 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., and three other Duck freshmen will compete at the same location in the USA Junior Outdoor Championships.
The top three finishers from the USA Championships will be eligible for spots on the
Three current Duck women are slated to throw this weekend, including returning U.S. Olympic Trials runner-up Sarah Malone. The Newberg,
First-year Duck and junior redshirt Britney Henry enters the hammer competition ranked fifth with her season best 223-8 (68.18m). The Spokane, Wash., native ranks second among collegians behind Colorado State’s Loree Smith 229-9 (70.03m), while post-collegian Erin Gilreath of the New York Athletic Club is the top seed at 234-6 (71.49m). Henry was a UO student this season but redshirted since she was a two-time transfer after she competed for
Redshirt senior Bree Fuqua will make her final appearance in a Duck uniform and ranks 12th in the shot put field. She owns a best of 53-11 1/4 (16.44m) that broke the former school record of Quenna Beasley (53-1 1/2, 1983). The second-year Duck made NCAA trips outdoors for UO in 2005 (12th, 50-4, 53-3 3/4-prelims) and 2004 (24th, 49-5), and scored for UO in May in the West Regional (fifth, 52-0) and Pac-10 Championships (sixth, 50-9 1/4).
On the men’s side, six of the eight current Duck qualifiers will make their USA Championships debuts, and altogether they will combine for nine invites in eight different events (400, Steeple, 5K, 110H, 400H, PV, LJ and TJ).
Ranked second and fourth all-time for UO in the 400, senior Kedar Inico and junior Matt Scherer return to the track after a busy showing in the NCAA Championships in Sacramento. The duo ran on school records in the 4x100 (sixth, 39.20) and 4x400 relays (third, 3:00.83). Individually, Inico was eighth in the NCAA 400 final (45.85) after he ran a personal best in the semifinal (45.22), while Scherer also ran a personal best in the semi (45.70). In mid-May, Inico won Pac-10 and West Regional titles, and added another sub-46.00 clocking in his Pac-10 win (45.61), while Scherer ran a then-best in the West Regional prelims (45.75).
The Ducks will also enter a pair of hurdlers in juniors AK Ikwuakor and Eric Mitchum. Ikwuakor will see duty in the 400 hurdles after he advanced to the NCAA 110 hurdles semifinals two weeks ago. The
Redshirt senior Leonidas Watson is entered in both the long jump and triple and scored key points in both for UO in its Pac-10 Championships team win. The second-year Duck placed third in the league long jump (25-0 1/2), then took the lead on his final triple jump effort (PR 53-8 1/2), before he was passed on the next and final attempt of the meet by USC’s former NCAA indoor champion Allen Sims (54-6). Watson competed in the NCAA prelims in both events two weeks ago, and earned NCAA invites in the West Regional where he leaped a two-inch long jump PR (26-0 3/4) to win by a half-foot, and also added third in a rainy triple jump (52-1 3/4). All-time at UO, he ranks fourth in the long jump (26-0 3/4) and triple jump (53-8 1/2) and owns indoor school records in the long jump (25-11) and triple jump (52-10 1/4).
With nearly a month of healthy training under his belt, sophomore Tommy Skipper looks forward to the pole vault after he missed much of the spring season in his return from arthroscopic knee scope in late March. The
The Ducks will send two entries in the distance events that will make their U.S. Champs debuts - redshirt seniors and All-Americans Brett Holts (steeplechase) and Eric Logsdon (5,000). Holts ducked under the ?A’ qualifying standard at home in the West Regional with a 2 1/2-second personal best (8:42.03), and was an All-American in 2004 (seventh) and an NCAA returnee in 2005 (19th-prelims). Logsdon stands eighth all-time for UO in the 5,000 (13:40.21) and picked up his third outdoor All-America in the 5,000 in Sacramento (12th, 14:20.21) after seventh- and eighth-place NCAA finishes in 2004 and ’03, respectively. Sophomore Kyle Alcorn was a
Several former Ducks are also slated to compete this weekend, including Becky Holliday of New Balance (pole vault, eighth, 14-5 1/4), Grace Upshaw (long jump, third, 22-1), Micah Harris of New Balance (110 hurdles, eighth, 13.42) and Adam Kriz of Team XO (hammer, 12th, 220-9). Former Ducks on pending lists that may be added to the field include John Stiegeler of Team XO (javelin, 219-7), Kyley Johnson of Team XO (high jump, 7-2 1/4) and Eri Macdonald of The Farm Team (800, 2:07.23).
