Two athletes from the Oregon track and field teams took some big strides over the weekend.
Senior Katie Crabb, in the midst of her final collegiate season, met the NCAA indoor provisional standard in the mile with a time of 4 minutes, 46.38 seconds. Sophomore Jason Hartmann, a two-time cross country All-American, notched a provisional time of 14:05.72 in the 5,000-meter distance.
Crabb and Hartmann’s new personal bests led a weekend of men’s and women’s track and field action. The women competed at the Idaho Scoring Meet in Moscow, Idaho, with the exception of Crabb, who ran at the Cannon Meet in Indianapolis. The men, in Ames, Iowa, took part in the Iowa State Classic.
Crabb placed fifth overall and second among collegians in Saturday’s mile, and finished 13 seconds faster than in her race last weekend in Reno, Nev. Her time puts her on the NCAA qualifying bubble.
“Katie made a huge jump from last weekend’s effort,” Oregon women’s head coach Tom Heinonen said in a released statement. “She ran smart, stayed in control and moved up from sixth to fifth in the last 100 meters. The pace was fast the whole way, and she was right in there staying in lane one.”
Unattached entrant Jamie King won the Cannon mile with a time of 4:41.09.
Leading the Duck women at the Idaho Scoring Meet, senior pole vaulter Holly Speight came within a half-inch of getting an NCAA provisional mark in her event, finishing second with a height of 12 feet, 5 1/2 inches.
Sophomore Eri Macdonald ran a five-second season best in the 800 meters, finishing second in 2:15.75.
In the sprints, freshman Ann Sullivan finished fourth overall (8.25) in the 60-meter hurdle finals, followed by juniors Lucretia Larkin in tenth place and Cameo Davis in 15th. Sullivan also paced the Ducks in the 200 with a 10th-place finish in 25.74 seconds, followed by Oregon sophomore Heather Murtaugh, who finished 19th.
Sophomore Mary Etter finished ninth in the shot put, throwing for a distance of 43-9. Also in the shot put, teammate Jordan McDaniels finished 17th with a 38-foot throw, while freshman Dani Keyser finished 20th with a throw of 37-1/2.
On Friday, Hartmann’s third-place finish shattered the NCAA’s provisional standard for the 5,000 meters. His time, 14:05.72, was about seven seconds short of an automatic-qualifying mark.
Hartmann’s time would have qualified him for the NCAA 5,000-meter finale in three of the past four years.
Two other Ducks ran in the 32-man field of the 5,000. Freshman John Lucas and sophomore Oliver Redig — also making their Oregon debuts — finished 21st and 26th, respectively.
Stanford’s Jonathon Riley won the 5,000 in a time of 13:52.20, followed by teammate Louis Luchini in 13:53.87.
A freak snowstorm that closed roads surrounding Ames kept the rest of the men’s 16 entrants from competing.
The men travel to Reno on Saturday to compete at the Holiday Inn Invitational. The women will rest this weekend.