Rupp Makes Bid For History in NCAA 10K
SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? Freshman Galen Rupp took second in the men’s 10,000 final Thursday and led the University of Oregon men’s and women’s track and field teams in second day action in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Cal State Sacramento’s Hornet Stadium. In a bid to win UO’s first-ever NCAA 10K title, the Portland native and Central Catholic High School product led approximately two thirds of the 25-lap, 6.2-mile race, but was edged by Pac-10 rival and junior Robert Cheseret of Arizona.
The Kenyan Wildcat, seeded fifth with a season best of 28:33.24 from the Mt. SAC Relays in mid-April, took the lead with less than 600 to go and won by three seconds (28:20.11) over Rupp (second, 28:23.75) who was another +15 seconds ahead of third-place finisher and Arkansas sophomore Peter Kosgei (third, 28:39.29).
“Robert is a great runner, and I have no complaints that he won,” Rupp said. “I gave it my best and tried to win, but he earned it. You can’t be afraid to test yourself. I am only a freshman with three more years, and I’m still learning how to race and run hard.”
Conditions were ripe for distance running Thursday evening in the event that started at 9:20 pm Pacific Time, and featured slight to no breeze, overcast skies and 55 degree temperatures. Columbia’s Karl Dusen led much of the opening three laps, before Rupp moved into the lead near the mile mark and primarily held it except for two occasional laps of leadership duties by Arkansas’ Kenyan Peter Kosgei in the middle stages.
With less than 600 to go, the returning NCAA runner-up and top returnee Cheseret strided ahead of Rupp and drifted ahead slowly in the last 1 1/2 laps and won by more than 15 meters at the line.
“Early on, I thought somebody else might take the lead,” Rupp said, “likely either the guys from Wisconsin or Arkansas. It didn’t bother me to go for it. I was willing to do my part a lot earlier than last time when I went at 7K (in the Oregon Twilight). A couple laps midway, I tried to move out into lane 2 to let the Arkansas runner take it a few laps. With two miles to go, I tried to push it on the straightaways, and thought I sometimes got a little space on Robert, but he was obviously stronger tonight.”
Track and Field News magazine published the following splits from the race for Rupp ? 1 mile (4:38.3), 2 mile (9:05.6), 3 mile (13:41.6), 5K (14:15.3), 4 mile (19:19.5) and 5 mile (23:53.5).
Coming into the race, Rupp was seeded fourth in the field with his U.S. junior record (28:15.52) that he clocked en route to the win in the Oregon Twilight held in Eugene at Hayward Field, Sat., May 7. That mark ranked Rupp third all-time for the Ducks behind Bill McChesney Jr. (27:50.82) and Alberto Salazar (second, 28:06.12).
Thursday’s finish was only the second runner-up finish by a Duck in the NCAA 10K after Mark McMonigal turned the trick in 1986 (29:22.17) in Indianapolis. Rupp’s All-America honor was Oregon’s 12th all-time in the event and the fourth, top-four finish since 2001 after recent alum Jason Hartmann took third in 2001, and fourth in 2002 and 2003. That last race was for Hartmann was also in Sacramento’s Hornet Stadium and a personal best (28:31.96) that moved him to third all-time for UO at the time, and still good for fourth.
In the second day of the decathlon, redshirt junior Andy Young took 11th with 7,049 points ? four places better than his pre-meet seed. Young tallied a second-day score of 3,607 points and climbed seven spots Thursday after he ranked 18th Wednesday after five events with 3,442 points.
“The pole vault really hurt me today, and was probably my worst mark since high school,” Young said. “It wasn’t the runway or wind, it was my fault. I felt tight and couldn’t get it going ? however, I have to thank our trainers. They really did their all to get me ready for the 1,500. It was nice to win an event, but I was really hoping to win two ? the pole vault, too ? but it didn’t happen. ”
In Thursday’s final event, the Newberg, Ore., native Young won the 1,500 by 8.39 seconds (4:16.91), and was just off his personal best of 4:14.20 from the Oregon Invitational in Eugene in mid-April. He opened the second day with marks of 15.50 in the 110 hurdles (w:0.3), 127-11 in the discus (11th), 14-9 in the pole vault (eighth) and 162-2 in the javelin (14th).
Young entered the meet seeded 15th in the 27-man field with his season best of 7,329 points from the Oregon Invitational in Eugene in mid-April. Wednesday and Thursday marked his second straight NCAA appearance after he finished 13th last year in Austin, Texas with 7,302 points.
“This will give me a lot of motivation next year,” Young said. “The pole vault probably cost me a top-eight finish and All-America award, but I’m more disappointed about not being able to score for the team. Today was a great opportunity to help my teammates out since the marks weren’t very strong. I think part of the reason was yesterday, since it was a long day, and the varying weather effected people at various times. I know I was ready to get a good high jump mark but the rain came in, and changed the conditions noticeably.”
Overall in the decathlon, Texas junior Trey Hardee tallied 7,881 points to win by 142 points over Dartmouth senior Mustafa Abdur-Rahim (second, 7,3739) and Missouri junior Hans Uldal (third, 7,627).