On the junior circuit, three Duck freshmen will compete in their respective
Besides current Duck entries, six other fall signees and freshmen-to-be are also entered ? Matt Maloney (Providence, Rhode Island, hammer, javelin), Alex Wolff (Newberg, Ore., javelin), Megan Maloney (Providence, Rhode Island, hammer), Ashley McCrea (North Bend, Ore., javelin), Rebekah Noble (Spokane, Wash., 800) and Rachel Yurkovich (Newberg, Ore., javelin). Another fall signee, Jared Huske, was entered but may not compete. Last weekend, the
More info on both USA Championships is available at the www.USATF.org website.
Looking back at the recent collegiate season, the Ducks enjoyed a successful showing in the NCAA Championships, Wed.-Sat., June 8-11 at
Other highlights from the
USA CHAMPIONSHIPS - OREGON QUALIFIERS
Oregon Women, Year, Hometown - Event - U.S. Rank (USA A Stan. / USA B Stan.)
**Bree Fuqua, RSr., Polson, Mont. - Shot Put - 12th, 53-11.25 (A 53-1.75 / B 52-6 (18))
**Sarah Malone, RSr., Newberg, Ore. - Javelin - 3rd, 186-10 (A 178-10 / B 164-0 (18))
**Britney Henry, Redshirt, Spokane, Wash. - Hammer - 5th, 223-8 (A 208-4 / B 200-1 (18))
Oregon Men, Year, Hometown - Event - U.S. Rank (USA A Stan. / USA B Stan.)
**Kedar Inico, Sr., Queens, NY - 400 - 11th, 45.22 (A 46.03 / B 46.10 (32))
**Matt Scherer, Jr., Sumner, Ill. - 400 - 22nd, 45.70 (A 46.03 / B 46.10 (32))
**Brett Holts, RSr., Bend, Ore. - Steeplechase - 15th, 8:42.03 (A 8:44.50 / B 8:45.50 (26))
**Eric Logsdon, RSr., Canby, Ore. - 5,000 - 11th, 13:40.21 (A 13:51.00 / B 13:52.30 (18))
**Eric Mitchum, Jr., Calumet City, Ill. - 110 Hurdles - 23rd, 13.53 (A 13.80 / B 13.86 (32)
**AK Ikwuakor, Jr., Arvada, Colo. - 400 Hurdles - 28th, 50.61 (A 50.65 / B 50.70 (24))
*Tommy Skipper, So., Sandy, Ore. - Pole Vault - 10th, 18-6.75-i (A 18-8.25 / B 18-2 (24))
*Leonidas Watson, RSr., St. Louis, Mo. - Long Jump - 8th, 26-0.75 (A 26-3 / B 25-7.25 (18))
**Leonidas Watson, RSr., St. Louis, Mo. - Triple Jump - 11th,53-8.5 (A 53-7.75 / B 52-6 (18))
Other Ducks With U.S. A & B Qualifying Marks (USA A Stan. / USA B Stan.)
**Galen Rupp, Fr., Portland, Ore. - 10,000 - 28:15.52 (A 28:40.00 / B 29:01.00 (18)
*AK Ikwuakor, Jr., Arvada, Colo. - 110 Hurdles - 13.83 (A 13.80 / B 13.86 (32))
*Brittany Hinchcliffe, RJr., Bellevue, Wash.- Hammer - 200-3 (A 208-4 / B 200-1 (18))
QUALIFYING KEY: Qualifying marks for the USA Championships must have been performed outdoors between 7/19/04-6/19/05 (or indoors between 11/20/04-6/19/05). The USA Champs B Standard is used only to fill event fields that don’t meet the minimum field size standard in (()) after the listed B mark. The USA Champs also requires fully-automatic-timed times for events shorter than the 1,500. USA Junior Champs marks must be attained on or after 6/25/04-6/19/05, and indoors from 11/ 20/04-6/19/05. Athletes are eligible for the USA Junior Outdoor Championships if they do not turn 20 years during the 2005 calendar year.
Subject to change; last changed
- www.GoDucks.com -
