Ashton Eaton recorded the second-best heptathlon mark at an NCAA indoor event ever as seven NCAA indoor qualifying marks were set by Oregon athletes at the UW Indoor Invitational Saturday at the Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle.
Eaton’s 6,174 points were 34 shy of the all-time mark, set by Trey Hardee of Texas in 2006. The reigning NCAA decathlon champion won the 60m hurdles, 1,000m and pole vault en route to his school record.
The school record for the women’s 60-meter dash was also broken three times at the event, with freshman Amber Purvis posting the deciding time of 7.39 in the event’s final. Purvis had technically tied for first by recording the same time as Cal’s Cherrelle Garrett, though Garrett was declared the winner. Jamesha Youngblood broke teammate Mandy White’s school record in the preliminaries with a 7.63 60m, but Purvis bettered that mark with a 7.48 two heats later.
Youngblood did, however, command extra attention with a second-place finish and a school record in the long jump. In leaping 20 feet, 9.25 inches, Youngblood broke her own school record and earned an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Brigham Young’s Amy Menlove posted a mark of 20-9.75 to win the event.
Pole vaulter Melissa Gergel set a new personal best with an event-winning and automatic-qualifying mark of 13 feet, 9.25 inches. The sophomore’s mark was the third-best in school history.
Distance runners Alex Kosinski and Mattie Bridgmon also posted provisional qualifying marks in the 3,000m. Kosinski finished fourth in 9:15.57, the fifth-best performance in school history, while Bridgmon placed sixth in 9:17.49, the sixth-best indoor time in school history.
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Eaton sets school heptathalon record
Daily Emerald
February 2, 2009
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