Oregon’s fivesome endured a chilly final day at the Pacific-10 Conference decathlon championships where Robert Arnold of Arizona scored a personal best 7,691 points to take first place.
Arizona State’s Joshua Kinnaman followed in second at 7,207 and Oregon’s Andy Young ended the meet third by running a personal-best 1,500 meters in 4 minutes, 13.28 seconds. He beat second-place finisher Blake Bidleman (4:31.08) of Washington by almost 20 seconds.
Despite the effort, Young was merely content with his finish.
“I was hoping for 4:10,” the co-team captain said. “It was a rough day for all of us but I’m happy with how I did.”
Young’s win in the 1,500 was one of two victories the Ducks came away with. The wins managed to give Oregon an early lead in the Pac-10 Championships heading into next weekend. The Ducks combined for 11 team points and lead Arizona by one point in the team standings.
Young had a strong showing in the pole vault where he finished second. The senior from Newberg kept the Hayward Field crowd on its toes by needing all three attempts to advance at two different heights.
“I didn’t do as well as I thought I would,” Young said referring to the pole vault. “The crowd really helped.”
Young’s teammate Alexey Shkuratov won the high jump with a height of 6-10 3/4. Shkuratov ended the meet in sixth with 6,720 points.
Oregon decathlon coach Dan Steele was not surprised with Shkuratov’s effort.
“Alexey did a very good job,” Steele said. “He’s always looking for big, big scores. He was tough in the 1,500 and protected his points.”
Other Oregon finishers included Brian Bartow (seventh, 6,677 points), Jonathan Derby (ninth, 6,520) and Cody Fleming (10th, 6,329).
Derby was making his debut in the decathlon. He wasn’t too ashamed to admit that the meet was a challenge for him.
“I have a newfound respect for decathletes,” he said afterward.
Normally exclusively a pole vaulter, Derby ended one spot short in the standings of scoring a team point for Oregon. He tied for third in the pole vault with California’s Scott Sobieralski.
Select athletes suited up at the Oregon Twilight on Friday evening.
Oregon’s Jordan Kent ran a 46.95-second 400 setting a new personal record and meeting an NCAA regional standard.
Kent sought for both heading into Friday.
“I couldn’t be happier with it,” Kent said of his time. “It was good training mainly.”
The Twilight marked the end of regular-season competition for Kent and the Ducks.
Kent also ran with the 4×100-meter relay team. The foursome of seniors Richard Del Rincon and Matt Scherer, freshman Derrick Jones and Kent sprinted to a first-place time of 39.87.
Kent’s teammate A.K. Ikwuakor appeared in top form as he took second in the 400-meter hurdles. His time of 51.11 was good for an NCAA regional mark.
“It was the biggest confidence boost for me,” Ikwuakor said of his finish. “My steps felt perfect out there.”
Ikwuakor has been battling a leg injury all season.
Also meeting an NCAA requirement was Oregon thrower Mark Lewis. The redshirt freshman from Arroyo Grande, Calif., did so in the shot put where his distance of 55-2 3/4 gave him first place in the event.
Galen Rupp returned to action in the 5,000. The sophomore showed improvement from his 11th place finish in the mile two weeks ago. He finished fourth on Friday with a time of 14:05.66.

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