Claudia Francis (back), Becca Friday (left) and Laura Roesler (right) congratulate each other with a hug after competing in the 800-meter dash in the Pac-12 Championships where they finished 1-2-3. Each runner will race in the NCAA Championships June 6-9. (Tess Freeman/Oregon Daily Emerald)
With NCAA Championships fast approaching, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Austin, Texas over the weekend for preliminary heats. 10 individuals and three relay teams qualified in all, marking yet another impressive showing for the Oregon program. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205434113@@
On Friday, sophomore sprinter Mike Berry was one of 13 Ducks to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa next weekend. Berry broke his own school record in the 400 meters, finishing his heat in 44.86 at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in Austin.
Berry, a native of Seattle, put together a blazing stretch over his last 50 meters to clear the field and run the fastest time in the nation this year.
“I just wanted to get back in race form and run my race and go hard the last 150 meters,” Berry said to GoDucks.com. “I wasn’t trying to break a record today, but I’ll take it and can hopefully build on it.”
The Ducks also saw success in the women’s 400 meters, with Phyllis Francis winning her heat in a season-best 52.36. Chizoba Okodogbe, running in the same heat, finished fourth, also in a season-best time (53.03). Both runners will move on to the NCAA Championships next week.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204971334@@
In the short sprints, English Gardner used a great start in the 100 meters to grab an early lead and breeze to victory in 11.06. The sophomore from Voorhees, N.J., will return to the NCAA Championships in the event after finishing seventh nationally last season. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4365&SPID=243&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204971131&Q_SEASON=2011@@
Another bright spot for Oregon was 800 meters, where all five Oregon runners competing advanced. Junior Elijah Greer won his race in 1:48.38 to advance to Des Moines. Greer made an outside move with about 250 meters to go to grab the lead. Sophomore Boru Guyota also earned a trip to Iowa with a fifth-place showing in his heat. His time, 1:48.98, was the 12th and final qualifier for the NCAA Championships.
For the women in the 800, the Ducks had a runner-up finish in heat one by Laura Roesler (2:04.48) and a 2-3 finish from Anne Kesselring (2:06.42) and Claudia Francis (2:06.55) in heat two to advance.
The Oregon women also saw three women advance to the NCAA Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Lanie Thompson, Kimber Mattox and Taylor Wallace will head to Iowa after strong efforts in Austin. Thompson, a sophomore, ran with the lead pack in her heat before pulling way to win in 10:25.15. Mattox and Wallace, running in heat three with Pac-12 and NCAA leader Shalaya Kipp of Colorado, finished second (10:12.89) and fourth (10:20.33) respectively to advance.
Freshman Lauren Crockett is also headed to Des Moines in the women’s high jump after clearing the bar at 5-10.75/1.80m. That was tied for seventh on the night and moved her into a tie for sixth in school history with Kelly Blair.
In total, the Ducks will send 31 qualifiers to the NCAA meet June 6-9 in Des Moines, Iowa.
“What great performances for the men and women of Oregon,” Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna said to GoDucks.com. “It’s hard to imagine things going much better for us this weekend.
Fifth-year senior Alex Kosinski, impressive all season, broke away from the pack in the women’s 5,000 meters to finish in fourth (15:56.39) and advance to the NCAA Championships. Freshman Allie Woodward finished in seventh in the same heat (16:17.38), good enough to earn a trip to Des Moines based on time.
Three Oregon runners advanced from the men’s 5,000-meter field. In heat one, Trevor Dunbar (third, 14:17.81) and Parker Stinson (fourth, 14:23.64) both earned bids to the NCAAs. In the next heat, redshirt senior Chris Kwiatkowski finished in second in 14:07.19 to earn his first career trip.
The relays were another focal point for the Ducks on Saturday. Just like at the Pac-12 Championships, the men’s 4×100-meter team got sprints started by finishing fourth in its heat in 39.86, advancing on time to Des Moines. De’Anthony Thomas was replaced in the relay by Berry after experiencing soreness in his legs during warmups. Lananna said Thomas will still be eligible to run at the NCAA Championships. @@http://www.texassports.com/livestats/c-track/120524P011.htm@@
In the last race of the night, the women’s 4×400-meter relay, the Ducks won the third and final heat in 3:29.43, the third-fastest time in school history. The women’s 4×100-meter relay squad also won its heat in impressive fashion to move on to Des Moines. They cruised home to win in 43.99. @@http://www.texassports.com/livestats/c-track/120524P032.htm@@ @@http://www.texassports.com/livestats/c-track/120524P031.htm@@
In the women’s 1,500 meters, Jordan Hasay and Becca Friday posted a 1-3 finish in heat two to advance to Des Moines. The two juniors remained in the lead pack until Hasay broke to the lead on the bell lap and Friday followed. Hasay won in 4:16.29, with Friday right behind in 4:16.79. @@http://www.texassports.com/livestats/c-track/120524S025.htm@@ @@http://www.texassports.com/livestats/c-track/120524S025.htm@@
In the hurdles, freshman Johnathan Cabral sped to a personal best 13.48 to win his 110-meter hurdle heat and advance to Des Moines. That was an Oregon freshman record and the second-fastest time in school history. It was also an Olympic Trials “A” standard for the Calabasas, Calif., native.