Skipper Breaks UO NCAA Title Record With Fifth Win
SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? University of Oregon senior Tommy Skipper claimed a school record fifth NCAA individual title in third and penultimate day action Friday in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted at Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State University campus.
Skipper opened the competition at 18-0 1/2 (5.50m) and made his first attempt on the cool, nearly still evening, with only two other vaulters left in the competition - Oklahoma junior Chip Heuser and UCLA senior Mike Landers ? who ultimately placed second and third, respectively, with the same final clearance of 17-10 1/2 (5.45m). Skipper then passed at 18-2 1/2 (5.55m), and went up to 18-4 1/2 (5.60m) but missed all three tries.
“It was a win ? probably not the prettiest one ever,” Skipper said, “but the place was what mattered. I have had to come back a long way the past few months so there are so many people to thank ? the coaching staff and Coach Lananna, our academic staff and Twinkle Morton, and the Oregon teammates ? they have always been behind me. I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything without them.’
Skipper entered the meet as the top seed thanks to his Pac-10 record two weeks ago in the West Regional in Eugene (19-0 1/4 (5.80m)).
In his prior five NCAA Championships appearances, Skipper won NCAA outdoor titles as a freshman in ’04 (18-8 1/4) and junior in ’06 (18-8 1/4) and indoors in 2005 (18-4 1/2) and ’06 (18-6 1/2). He also placed second in the NCAA indoor finale as a freshman (18-4 1/2). Friday's win moved Skipper ahead of former Oregon distance great Steve Prefontaine who won four NCAA outdoor titles in the 3-mile / 5,000m from 1970-73.
“It would have been great to have gone higher today but I have some technical things to work on that once I fix will help a lot," Skipper said. "I had a little problem deciding on which pole to use on my second bar, so I lost my focus a little. I'd like to go back to a nine-step approach soon, and from there make the steps back to a full approach which I haven’t been able to do yet outdoors.”
Skipper advanced to Friday’s final after he led the prelims Wednesday and was the only entrant to clear 17-4 1/2 (5.30m), which he converted on his second attempt.
All-time for Oregon, his All-America honor marked Oregon’s 21st since its first in 1924, and its fifth NCAA outdoor title after George Rasmussen claimed top honors in 1947 and ’48 with marks of 14-0 in both competitions.
In the men’s javelin, senior Ryan Brandel placed seventh in his NCAA debut (225-11 (68.85m). The Milwaukie, Ore., native opened with his daily best on his first throw, scratched his next four attempts, then had a legal mark of 205-7 (62.66m) on his last effort.
The second-year Duck qualified for the final after he ranked fifth in Wednesday’s event prelims (226-5). This week, he entered the meet seeded fifth based on his season and personal best (238-0) that ranks him third all-time in UO history behind a pair of former NCAA champions, John Stiegeler (252-10) and Art Skipper (251-8).
His effort Friday weekend capped a breakthrough collegiate slate that featured UO’s ninth Pac-10 javelin title with his mark of 235-4 in mid-May, while he added second place in the West Regional two weeks ago (218-3).
On Friday, the former Sacramento State transfer Brandel topped 225 feet for the seventh time in his last nine appearances ? far outdistancing his preseason personal best of 214-3.
All-time for Oregon, the Ducks have scored 24 javelin All-America honors ? third-most in school history behind the 3,000m steeplechase (32) and 5,000m/3-mile (31). The Ducks have celebrated four titles among the nine most recent All-America honors, courtesy of John Stiegeler (school record 252-10, 2001), Art Skipper (248-7, 1992) and Brian Crouser (274-7, 1982; 281-0, ?85) with the latter two titles with the older implement.
Overall Friday, North Carolina senior and top seed Justin Ryncavage won by more than five feet (241-5) over North Carolina sophomore Adam Montague (second, 236-1) and Cal Poly senior Aris Borjas (third, 234-4).
On the track in the 400m semifinals, junior Marcus Dillon finished fourth in the second heat and ranked ninth overall (46.18) and earned his first All-America honor as a top-eight U.S. finisher.
Dillon’s time ? only one place and .04 seconds from making Saturday’s event final ? was a .13-second personal best and moved him up one spot to fifth all-time for UO ahead of Olympian Dacre Bowen (46.16, 1977), and just behind former Duck Pac-10 champion Pat Johnson (fourth, 45.38, 1995).
