Two Ducks received All-American honors and one advanced to the finals at the NCAA track and field championships in Durham, N.C. on Thursday.
But not all ended well.
Freshman thrower Mary Etter placed herself among the nation’s elite in the discus with a toss of 166 feet, 11 inches, good for eighth place.
Steve Fein also earned All-American status with his time of 3 minutes, 45.63 seconds in the first of two 1,500 qualifying heats. However, the senior’s seventh-place finish did not advance him to the finals.
Senior Katie Crabb advanced to the 1,500 finals by finishing fifth in her heat in 4:21.91. The 1,500 finals take place at 7:55 p.m. EST, Saturday.
Etter entered Thursday’s competition seeded No. 16. Coming out of it, she is ranked as the top freshman nationally in the discus. Her finish is the best for a Duck at the NCAA meet in 15 years.
Etter’s throw was her third-best attempt this season. UCLA senior Seilala Sua won the NCAA discus title with a 200-9 heave.
“Place-wise, I did OK,” Etter said in a released statement. “But I was a little disappointed with the distance because I was shooting for an Olympic Trials qualifying mark of 175-6.”
Fein missed advancing to the finals by .19 seconds, edged by Illinois State’s Christian Goy in the final kick.
South Alabama’s David Kimani won the first of two heats in 3:44.70. Stanford’s Gabe Jennings won the second heat with a time of 3:43.18.
Fein received All-American honors because his time ranks among the top eight American finishers. Out of the 12 athletes advancing to the men’s 1,500 finals, five were from out of the country.
“I’ll move off this just like I would any race, good or bad, and go back to training,” Fein said. “My workouts have been going well coming in so we’re on pace to accomplish our goals in the 5,000 at the Olympic Trials [in July].”
Crabb took control of the pace late in the women’s 1,500, but it was Villanova’s Carmen Douma who won the heat in 4:19.26. Rice’s Shaquandra Roberson won the second heat in 4:20.46.
Two more Ducks begin action in today’s NCAA competition. Santiago Lorenzo competes in day one of the decathlon, and two-time All-American Niki Reed will try to add a third honor in the women’s pole vault.