Combined Events Competitors Compete at Austin
Three Oregon combined events athletes, including the defending NCAA champions in the decathlon and the heptathlon will head to Austin, Texas, for the Texas Relays this Wednesday and Thursday at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Wednesday’s competition begins at 10 a.m. Pacific, with day two of the multi-events on Thursday getting underway at 11 a.m. Pacific.
OREGON ENTRIES
Three All-Americans - two of them national champions - will be Oregon’s only track and field athletes in competition at Texas. Four-time NCAA champion Ashton Eaton and 2010 NCAA All-American Marshall Ackley will compete in the decathlon, while two-time NCAA champ Brianne Theisen will compete in the heptathlon.
This will be the first combined event competition for Eaton and Theisen since they won the 2010 NCAA Indoor titles in the heptathlon and pentathlon, respectively. Eaton, from Bend, Ore., set a world record in winning the heptathlon March 12-13 at Fayetteville, Ark., scoring 6,499 points to break Dan O’Brien’s 1993 mark by 25 points. Eaton has now won four straight NCAA combined events titles - 2008 decathlon, 2009 heptathlon, 2009 decathlon and 2010 heptathlon.
His decathlon PR is a wind-aided 8,241 points from the 2009 NCAA meet; his legal best is 8,122 from the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. The official Oregon school record is 8,176 points by Pedro daSilva in 1992. Eaton has scored more than 8,000 points in seven straight decathlons, dating to the 2008 NCAA Championships. Eaton is the two-time defending Pac-10 decathlon champion.
Theisen (pronounced TY-son) broke her own school record in winning the NCAA pentathlon last month in Arkansas, scoring 4,396 points. The junior from Humboldt, Sask., is also the defending NCAA champion in the heptathlon. She scored a school record 6,086 points to win the title last June in Fayetteville.
Ackley, a senior from Nyssa, Ore., tallied a personal-best 7,470 points in a 12th-place finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships to earn his first All-America ward. He is also the 2009 Pac-10 runner-up in the decathlon.
RESULTS
For live results, schedules and accepted entry lists, check www.texassports.com. Final results will also be posted on www.GoDucks.com.
OREGON IN THE RANKINGS
Two weeks into the season, Oregon has a number of student-athletes ranked on the national and regional descending order lists. These lists are important because they are the sole basis for selection to the NCAA West Regional May 27-28 in Austin, Texas. The top 48 individuals in each region are eligible for selection (combined events will be the top 24 nationally on the descending order list). See p. 4-5 for the complete list.
For the women, Zoe Buckman leads the nation in the 1,500 meters (4:12.80), while Melissa Gergel is No. 1 in the pole vault (14-3.25). The Ducks 4x100 relay team is fourth in the nation (44.30). After Buckman, Oregon ranks second (Jordan Hasay/4:14.67), fourth (Anne Kesselring/4:18.80) and sixth (Nicole Blood/4:20.20) in the 1,500. Buckman is also 11th nationally at 800 meters (2:08.19). Claire Michel is third nationally in the 3,000 meter steeplechase (10:14.84). Jasmine Kelly is fourth regionally and eighth nationally in the high jump (5-10).
For the men, Jordan McNamara is No. 2 nationally in the 5,000 meters, while Matthew Centrowitz (13:47.73) and Michael Maag (13:51.35) are fourth and fifth in the nation. Alex Wolff ranks third nationally in the javelin (229-7). Jordan Stray is No. 8 in the nation in the hammer (211-6). David Klech is No. 9 in the West and No. 28 nationally in the high jump (6-10.25).
STANFORD INVITATIONAL REVIEW
Wins by Jordan Hasay (1,500), Alex Wolff (javelin), Melissa Gergel (pole vault), David Klech (high jump) and the women’s 4x100 meter relay team highlighted Oregon’s performances at the March 26-27 Stanford Invitational. Gergel won the women’s pole vault in a jump off, clearing an outdoor best 14-3.25 to edge Stanford’s Katerina Stefandi. Hasay ran 4:14.69 to edge Washington star Katie Follett, who finished in 4:15.04, by less than half a second. Hasay’s time was just .17 off her personal best, 4:14.50, that she ran as a high schooler at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene. As it was, Hasay’s first outdoor race as a Duck ranked fifth all-time on the school’s 1,500 career list. Wolff opened his 2010 season with a win in the men’s javelin, throwing 229-7 to clip Chris Reno of Brigham Young by two inches. Klech won the high jump with a clearance at 6-10.25, his best height since high school. The team of Mandy White, Amber Purvis, Keshia Baker and Michele Williams won the women’s 4x100 meter relay in 44.38. That time was the third-fastest 4x100 relay in school history.
