Blood Runs Third in the 5,000 at NCAA Track & Field Championships
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Nicole Blood took third in the women’s 5,000 meters and four other Ducks earned points for their respective teams Friday at the NCAA Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium.
Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyego took off to a torrid pace to open the 5,000 and ran away from the field in setting NCAA Meet and stadium records by winning the race in 15:15.08.
But the chase for second was on between a group of five runners that stayed close until about 600 meters remained. Blood surged to second on the final lap, only to have Angela Bizarri of Illinois pass her with 100 meters to go.
Bizarri finished in 15:46.08, while Blood came in at 15:49.22, just six seconds of her personal best.
"I expected (Kipyego) to break away, but I figured, I’d shoot for second. Why not?," said Blood. "I stayed as relaxed as I could because I knew that pack was going to be tough.
"I was tired, but I knew they were, too," said Blood. "That last 100 meters, it was all I had left, but I’m pretty happy with a third place finish."
The sophomore from Simi Valley, Calif., picked up six team points and became the first Duck woman to earn All-America status in the 5,000 in 17 years. Lucy Nusralla in 1991 was the last Duck to All-America at that distance. It was Blood’s second career All-America award, joining the one she earned in cross country last fall.
Further, Blood’s third place finish was the highest by a Oregon runner in the women’s 5,000 since Annette Hand won the event in 20 years ago in 1988.
"Nicole has had a fantastic year," said Oregon director of track and field Vin Lananna. "She ran a tough race today. My only advice to her was to be the last one to go."
Colin Veldman and Alex Wolff each added two points to the men’s total, giving the Ducks 14 for the meet, which was good enough for 10th place. Florida State led the men with 32 points, followed by Louisiana State with 31 points, Auburn with 26, and Colorado with 24.
"The throwers did a good job getting points for us," said Lananna.
Defending champ Arizona State led the women’s race with 36 points. Louisiana State was second with 31 points, followed by Stanford with 21 and Texas Tech with 20. Oregon was tied for 27th with seven points.
In the opening event of the day, the men’s javelin, Wolff finished seventh, while junior Mike Simmons took ninth.
Wolff needed a big throw on his third and last attempt of the preliminaries -- 214-7 -- to make the finals, where he threw 220-1 on hs fourth effort of the day to earn two points for the team. The sophomore from Newberg, Ore., missed his personal best (220-2) by an inch.
"It’s been an awesome experience, unbelievable," said Wolff, who had major surgery on his throwing elbow less than a year ago. "I’ve been feeling better and better. Thank God I’m here and healthy.
"Coach (Lance Deal) signaled that I needed a good throw on my third attempt," Wolff said. "Once I got that and made the finals, I relaxed a bit let it go on (the fourth attempt)."
Simmons, a junior from Happy Valley, Ore., threw 215-0 on his second attempt. It was the first career All-America awards for both competitors. The two native Oregonians earned the Ducks’ 25th and 26th all-time All-America honors in the men’s javelin.
The Ducks also got two points in the men’s hammer from Colin Veldman’s seventh place finish. By an inch, the sixth-year senior threw a personal best 219-7 on his second attempt of the day.
"It felt like I threw pretty well," said Veldman. "Being able to score points for the team at the national meet, I couldn’t ask for anything more.
"It’s been awesome to have the opportunity to come back and be successful in my sixth year," he said.
Veldman earned his first career All-America award and became the first Ducks to garner All-America honors in the men’s hammer since Adam Kriz in 2003. The Fort Collins, Colo., native is the 13th Duck all-time to earn an All-America certificate in the men’s hammer.
Freshman Melissa Gergel earned the first point of the Championships for the women with her eighth place finish in the pole vault. She cleared the bar on her first attempts at 12-9.5 and 13-1.5 before missing in three tries at 13-5.25. The Glenwood, Ill., earned her second career All-America award, following the indoor award she won in March. She becomes just the third Duck woman to earn outdoor All-America status in the pole vault, joining four-time All-American Becky Holiday and Niki McEwen.
In the heptathlon, Brianne Theisen stood eighth after day one with 3,344 points, while Kalindra McFadden was 16th with 3,261 points. Jacquelyn Johnson of Arizona State led the competition with 3,606 points.
Theisen, opened the heptathlon with a near-personal best in the 100 meter hurdles, 14.23, a time that was 12th overall. The freshman from Humboldt, Sask., then matched her personal best in the high jump with a clearance of 5-8.75 to tie for fourth and threw 37-11.25 in the shot put. Theisen rounded out the day by running 25.40 in the 200 meters (16th).
McFadden clocked 14:45 in the hurdles (19th). The junior from Bozeman, Mont., matched her career high in the high jump, going over the bar at 5-7.75 to take seventh in the event and then threw 38-2 in the shot put. She clocked ran 25.64 in the 200 meters to close the day.
Junior Chris Winter ran 8:51.44 in the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase and finished 12th. Sarah Pearson wrapped up her Oregon career with a 16th-place showing in the women’s 5,000 (16:53.99).
The Ducks also received some good news early on Friday when sophomore A.J. Acosta was advanced to Saturday’s finals of the men’s 1,500 meters. Following Thursday night’s semifinals, Acosta was judged to have missed the final by .003 of a second to Notre Dame’s Kurt Benninger, but upon appeal, the NCAA overturned its initial ruling.
"In non-laned events, if there is a tie both runners advance," said Lananna. "We appealed and the correct decision was made by the NCAA. It was really no big deal, but obviously it’s good for A.J. to have a chance to run in the final."
The men’s 1,500 final will feature a field of 15 runners, as opposed to 12, with Acosta and two other runners who were involved in falls joining the expanded field. Acosta, from Oceanside, Calif., ran 3:43.86 in Thursday night’s semifinal.
Saturday’s final day of competition will have Oregon’s Andrew Wheating and Zoe Buckman as the top seeds in the men’s and women’s 800 meters, respectively. No college has ever swept the 800 meters at the NCAA Championships. The Ducks will also have three-time NCAA West Regional and Pacific-10 Conference champion Rachel Yurkovich in the women’s javelin, Acosta in the men’s 1,500 meter final and the final day of heptathlon competition for Theisen and McFadden.
CBS will have live television coverage of the meet beginning at 1 p.m.
- www.GoDucks.com -
