Rebekah Noble ran along the side of the lead group, poised to make a move. With 50 yards to go, Noble sprinted past the lead group of runners and into the NCAA record books.
By winning Saturday afternoon, Noble became the first freshman in NCAA history to win the 800-meter title at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Sacramento, Calif. Noble’s winning race gave a preview of things to come. Her performance came against Minnesota freshman Heather Dorniden (second, 2 minutes, 3.02 seconds), California sophomore Alysia Johnson (third, 2:03.04) and Michigan freshman Geena Gall (fourth, 2:04.35).
Noble set a new personal record, winning in 2:02.07, a personal best by .78. She joined Leann Warren and Claudette Groenendaal as Oregon’s third outdoor national champion in the 800. The two latter runners won AIAW and NCAA titles in 1981 and 1985, respectively.
The end of the four-day meet Saturday afternoon showcased Oregon earning 11th place with 23 points, one of five Pacific-10 Conference teams to finish in the top 15.
Entering the meet, Auburn was ranked ninth by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. They made that up and more. The Tigers won the team title with 57 points with USC (38.5) and South Carolina (38) a distant second and third, respectively.
“There are more than 300 Division I schools competing in track and field,” Auburn coach Ralph Spry said in an NCAA press release. “It’s one of the toughest championships to win. This says a lot about the commitment Auburn is making to the track and field program.”
Though Noble contributed 10 points, the surprising performance of hammer thrower Brittany Hinchcliffe helped Oregon climb in the standings. Hinchcliffe made two consecutive personal records en route to a third-place finish at 212 feet, 3 inches. Teammate Britney Henry came in three spots later, finishing sixth off her initial throw of 208-7.
Hinchcliffe started with a PR of 210-9 and secured third with her next throw.
Georgia’s Jennifer Dahlgren won the title with a winning throw of 226-04, followed by USC freshman Eva Orban in second at 220-11. Orban won the Pac-10 hammer title last month at Hayward Field.
Oregon heptathlete Lauryn Jordan moved into third place all-time at Oregon with her 73-point personal best of 5,499 and sits behind Kelly Blair (first, 6,038, 1993) and Camille Jampolsky (second, 5,516, 1987).
Teammate Kalindra McFadden struggled to a 25th-place finish in her first NCAA appearance.
Arizona State’s Jacquelyn Johnson won with 5,939 points following her Pac-10 title last month.
Graduate student Amber McGown, reportedly bothered by blisters, finished 11th (4:22.17) in her NCAA debut in the 1,500. This came after she won her heat (4:18.41) in Thursday’s preliminary race, a .59 second personal best.
In Friday action, freshman javelin thrower Rachel Yurkovich earned seventh place after a rough start. She began with throws of 148-4 and 141-9 in the preliminary round and advanced to the final with a third throw of 160-10. She improved to 165-2 with her first throw in the final.
The overall winner, Air Force’s Dana Pounds, notched her second consecutive javelin title with a season-best throw of 190-3 on her final attempt.