Track Looks to Advance Through NCAA West Regional
THIS WEEK
For most competitors, the NCAA regional format is the only sure ticket to the NCAA Championships June 11-14 at Des Moines, Iowa. That’s the case for the majority of Oregon’s NCAA regional qualifiers, who this week head to the NCAA West Regional, Friday and Saturday May 30-31 at Matador Track & Field Complex on the campus of Cal State Northridge. The top five individuals in each event automatically advance to the NCAA Championships, while the top three relay teams also move on.
DUCKS BOAST 50 NCAA QUALIFIERS
The Ducks have a total of 50 individuals who have met either the NCAA regional or national championships qualifying standard. For this week’s NCAA West Regional, Oregon will send 26 men (26 entries) and 21 women (21 entries) to Cal State Northridge. The Ducks have another handful of competitors who are already headed to the NCAA Championships in the men’s and women’s 10,000 meters, the decathlon or the heptathlon, which are the four events that are not part of the regional format. See pages 2-3 for Oregon’s NCAA qualifiers.
ADVANCE STRAIGHT TO DES MOINES
Two Oregon athletes have already punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa - automatic qualifiers Ashton Eaton and Brianne Theisen. Theisen ranks third nationally in the heptathlon (5,675), while Eaton ranks fifth nationally in the decathlon (7,792). An additional six competitors have notched NCAA provisional marks in either the 10,000 meters or the multi-events. Those six include Daniel Mercado (29:04.24) and Diego Mercado (29:14.58) in the men’s 10,000, Sarah Pearson (34:29.72) and Zoe Nelson (34:50.59) in the women’s 10,000, Kalindra McFadden in the heptathlon (5,420) and Alexey Shkuratov in the decathlon (6,907). McFadden currently ranks 24th nationally in the heptathlon. Daniel Mercado is 27th in the 10,000, while his brother Diego ranks 29th. Pearson ranks 30th in the women’s 10,000. Eaton (4x400 relay), Pearson (5,000 meters) and Nelson (5,000 meters) are also entered in this week’s NCAA West Regional at Northridge.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Pac-10 and school record-holder Rachel Yurkovich leads a list of 23 current University of Oregon student-athletes whose performances have landed them on the Ducks’ career top-10 list. Yurkovich’s javelin mark (191-01) is one of three top 10 throws held by current team members, while Emily Mathis (No. 2) leads three women ranked among the top six 3,000 meter steeplechasers. Nicole Blood ranks fourth all-time in both the 1,500 meters (4:14.73) and the 5,000 (15:43.82), while Brianne Theisen is second only to Kelly Blair on the heptathlon list (5,765). On the men’s side, Andrew Wheating owns the No. 5 800 time and the No. 6 1,500 meter mark, while Phil Alexander is fifth in the 200 meters and Ashton Eaton is sixth in the decathlon. See page 4 for a complete list of current Ducks in the UO record books.
NCAA WEST REGIONAL MEET SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Competition at the NCAA West Regional begins at 10 a.m. each day, with running and field events being contested through the early evening. For a complete schedule, and for live results, visit Cal State Northridge’s web site: www.gomatadors.com.
SCORING
The top eight places in each event score. The points are assigned as follows: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.
PAC-10 RECAP; MEN DEFEND TITLE, WOMEN 3RD
Oregon had three individual champions on both the men’s and women’s sides, plus strong showings in the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races for a very successful Pac-10 championships May 16-17 at Tempe, Ariz. The men captured their second straight title and their fourth in the last six seasons by defeating Arizona State 144.5-134. The women had their best showing in 12 years with 100 points and a third-place finish. Oregon’s individual champions included sophomore Ashton Eaton in the decathlon (7,604), sophomore Andrew Wheating in the 800 (1:46.83, to continue his undefeated sophomore season) and walk-on senior Carlos Trujillo in the 10,000 meters (30:11.97). For the women, junior Rachel Yurkovich became just the second competitor to win three straight javelin titles with a throw of 184-0. Sophomore Nicole Blood won the 5,000 meters (16:33.70), while sophomore Keshia Baker was a surprise winner in the 400 meters (53.27), becoming Oregon’s first Pac-10 champ in the event since Camara Jones in 1995. The men scored big points in the 10,000 meters (25) and 5,000 meters (21), the later race coming after ASU had pulled within 1.5 points following its win in the triple jump. Senior Colin Veldman was also a big reason the Oregon men repeated. He took second in the hammer (219-2) and came back to finish fourth in the discus (181-0). Oregon wrapped up the men’s scoring with a second-place finish in the 4x400 relay in a season-best 3:04.85. That mark was tied for eighth-fastest all-time at UO. Sophomore Zoe Buckman helped the women’s cause with a second-place finish in the 800 meters. Her season-best 2:04.52 ranked tied for fifth on the Oregon top-10 list. Senior Kasey Harwood followed that with a personal-best in the 400 meters, 58.98 in finishing third for six team points. That time moved Harwood to fifth all-time on the Ducks’ top 10. Oregon also ran a third-place 4x400 meter relay race in a time of 3:37.43, a season best and a mark that ranked sixth all time at the University.
TRACK TEAM HONORS
Oregon’s Pacific-10 Conference champions in both track and field and cross country were honored at the team’s annual awards banquet May 25 at Autzen Stadium. The list:
2007-08 Oregon Track & Field/Cross Country Awards
Tom Heinonen Cross Country Award: Nicole Blood
Bill Dellinger Cross Country Award: Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott & Galen Rupp
Coaches’ Award: Phil Alexander
Coaches’ Award: Brianne Theisen
Coaches’ Award: Zoe Buckman
Women’s Newcomer of the Year Award: Alexandra Kosinski
Perry Holloman Men’s Newcomer of the Year Award: Jordan Stray
Dow Wilson Inspirational Award: Carlos Trujillo
Harry Ritchie’s Inspirational Award: Keshia Baker
Lynne Winbigler Performer of the Year Award: Nicole Blood
George Scharpf Outstanding Athlete Award: A.J. Acosta & Ashton Eaton
Mary Officer Award: Rachel Yurkovich
Harry Ritchie’s Jewelers Award: Andrew Wheating
A CHAMPIONSHIP TRADITION
Oregon has now won four of the last six Pac-10 titles in men’s track and field. The Duck have conference men’s track and field titles in 1965, 1967, 1979, 1986, 1990, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008. On the women’s side, Oregon’s Pac-10 crowns came in 1991 and 1992.
TEAM RANKINGS
The UO men and women are both ranked in this week’s USTFCCCA top 25. The men are in at No. 14, while the women moved up to No. 11.
PAC-10 HONORS
May 12
Men’s Track Athlete of the Week, Andrew Wheating
Women’s Track Athlete of the Week, Nicole Blood
April 28
Men’s Track Athlete of the Week, Andrew Wheating
Women’s Track Athlete of the Week, Nicole Blood
Women’s Field Athlete of the Week, Rachel Yurkovich