PREVIEW REVIEW
Ten meet records were set, plus an attendance record of nearly 6,000 people, at the season-opening Oregon Preview on March 20 at Hayward Field.
Meet records set by Oregon competitors:
? Women’s 4x100 relay (Mandy White, Amber Purvis, Keshia Baker and Jamesha Youngblood), 44.30 ? second fastest time in school history
? Melissa Gergel, women’s pole vault, 14-1.25
? Jamesha Youngblood, 400 hurdles, 59.95
? Amber Purvis, women’s 400 meters, 53.96
? Jordan McNamara, men’s 3,000 meters, 7:53.63
? Claire Michel women’s 2,000 meter steeplechase, 6:55.17
Other records:
? OTC Elite newcomer Sally Kipyego won the women’s 1,500 meters in 4:10.71 to break Marla Runyan’s 2000 record of 4:11.44.
? Former Duck Britney Henry, women’s hammer, 216-9.
? Billy Nelson, men’s 2,000 meter steeplechase, 5:44.59.
? The OTC Elite, men’s 4x400 meter relay (Tyler Mulder, Elias Koech, Mark Wieczorek and Matt Scherer), 3:08.45.
Other UO highlights included Matthew Centrowitz’ win in the men’s 1,500 meters (3:48.97), senior Michael Maag, making his Oregon debut, was fourth in that race in 3:51.75. Senior Zoe Buckman was second in the women’s 1,500 meters in a PR 4:12.80 (No. 4 all-time). Jasmine Kelly set a PR in winning the women’s high jump at 5-10. Britton Nelson threw a personal best 219-8 to win the men’s javelin. Jordan Stray won the men’s hammer with a throw of 209-8, his best distance in two years.
WOMEN WIN NCAA INDOOR TITLE; EATON SETS WORLD RECORD
The Women of Oregon won their first NCAA Indoor Track and Field national title, while Ashton Eaton set the world record in the heptathlon to lead the men for a tie for second at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships March 12-13 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Eaton thrilled the Randall Tyson Center crowd by not only winning the heptathlon for the second straight year, but also by scoring 6,499 points to break Dan O’Brien’s 17-year-old world and American record (6,474). The women had national champions in the pentathlon by Brianne Theisen and the 4x400 relay team (Jamesha Youngblood, Keshia Baker, Michele Williams, Amber Purvis). Other point scorers for the women included Melissa Gergel ? second in the pole vault, Keshia Baker ? second in the 400 meters, Jordan Hasay ? fourth in the mile, Amber Purvis ? fourth in the 200, Nicole Blood ? fifth in the 3,000, Anne Kesselring ? sixth in the mile, and the second-place distance medley relay team (Kesselring, Williams, Zoe Buckman, Hasay). The Ducks scored 61 points, with Tennessee second with 36.
In addition to Eaton, the men won the distance medley relay on Andrew Wheating’s tremendous kick on the mile leg, which was preceded by A.J. Acosta, Chad Barlow and Travis Thompson. Others scoring for the men included Mac Fleet ? second in the mile, Wheating ? second in the 800, Acosta ? fourth in the mile, and the sixth-place 4x400 meter relay team (Matt Butcher, Eaton, Thompson, Barlow). Florida won the men’s title with 57 points, while Oregon and Texas A&M were tied at 44.
EATON’S WORLD HEPTATHLON RECORD
Senior Ashton Eaton accomplished what’s become an extremely rare feat -- breaking a world record as a collegian. He did that March 12-13 in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Eaton bettered Dan O’Brien’s 1993 mark by 25 points.
All-time World heptathlon list:
1. 6,499 Ashton Eaton USA 2010
2. 6,476 Dan O’Brien USA 1993
3. 6,438 Roman Sebrle CZE 2004
4. 6,424 Tomas Dvorak CZE 2000
5. 6,418 Christian Plaziat FRA 1992
OREGON EARNS 31 ALL-AMERICA AWARDS
Oregon led the nation with an astounding 31 All-America certificates earned at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The national championship Oregon women’s team earned 17 All-America awards, while the runner-up men captured 14. Among those honored was senior Nicole Blood, whose selection in the 3,000 meters was her eighth career All-America certificate, which is tied for the second-most in UO women’s history with Kathy Hayes and trails only Leann Warren’s 10.