“Coach said to get out hard the first 120m so I could be up in with the pack,” Dillon said. “I was worried that I didn’t get out hard enough initially, but that must not have been the case because on the backstretch I couldn’t go any faster. It’s been a long road to get here, and there were times when I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, like indoors when I ran 48 seconds ? but Kedar (Inico, former All-American) told me that he ran slower than that his first year, and to have faith and keep working hard on the hills and workouts, and that it would come eventually. My confidence is so much higher now and I have to thank my coaches, my teammates and family for believing in me.”
The New Orleans, Dillon competed in his fourth event in the span of 51 hours Friday after he ran the 400m prelims (ninth overall, 46.68) and 4x100m relay prelims (14th, 40.77) Wednesday, and the 4x400m semifinal Thursday (14th, 3:07.24) ? and the latter event featured an unofficial 45.6-second anchor split.
The first-year Duck entered the meet seeded 24th in the 400m with his season best (46.31) that placed him second two weeks ago in the recent West Regional. Dillon also broke 47.00 seconds two weeks prior in the Pac-10 Championships (third, 46.62) in mid-May. Dillon also sparked the relays the last two days to noticeable improvements over their seedings as the 4x100m and 4x400m as both ranked 18th before the meet.
All-time for UO, Dillon stands ninth in the 400m based on his season and personal best (46.62), while the Ducks’ season best (3:07.24) Thursday in the 4x400m ? comprised solely of newcomers ? ranked them 14th in school history.
Overall in the 400m semifinal, first heat winner Lionel Larry (45.29) paced the field by .17 seconds, and was trailed by Florida State junior Ricardo Chambers (second, 45.46) and Wake Forest junior Michael Bingham (third, 45.63).
In the women’s hammer final, redshirt senior Britney Henry claimed her second straight All-America honor thanks to her fifth-place finish (214-9) against what was announced as the greatest collegiate field ever.
The Spokane, Wash., native opened with throws of 211-3 (64.39m), 214-9 (65.46m) and 212-10 (64.89m) in the prelims, then after fouls on her fourth and fifth attempts, ended the competition with a mark of 214-7 (65.41m).
“I gave it my all and it’s an honor to be part of such a great field,” Henry said. “It was nice to get a good first throw, and it put me at ease so I could try and put a little extra juice on the ball. I came in psyched up and confident and ready to compete. It was also a lot of fun because I know a lot of these girls really well so we’re friends.”
Henry earned her spot in Friday’s final after she ranked sixth in Wednesday’s prelims (204-1 (62.21m), and entered the meet seeded third among collegians with her school record and season best (221-7) from the Oregon Twilight in early May. Wednesday’s competition was in the same venue in which she finished sixth last year in the collegiate finale and earned her first All-America honor with a mark of 208-7.
In the past month, Henry won Oregon’s first ever Pac-10 Championships title (217-10), and followed with a best ever third-place West Regional finish (third, 215-3). Over the course of this season, she topped 214 feet in six of her last seven meets, including two above 220 feet.
“I can’t wait to get back to practice and get ready for USA’s in two weeks,” Henry said. “It’s such a minute difference in the technique between a 210, 214 and 218 foot throw so I know that there are big throws there. I have to thank Coach (Deal) for being such an amazing teacher. He’s helped me so much with my technique and my mental preparation ? I used to be sporadic in both, but he’s helped me to have so much more confidence and focus. It’ll also be hard to say goodbye to such a great support network of fans and teammates when I won’t have an Oregon jersey on. I started to get a little emotional last night (about this being my last collegiate meet), so I did my best to save those feelings for after the meet today.”
Overall in Friday’s final, Georgia senior Jenny Dahlgren broke the meet record by three feet with her winning toss of 232-0 (70.72m), and edged Southern Illinois junior Brittany Riley (second, 227-4), USC sophomore Eva Orban (third, 218-3) and Arizona State sophomore Sarah Stevens (fourth, 215-8).
On the track, Duck freshman Nicole Blood vied for All-America honors in the 5,000m early in the race and ran much of the first 3K in the top 10 before she ultimate finished 15th overall (16:50.00) and was the top freshman in the 12 1/2 lap race.
“I felt good early and took a chance and tried to catch up to the lead pack," Bblood said, "but once I was in no man’s land, I started to feel it. It was a great learning experience. I was really proud of my prelim race because I was only four seconds off my personal best even though we went out 26 seconds slower the first mile.”
