Tracksters Take Aim in Final NCAA Qualifying Weekend
SEATTLE – The University of Oregon track and field teams will make a final quest for NCAA qualifying marks this weekend in a pair of meets this Friday-Saturday, March 3-4 in the last weekend of the indoor track and field regular season.
The Ducks are tentatively slated to send men’s 4x400m and distance medley relays to race Fri.-Sat., in the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind., and a handful of distance runners and field event performers will compete Sat., in the UW Last Chance Qualifier in Seattle.
At stake are bids to the upcoming NCAA Indoor Championships, scheduled for Fri.-Sat., March 9-10 at the University of Arkansas. The two-day meet will feature 284 athletes in each of the men’s and women’s competitions, and invitations are based on athletes’ indoor season best marks. Each NCAA individual event typically has between 10-12 relay entries and 12-20 entries in individual events, based on size limitations.
The Ducks currently have three NCAA automatic qualifiers that are guaranteed positions in the NCAA field. UO also has 18 other provisional qualifiers (9 men / 9 women) that will also be in consideration for invitations based on necessary numbers to fill event fields and determined by the NCAA Championships selection committee. An announcement with the NCAA fields is set for Monday evening on the www.NCAAsports.com website.
More NCAA Indoor Championships information is available at the www.NCAAsports.com , www.HogWired.com and www.LadyBacks.com websites.
Oregon will head to Notre Dame’s oversized +300m track to try and position itself to add new chapters to its recent NCAA indoor relay history. The 4x400m made a pair of NCAA trips in 2004 and ’05, and were All-America honorees in the latter race, while the distance medley has qualified once in school history – in 1999. The Ducks' NCAA provisional season bests of 3:09.92 and 9:37.95 currently rank fifth and 10th nationally and the latter mark is a school record.
The men’s distance medley in South Bend is the final event Friday evening and is scheduled for an 8:15 p.m. (ET) start, and the 4x400m relay is the last event Saturday and set for a 3:00 p.m. start (ET). More meet information is located at Notre Dame’s http://und.cstv.com website.
Seattle’s Last Chance Qualifier meet will welcome three Duck middle distance runners – junior A.J. Casteel (800m) and freshmen A.J. Acosta (mile) and Nicole Blood (mile). Saturday’s events will run from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., and results will be available online at the www.GoHuskies.com website.
Also in the University of Washington’s Dempsey Indoor Center, a pair of Duck women’s pole vaulters will aim for their first NCAA indoor invitations – senior Emily Enders and freshman Eniko Eros – while the former is a two-time NCAA outdoor qualifier. Both are current provisional qualifiers with season bests of 12-11 3/4.
Oregon’s weight throw corps will also send one men’s and women’s provisional qualifier in seniors Britney Henry and Richotte. Henry was an All-American outdoors in the hammer throw, and the first-year Duck transfer Richotte was an All-American in each event in previous seasons for Radford University. Henry's and Richotte's season bests and school records (65-6 / 69-0 1/4) currently rank them 15th and 10th, respectively, nationally.
A complete list of Duck NCAA qualifiers, season/personal bests and current collegiate rankings follows:
Men’s NCAA Indoor Automatic Qualifiers
Galen Rupp, So., Portland, Ore., 5,000m, 2nd, 13:38.62, 2/10/06 (PR, School Record)
Tommy Skipper, Fr., Sandy, Ore., Pole Vault, 2nd-t, 5.51m, 18-1 (PR 18-8 3/4, 2004, ’06)
Men’s NCAA Indoor Provisional Qualifiers
3,000m – Galen Rupp, So., Portland, Ore., 4th, 7:54.19, 2/24/07 (School Record)
Distance Medley - A.J. Acosta, Marcus Dillon, A.J. Casteel, Michael McGrath, 5th, 9:37.95, 2/23/07 (School Record)
Brian Richotte, RSr., Berkeley, Mich., Weight Throw, 10th, 20.73m (69-0 1/4, School Record), 2/23/07, (PR 69-4 1/4, 2006)
4x400m Relay – Phil Alexander, Chad Barlow, Ashton Eaton, Marcus Dillon, 10th, 3:09.92, 2/10/07
Ashton Eaton, Fr., Bend, Ore., Heptathlon, 24th, 5,370 points, 1/26-27/07 (PR)
Phil Alexander, Jr., Keizer, Ore., 400m, 33rd, 47.18, 2/10/07 (PR)
Michael McGrath, Jr., Portland, Ore., Mile, 36th-t, 4:03.12, 2/10/07 (PR - 3:59.25, 2006, UO #2)
3,000m – Andrew Acosta, Fr., Oceanside, Calif., 41st, 8:02.801, 2/24/07 (PR)
3,000m – Scott Wall, So., Portland, Ore., 42nd, 8:02.86, 2/24/07 (PR)
Women’s NCAA Automatic Qualifiers
Rebekah Noble, So., 800m, 6th, 2:04.92, 2/24/07 (PR 2:04.72, 2006, UO #2)
Women’s NCAA Indoor Provisional Qualifiers
4x400m Relay - Kavina Hall, Rebekah Noble, Leah Worthen, Keshia Baker, 10th, 3:37.48 (School Record)
Lauryn Jordan, RSr., Stockton, Calif., Long Jump, 11th, 6.26m (20-6.5), 2/9/07 (School Record)
Distance Medley – Dana Buchanan, Keshia Baker, Rebekah Noble, Nicole Blood, 11th, 11:19.58 (UO #2)
Britney Henry, RSr., Spokane, Wash., Weight Throw, 15th, 19.96m (65-6), 2/10/07 (School Record)
Lauryn Jordan, RSr., Stockton, Calif., Pentathlon, 15th, 3,957, 2/23/07 (School Record)
Keara Sammons, Fr., Aurora, Colo., 5,000m, 27th, 16:31.71, 2/23/07 (UO #4)
Emily Enders, Sr., Snohomish, Wash., Pole Vault, 33rd-tie, 3.96m (12-11.75), 1/27/07 (PR 13-3.5, 2007, UO #5)
Eniko Eros, Fr., Budapest, Hungary, Pole Vault, 33rd-tie, 3.96m (12-11.75), 1/27/07 (PR 4.15m (13-7.25), 2006)
Nicole Blood, Fr., Simi Valley, Calif., 40th, 9:29.87, 2/24/07
*Note: PR=Personal Record
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