Two weekends and two meets into the outdoor track season, two Ducks have already clinched berths in the NCAA Championships and more than a dozen athletes have met the regional qualifying standard.
Freshman Brianne Theisen and sophomore Ashton Eaton punched their tickets to the June 11-14 championships meet at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, with first-place finishes in the heptathlon and decathlon, respectively. The heptathlon and decathlon, along with the 10,000m run, are not contested at the regional championships, where most national-championship meet bids are earned.
In her first collegiate heptathlon, Theisen set a new personal record with 5,575 points. Her performance eclipsed the NCAA automatic qualifying standard of 5,500 and also bettered her previous best of 5,413, which she set winning the junior heptathlon at the 2007 Pan American Games.
“And to think that she’s just getting started,” associate head coach Dan Steele said in a media release. “She has a lot of upside.”
Teammate Kalindra McFadden was third with 5,318 points, which met the provisional qualifying standard.
Eaton shattered his previous best, and the automatic qualifying standard, with 7,792 points.
“I’m thrilled that he was able to get his qualifying mark out of the way because this now takes all the pressure off of him. He will be able to step back and work on improving all aspects of his events,” Steele said.
Other top performers from the weekend included Rachel Yurkovich in the javelin, Phil Alexander in the 100m and Colin Veldman in the hammer throw. Yurkovich, the school-record holder, opened her season with a throw of 175 feet 4 inches, the best throw by almost eight feet.
Alexander was second in the 100m in 10.46 seconds. Veldman won the hammer with a throw of 206-1.
Oregon opened its outdoor season the week before with the Oregon Preview. The meet unveiled the upgraded Hayward Field, as well as freshman Jamesha Youngblood to the Eugene fans. Youngblood, like Theisen a Pan Am Games junior champion, moved into second place all-time in the triple jump at Oregon with her winning jump of 41-11 1/4.
Senior transfer Liddell Steele won her first outdoor meet as a Duck, clearing 12-7 1/2, while Alex Kosinski was second in the 1,500m in 4:23.33, behind former NCAA 5,000m champion Lauren Fleshman.
Alexander won the 200m in a meet-record 21.04. Jordan Stray was second in the hammer (205-11).
The Ducks have two meets on their schedule this weekend, the Stanford Invitational Friday and Saturday and the Pepsi Team Invitational Saturday at Hayward Field.
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Eaton, Theisen earn automatic bids for NCAA outdoor meet
Daily Emerald
March 30, 2008
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