She entered the meet seeded 18th nationally with her personal best from the West Regional (third, 16:19.15) after she entered that race seeded eighth. The Simi Valley, Calif., resident also boosted the team in the championship slate with points and a season best in the Pac-10 Championships 1,500m (sixth, 4:25.24).
Blood qualified for Friday’s 5,000m final after she paced freshmen and ranked eighth overall in Wednesday’s prelims (fourth-first heat, 16:23.73).
Blood owned UO’s fastest time this year in the 5,000m and ranked third for the team in the 1,500m and was a regional qualifier (4:25.24). She was also a key contributor for the cross country team last fall and scored top-five finishes for the Ducks in the Pac-10 and West Regional Championships.
Overall in the event, Wake Forest senior Michelle Sikes rallied the last 500 meters to retake the lead and run away with a meet record (15:16.76), and outdistanced Texas Tech sophomore Sally Kipyego 9second, 15:24.22) who won the 10,000m less than 24 hours before.
Complete meet results are available at the www.FlashResults.com website at the http://www.flashresults.com/2007_Meets/outdoor/NCAADivisionI/index.htm URL address.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s final day action, the Ducks have two athletes competing in events final, sophomores Rebekah Noble (800m) and Rachel Yurkovich (javelin).
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FINAL RESULTS
NCAA Championships Day 2
Hornet Stadium
Sacramento, Calif.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Attendance: 8,151
WOMEN'S RESULTS
Flash Results, Inc.
NCAA Division I 2007 Outdoor
Track & Field Championship
Sacramento, CA - 6/6/2007 to 6/9/2007
Event 27 Women 5000 Meter Run
=======================================================================
2 Heats. Advance top 6 from each heat plus next best 4 times.
One waterfall line.
American: 14:45.35 7/21/2000 Regina Jacobs, Nike
College Best: 15:07.56 7/4/1985 Cathy Easker, Wisconsin
NCAA Meet: 15:24.06 6/14/2004 Lauren Fleshman, Stanford
Hornet Stad: 14:45.35 7/21/2000 Regina Jacobs, Nike
Name Year School Finals Points
=======================================================================
Finals
1 Michelle Sikes SR Wake Forest 15:16.76 10
2 Sally Kipyego SO Texas Tech 15:24.22 8
3 Molly Huddle SR Notre Dame 15:37.65 6
4 Julia Lucas SR NC State 15:52.08 5
5 Madeline McKeever SO Duke 15:52.83 4
6 Teresa McWalters JR Stanford 15:53.89 3
7 Alex Becker SO Tulsa 16:00.34 2
8 Irene Kimaiyo JR Texas Tech 16:03.08 1
9 Lauren Blankenship JR Samford 16:03.22
10 Catha Mullen SR Princeton 16:04.75
11 Erin Webster SR Michigan 16:11.48
12 Danette Doetzel SO Providence 16:27.67
13 Kathleen Turchin JR Tenn-Chat 16:34.39
14 Toni-Lynn Salucci SR Cornell 16:36.04
15 Nicole Blood FR Oregon 16:50.00
16 Jenna Kingma SO Arizona State 16:55.25
Flash Results, Inc.
NCAA Division I 2007 Outdoor
Track & Field Championship
Sacramento, CA - 6/6/2007 to 6/9/2007
Event 39 Women Hammer Throw
=================================================================================
Auto: 63.50 Best 12 and ties by mark from qualifying to final
30 minutes flight specific warm-up, 10 minutes before finals.
Advance best 9 plus ties by mark to reverse order finals.
American: 73.87m 6/25/2005 Erin Gilreath, NYAC
College Best: 72.94m 4/13/2007 Jenny Dahlberg, Georgia
NCAA Meet: 69.79m 6/14/2004 Candice Scott, Florida
Hornet Stad: 70.42m 7/15/2004 Erin Gilreath, NYAC
Name Year School Finals Points
=================================================================================
Finals
1 Jenny Dahlgren SR Georgia 70.72m 232-00 10
69.53m 69.52m FOUL 69.07m 66.71m 70.72m
2 Brittany Riley JR Southern Illinois 69.29m 227-04 8
64.22m 66.64m FOUL 69.29m FOUL 65.68m
3 Eva Orban SO Southern California 66.53m 218-03 6
63.69m 66.09m 65.95m 66.53m 62.81m 64.34m
4 Sarah Stevens SO Arizona State 65.75m 215-08 5
62.32m FOUL 63.72m FOUL 65.75m FOUL
5 Britney Henry SR Oregon 65.46m 214-09 4
64.39m 65.46m 64.89m FOUL FOUL 65.41m
6 Carrie Johnson SR California 64.32m 211-00 3
62.06m FOUL FOUL 63.10m 61.75m 64.32m
7 Veronica Jatsek JR Ohio State 62.84m 206-02 2
60.75m 62.79m 61.62m 57.81m 60.53m 62.84m
8 Amy Haapanen SR Santa Barbara 62.24m 204-02 1
62.24m 61.81m 60.08m 59.89m 62.19m FOUL
9 Kimery Hern SO Georgia Tech 59.91m 196-07
57.40m 59.91m 58.96m FOUL 56.51m 56.83m
10 Julia Rozenfeld SR Southern California 59.19m 194-02
58.60m 58.63m 59.19m
11 Shanna Dickenson JR Tennessee 57.93m 190-01
57.93m FOUL FOUL
12 Krishna Lee SO Missouri 57.24m 187-09
57.24m FOUL FOUL
MEN'S RESULTS
Flash Results, Inc.