Also earning All-America awards for the women were national champion Brianne Theisen in the pentathlon, as well as members of the national championship 4x400 meter relay team, Keshia Baker, Amber Purvis, Michelle Williams and Jamesha Youngblood.
Other All-Americans were Purvis (60 meters, 200 meters), Baker (400 meters), Jordan Hasay (mile, distance medley relay), Anne Kesselring (mile, distance medley relay), Williams (distance medley relay), Melissa Gergel (pole vault), Zoe Buckman (distance medley relay) and Mattie Bridgmon (5,000 meters).
On the men’s side, national champion and new world record holder for the heptathlon Ashton Eaton led the way. Eaton was also honored for the 4x400 meter relay team. The members of the national champion distance medley relay team, A.J. Acosta, Chad Barlow, Travis Thompson and Anderw Wheating made the list, as did Mac Fleet (mile), Wheating (800 meters), Acosta (mile), Barlow (4x400 meter relay), Matt Butcher (4x400 meter relay), Thompson (4x400 meter relay), Elijah Greer (800 meters) and Luke Puskedra (5,000 meters).
LANANNA, JOHNSON HONORED
Vin Lananna and Robert Johnson were recognized honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as recipients of National Women’s Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively, for the 2010 indoor track & field season in Division I.
Lananna, in his fifth year as Oregon’s Associate Athletic Director for track & field, helped the Ducks capture their first NCAA women’s indoor crown in school history. Oregon claimed 61 points in the meet, 25 more than nearest competitor Tennessee. The margin of victory was the largest in NCAA Indoor Championship history since Texas scored 60 points to top the 30 managed by runner-up Louisiana State in 1998. In February, Oregon also claimed its first MPSF Championship.
Johnson is in his fifth year as an assistant coach at Oregon and concentrates his coaching on sprints, hurdles and horizontal jumps. Winning this award for the second-straight year, Johnson’s athletes contributed 23 team points to the Ducks’ first-ever capture of the NCAA team title. Oregon’s 4x400-meter relay of Jamesha Youngblood, Keshia Baker, Michele Williams, and Amber Purvis won an NCAA crown for the first time, clocking a school-record 3:32.97. In addition, Baker would finish second in the 400 meters at the national meet in 51.63 and Purvis, just a sophomore, took fourth place in the 200 (23.21).
OREGON’S NCAA CHAMPIONS
The 2010 Women’s Indoor Track & Field title was the 17th national championship in school history. The others are men’s outdoor track & field in 1962, 1964, 1965, 1970 and 1984, women’s outdoor track & field in 1985, men’s indoor track & field in 2009, men’s cross country in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 2007 and 2008, women’s cross country in 1983 and 1987, and men’s basketball in 1939. The championship was the first for an Oregon women’s program since cross country’s win in 1987, and the fourth women’s title overall.
A CHAMPIONSHIP TRADITION
Oregon has won five of the last seven Pac-10 titles in men’s track and field, including three in a row. The Ducks have conference men’s track and field titles in 1923, 1934, 1965, 1967, 1978, 1979, 1986, 1990, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. On the women’s side, Oregon’s Pac-10 crowns came in 1991, 1992 and 2009.
OFF-TRACK ACTIVITIES
For the fourth year in a row, the Starting Block will take place prior to every home meet and is geared to get kids moving and staying active. The concept features a high-energy, dynamic space for youth designed for fun and interactive activities that offers youth a chance to practice their athletic skills and learn more about the sport.
15 TO JOIN TEAM IN 2011
Fifteen high school stars, including the national boys leader in the javelin, Sam Crouser, and the 2009 Pan American Junior Games girl’s champion at 5,000 meters, Sarah Andrews, have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Oregon’s track and field teams next season.
The seven men are throwers Crouser of Gresham, Ore., and Jacob Budwig of Fowler, Calif., decathlon state record-holder Dakotah Keys of Sweet Home, Ore., distance runners Parker Stinson of Austin, Texas, and Colby Alexander from Strongsville, Ohio, and middle distance standouts Cole Watson of Rogue River, Ore., and Brian Shrader of Flagstaff, Ariz.
Among the eight women are two New Yorkers in Phyllis Francis (Laurelton) and Megan Patrignelli (Monroe) and three Californians, Lauryn Newson (Richmond), Chizoba Okodogbe (Antioch) and Kortney Ross (San Diego). The class is rounded out by Andrews from The Woodlands, Texas, English Gardner of Voorhees, N.J., and Laura Roesler from Fargo, N.D.
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