If you’re gonna have just one dual meet in a season, it might as well be one against your regional rival. One with all sorts of historical baggage.
And if you’re gonna win one such dual meet, you might as well win the thing in a most satisfying, convincing fashion.
With 2,083 fans in the Hayward Field stands Saturday, the Oregon women’s track team did it right. The Ducks started with wins in the javelin and long jump events and rolled from there, eventually winning the 800 meters, placing in the top two and three in several other races and winning every field event but one — collecting sufficient pointage for the 80-74 win. With the victory, Oregon, which had lost two straight to the Huskies, now holds a 18-6 advantage.”[The team] had an opportunity to talk about it [Friday] over dinner,” sophomore sprinter Endia Abrante said. “It was just: ‘We want to win, first and foremost. To let them know, as nicely as possible, that we’re better.’”
They know.
In the tradition of dual meets, Abrante was one of several Oregon athletes to compete in multiple events, running four races, including the 400-meter dash, in which she finished second in a seasonal best time of 56.18.Senior Hilary Holly accounted for 13 of the Ducks’ points, winning the long jump (18-05.25), the triple jump (38-02.75) and running the second leg of the 4×100 relay.
Middle distance star Katie Crabb doubled as well. She won the 800 (2:12.47) and then, about a 1/2 hour later, got edged in her specialty, the 1,500 (4:31.05.)
“My coach told me, ‘You can get third and we’ll still win,’ so there was no pressure. It was more like pracitce,” Crabb said immediately after the 1,500, in which her second-place finish was enough to finalize the win. “We wanted to keep the winning streak going, it was like, ‘We can’t lose on our track.’ I’m really excited for the team, everyone worked so hard.”
Freshmen Lucretia Larkin and Heather Murtaugh were among the busiest Ducks, competing in three events each. Larkin’s second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles (14.89) early in the running events kept momentum with the Ducks.
And, no surprise here, Maureen Morrison and Mary Etter each had full, productive outings.
With a fling of 186 feet and 6 inches, “Mo” re-set the Oregon record in the hammer throw despite not having been able to practice much the previous week due to illness in her family. The senior also came in second in the discus (159-0), behind Etter, a freshman who bounced back from a humbling Mt. San Antonio College Relays with a throw of 162-09.
And, of course, Karis Howell and Niki Reed were Saturday’s single event stars.
Pole vaulter Niki Reed won her event by clearing the NCAA automatic standard for the first time outdoors with a vault of 13-1 1/2.
“I hoped that I’d jump the automatic for NC’s,” the sophomore said. “I was hoing that I’d get a PR too, but, it doesn’t happen every time.”
Howell recorded the Ducks first points with a first place finish in the javelin (143-03).
“They got after it today,” said head coach Tom Heinonen about his young team. “I was really proud of them. Being able to compete when it’s important is valuable; it’s a good step.”