Blood, Pearson Lead Oregon in First Day at NCAA West Regional
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -- Nicole Blood and Sarah Pearson finished second and fourth in the women’s 5,000 meters to highlight Oregon’s first day of the NCAA West Regional track and field championships Friday at the Matador Track and Field Complex. The top five individuals and three relay teams in each event automatically advance to the NCAA Championships June 11-14 in Des Moines, Iowa. The next seven finishers are eligible for at-large bids, which will be announced Monday.
"The day went basically as expected," said Oregon director of track and field Vin Lananna. "We advanced a reasonable number of athletes to the finals and got a terrific performance from Nicole Blood and Sarah Pearson in the 5,000."
Blood ran a strong race in the 5,000 meters to finish second in a time of 16:26.69. She broke with the leaders two laps into the race and cruised to a runner-up finish and a trip to the NCAA Championships. Blood finished behind only Stanford’s Teresa McWalters, who successfully defended her NCAA West Regional title, finishing in 16:17.30.
The biggest surprise of the day was Sarah Pearson’s fourth-place finish in the 5,000. The senior from Eugene, Ore., clocked a 14-second personal best, 16:28.59, just behind Danielle Domenichelli of UC Santa Barbara’s 16:28.15.
She stayed in the pack behind the leaders for most of the race, before picking the perfect time to make her move.
"I had to decide if I was going to run a fast race or a strategic race," said Pearson. "I knew that when the first group broke early, if I went with them I would die, but I figured that would happen to some of those runners, so I waited for them to fade, because I have a pretty good kick now.
"I decided to make my move with two (laps) to go, and it’s a bit risky to make a move with 800 meters left," she continued. "But I felt if I didn’t make my move then, it could have been my last race. I felt a little better when I ran a couple of girls down, but I didn’t feel safe until I crossed the finish line."
Pearson was seeded ninth of the 25 runners in the race.
"That was the best race of her life, no question" said Lananna. "The way she went out with a gutsy performance and put herself in a place to seize the opportunity to earn a trip to nationals. I couldn’t be happier for Sarah."
Carlos Trujillo was another Duck senior who found a way to extend his season. His fourth place showing in the men’s 5,000 meters (14:06.16) secured a berth to the NCAA meet.
Sophomore Zoe Buckman was a preliminary heat winner for the women, taking the first section of the women’s 800 meters in 2:05.67. She passed Krishna Curry of UCLA in the final 50 meters to win the heat and advance to Saturday’s final with the fastest qualifying time of the day.
Andrew Wheating continued his winning ways. He took heat three of the men’s 800 meters in a time of 1:50.46. The Norwich, Vt., native led wire-to-wire and has yet to lose a race in 2008. Senior Mike McGrath was the last man to advance to Saturday’s 800 final. He was fourth in his heat with a time of 1:49.92, and edged Scott Crawford of UCLA by .06 to reach the final.
Sophomore Keshia Baker won heat one of the women’s 400 meters to advance to Saturday’s final. The Pac-10 champion lead the final 200 meters and crossed the line in 54.61, which was the fourth-fastest time overall on Friday.
"My heat pretty much went the way I planned, said Baker. "I’m just glad to be done for the day so I can get ready for tomorrow." In addition to the 400 finals, Baker is also entered in the 4x400 relay.
Sophomore Chad Barlow was able to move on in the men’s 400 meters by finishing third in heat one with a time of 47.32. His mark was the sixth fastest overall to qualify for Saturday’s final.
In the women’s 400 meter hurdles, senior Kasey Harwood finished second in her heat in a time of 59.92. It was the third-straight sub-60 time for Harwood, who had the sixth-fastest time overall. Junior Leah Worthen took 12th in the event in a time of 61.41.
Senior Phil Alexander ran second in heat three of the 200 meters with a time of 21.22, just behind Calvin Abram of Arizona State’s 21.18. The Keizer, Ore., native advanced to Saturday’s final with the fifth-fastest time of Friday’s preliminaries.
Both A.J. Acosta and Joaquin Chapa advanced to Saturday’s final in the men’s 1,500 meters. Running in the faster of the two heats, Acosta ran 3:44.95 to finish third, while Chapa placed sixth in a time of 3:45.67.
"We need to keep focused on the job at hand and advance as many people to the NCAAs as possible Saturday," said Lananna.
In the men’s javelin, sophomore Alex Wolff threw a personal-best 220-2 on his sixth and final attempt, but just missed an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, finishing sixth to California’s Martin Maric by one inch (220-3). Oregon’s Mike Simmons placed 10th with a throw 214-11. By virtue of their top-12 finishes, both Simmons and Wolff are eligible for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. Simmons was ranked 14th nationally (season-best 226-8) coming into the regional, while Wolff was 31st, prior to his P.R.
USC’s Corey White won the javelin with an NCAA West Regional record throw of 241-10.
Freshman Melissa Gergel cleared 13-3.75 in the women’s pole vault to finish eighth. By virtue of her top-12 finish, Gergel becomes another Duck who will go into the NCAA Championships’ at-large pool. The Glenwood, Ill., native was ranked 19th nationally coming into the meet (13-5.75).
Lucy Cridland threw 155-4 in the women’s discus to finish 11th.
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