In the men’s 4x400 relay prelims, Oregon ranked sixth overall (3:04.10) and finished second in the second of three sections (3:04.10), only .18 seconds behind Baylor (first-heat, 3:03.92). UO’s mark was the sixth-best time in school history, while Texas Tech led the prelims with a school record (3:01.69), ahead of LSU (second, 3:03.08) and Baylor.
Junior Travis Anderson led off the Duck quartet with a 47.8-second split, and passed off to senior Kedar Inico who reeled off a 44.8-second leg and passed several teams in the final 150 meters into the second exchange. Junior AK Ikwuakor added a 46.2-second third leg, and handed off to junior Matt Scherer who ended with a 45.0-second effort. The Sumner, Ill., native made a key move on the backstretch to move into the lead just before the far turn, then held the lead until midway on the final straightaway, when the Baylor anchor edged past him slightly on the last push to the tape.
“AK did a great job setting me up, so I just did what I needed to do to help us get through,” Scherer said. “I’m glad I made the move on the backstretch. I didn’t do that at Pac-10s and sat on a guy. I wanted to be ready to correct that mistake today. It was a good thing, too, because I didn’t realize how much the guys were moving up from behind. As a group, we were a little nervous, but Coach (Steele) just told us to do what we needed to do, and we would be fine. I felt pretty good coming in after the 400 prelims yesterday. The times weren’t great and I was lucky to get into the semifinal (Friday), but I think all the times were a little slow because of the conditions and the delay.”
Oregon’s qualifying time Thursday was only .83 seconds off their school record (3:03.27) from its runner-up Pac-10 finish in mid-May at UCLA. That same season best ranked the unit fifth coming into the NCAA meet as UO made its third straight appearance in the 4x400 prelims. In Saturday’s final, they will seek their second All-America honor after they were fifth in 2004 in Austin, Texas (3:03.88-final, 3:03.73-prelims).
“It’s always good to get to finals, although I think we let it get a little more exciting that we needed to,” Oregon assistant coach Dan Steele said. “Kedar and Matt showed they can run with anyone in the country. Matt’s as tough as nails and a smart runner, and made all the right moves and nearly held off an Olympic gold medal anchor (Baylor’s Darold Williamson). Kedar also ran a tremendous second leg. We put him there so here’s able to bail us out if we need it, and he had to do some of that today.”
On the women’s side, redshirt junior Brittany Hinchcliffe nabbed the 12th and final qualifying spot in the hammer prelims (194-8) for Saturday’s final.
The Olympia, Wash., native opened with her daily best on her first throw, and followed with efforts of 180-2 and 183-7. In her NCAA debut Thursday, she entered the meet seeded 17th with her season best and school record of 199-2 from the Pepsi Team Invitational ? a heave that broke the former Duck mark set by another recent NCAA qualifier, Jordan Sauvage, from 2003 (191-4).
Overall in Thursday’s results, Georgia sophomore Jenny Dahlgren led the field (218-5), followed by Colorado State senior Loree Smith (second, 211-6) and Oklahoma State senior Delisa McClain (third, 208-10).
Also in women’s throws action, redshirt senior Bree Fuqua advanced to Saturday’s 12-person shot put final and ranked seventh (53-3 3/4). Fuqua’s best mark Thursday was only 7 1/4 inches off her school record (53-11) that seeded her 12th coming into the meet and came in the Pepsi Team Invitational in Eugene in early April. Fuqua had made her NCAA discus debut the day before on Wednesday, and took 22nd in the prelims (151-6) ? five places better than her pre-meet seed.
“I didn’t want to leave here with a performance like yesterday (ie not advancing to the final),” Fuqua said. “I was glad to get a good mark on my first throw. I was hoping to improve from there, but I started to get tired fairly quickly. I wasn’t really worried about the place, more just trying to match my seed or do better. I figured a mark just over 16.00 meters would qualify, and I think that’s how it worked out, too.”
Fuqua opened with a daily best on her first toss, then fouled her next two tries.
Overall in the event, Miami senior Kimberlie Barrett led the prelims (56-7 1/4) by 1 foot, 1 1/2 inches, over South Florida senior Chandra Brewer and Texas sophomore Michelle Carter (second-tie, 55-5 3/4).
On the track in the 400 hurdles, senior Kayla Mellott wrapped up her Duck career with a strong NCAA debut (24th, 59.93).
The Bellingham, Wash., native ran a .20-second personal best that just missed improving on her seventh-place all-time UO ranking, and was only .07 seconds behind sixth-ranked Duck Sharon Otterstedt (59.86, 1988). Mellott entered the 2005 outdoor slate with a prior outdoor best of 60.72 from her junior season appearance in the Pac-10 Championships, and this year finished top-five in the Pac-10 (fourth, 60.13) and West Regional (fifth, 60.38).
Complete results and third-day heat sheets are available at the www.NCAAsports.com , www.HornetSports.com and www.FlashResults.com websites.