NCAA Division I 2007 Outdoor
Track & Field Championship
Sacramento, CA - 6/6/2007 to 6/9/2007
Event 3 Men 400 Meter Dash
================================================================
5 Heats. Advance top 2 from each heat plus next best 6 to semi.
Advance top 3 from each semi plus next best 2 times to final.
American: 43.18 8/26/1999 Michael Johnson, Nike
College Best: 43.50 8/5/1992 Quincy Watts, USC
NCAA Meet: 44.00 6/6/1992 Quincy Watts, USC
Hornet Stad: 43.68 7/16/2000 Michael Johnson, Nike
Name Year School Semis
================================================================
Heat 1
1 Lionel Larry JR Southern California 45.29Q
2 Michael Bingham JR Wake Forest 45.63Q
3 Erison Hurtault SR Columbia 45.71Q
4 Calvin Smith FR Florida 45.72q
5 LeJerald Betters FR Baylor 46.14q
6 Cornelius Duncan JR S. Mississippi 46.20
7 Jimmie Gordon JR Arizona State 46.29
8 Aaron Buzard SR Minnesota 46.66
Heat 2
1 Ricardo Chambers JR Florida State 45.46Q
2 Siraj Williams SR LSU 45.93Q
3 Lesiba Masheto SO Illinois 46.06Q
4 Marcus Dillon JR Oregon 46.18
5 Luis Luna SR Kentucky 46.55
6 Alex Harcourt JR Washington 46.68
7 David Dickens SR Georgia 46.85
8 Bruce Davis SR Mississippi State 47.01
===================================================================
Name Year School Semis H#
===================================================================
Semi-Finals
1 Lionel Larry JR Southern California 45.29Q 1
2 Ricardo Chambers JR Florida State 45.46Q 2
3 Michael Bingham JR Wake Forest 45.63Q 1
4 Siraj Williams SR LSU 45.93Q 2
5 Erison Hurtault SR Columbia 45.71Q 1
6 Lesiba Masheto SO Illinois 46.06Q 2
7 Calvin Smith FR Florida 45.72q 1
8 LeJerald Betters FR Baylor 46.14q 1
9 Marcus Dillon JR Oregon 46.18 2
10 Cornelius Duncan JR S. Mississippi 46.20 1
11 Jimmie Gordon JR Arizona State 46.29 1
12 Luis Luna SR Kentucky 46.55 2
13 Aaron Buzard SR Minnesota 46.66 1
14 Alex Harcourt JR Washington 46.68 2
15 David Dickens SR Georgia 46.85 2
16 Bruce Davis SR Mississippi State 47.01 2
Flash Results, Inc.
NCAA Division I 2007 Outdoor
Track & Field Championship
Sacramento, CA - 6/6/2007 to 6/9/2007
Event 14 Men Pole Vault
=================================================================================
Progression: 5.00 - 5.15 - 5.30 - 5.40 - 5.50 - 5.60 then 10cm
Competition continues until 16 or fewer remain at a bar change.
Use Rule 7-1-6 to select qualifiers when less than 12 remain.
No Five-Alive. Finals: 5.10 - 5.25 - 5.35 - 5.45 - 5.50 - 5.55
American: 6.03m 6/14/2000 Jeff Hartwig, Nike
College Best: 5.98m 5/25/1996 Lawrence Johnson, Tennessee
NCAA Meet: 5.82m 5/29/1996 Lawrence Johnson, Tennessee
Hornet Stad: 5.90m 7/11/2004 Tim Mack, Nike
Name Year School Finals Points
=================================================================================
Finals
1 Thomas Skipper SR Oregon 5.50m 18-00.50 10
5.10 5.25 5.35 5.45 5.50 5.55 5.60
PPP PPP PPP PPP O PPP XXX
2 Chip Heuser JR Oklahoma 5.45m 17-10.50 8
5.10 5.25 5.35 5.45 5.50
O XO O XO XXX
3 Mike Landers SR UCLA 5.45m 17-10.50 6
5.10 5.25 5.35 5.45 5.50
PPP O O XO XXX
4 Graeme Hoste JR Stanford 5.35m 17-06.50 4
5.10 5.25 5.35 5.45
O O O XXX
4 Mitch Greeley JR Clemson 5.35m 17-06.50 4
5.10 5.25 5.35 5.45
O O O XXX
4 Rory Quiller SR Binghamton-SUNY 5.35m 17-06.50 4
5.10 5.25 5.35 5.45
PPP O O XXX
7 Michael Hogue JR Tennessee 5.35m 17-06.50 2
5.10 5.25 5.35 5.45
XO XO O XXX
8 Scott Roth FR Washington 5.35m 17-06.50 1
5.10 5.25 5.35 5.45
O O XXO XXX
9 Gable Baldwin SR Nebraska 5.25m 17-02.75
5.10 5.25 5.35
XO O XXX
10 Matt Weirich JR Brigham Young 5.25m 17-02.75
5.10 5.25 5.35
O XO XXX
11 Adam Bingaman SR Virginia Tech 5.10m 16-08.75
5.10 5.25
O XXX
-- Joe Samaniuk SR Virginia Tech NH
5.10
XXX
-- Blayne Burkholder SO Indiana NH
5.10
XXX
-- Matt Adkisson SR Sam Houston State NH
5.10
XXX
-- Seth Harris SR Texas Tech NH
5.10 5.25
PPP XXX
-- Brad Gebauer SR McNeese State NH
5.10 5.25
PPP XXX
Flash Results, Inc.
NCAA Division I 2007 Outdoor
Track & Field Championship
Sacramento, CA - 6/6/2007 to 6/9/2007
Event 20 Men Javelin Throw
=================================================================================
Auto: 72.00 Best 12 and ties by mark from qualifying to finals
30 minutes flight specific warm-up, 10 minutes before finals.
Advance best 9 plus ties by mark to reverse order finals.
American: 90.71m 5/20/2007 Breaux Greer
College Best: 89.10m 3/24/1990 Patrik Boden, Texas
NCAA Meet: 81.86m 6/3/1998 Esko Mikkola, Arizona
Hornet Stad: 82.39m 7/17/2004 Breaux Greer, adidas
Name Year School Finals Points
=================================================================================
Finals
1 Justin Ryncavage SR North Carolina 73.58m 241-05 10
73.58m FOUL 70.98m 68.68m 70.13m PASS
2 Adam Montague SO North Carolina 71.96m 236-01 8
69.20m FOUL FOUL 66.93m 71.96m FOUL
3 Aris Borjas SR Cal Poly-SLO 71.44m 234-04 6
69.64m 68.95m FOUL 71.16m FOUL 71.44m
4 Cody Fillinich JR Northwestern State 70.24m 230-05 5
70.19m 65.32m 66.80m 66.04m 70.24m 67.06m
5 Chris Hill FR McNeese State 69.90m 229-04 4
FOUL 69.20m FOUL 69.90m FOUL FOUL
6 Chad Radgowski SO LSU 68.85m 225-11 3
64.45m 68.85m 68.00m 66.85m 65.99m 68.00m
7 Ryan Brandel SR Oregon 68.85m 225-11 2
68.85m FOUL FOUL FOUL FOUL 62.66m
8 Marc Pallozzi SR Albany 68.40m 224-05 1
66.06m 66.00m 68.40m FOUL 62.98m 65.01m
9 Matthew Maloney SO Tennessee 67.35m 220-11
67.35m 63.58m 64.90m 60.65m 66.16m 64.06m
10 Preston Chatham FR LSU 64.70m 212-03
64.70m FOUL 60.11m
11 Tanner Evak SO Penn State 63.21m 207-04
61.63m 53.64m 63.21m
12 Alex vanderMerwe JR Texas-El Paso 60.81m 199-06
60.81m 58.58m FOUL
