Four Ducks turned in provisional- or automatic-qualifying performances for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, and a host of others set personal bests at the UW Indoor Preview in Seattle, the first indoor meet on Oregon’s schedule.
Pole vaulter Melissa Gergel was the star of the meet, tying for the event’s high mark with a 14-foot, 1.25-inch clearance that automatically qualified her for the indoor NCAA competition. Gergel, a junior from Glenwood, Ill., became just the third Oregon woman to clear 14 feet in the pole vault at an indoor meet.
Her counterpart on the men’s team, Colin Witter-Tilton, took second in the men’s pole vault with a clearance of 17-5, good enough for an NCAA provisional mark.
The provisional times earned by Ducks in track events came during the women’s 800m, where both freshman Anne Kesselring and senior Zoe Buckman hit qualifying times. Kesselring won the event in 2:07.25, and Buckman finished second in 2:07.99
Both the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams won.
Oregon did see a school record topped in an off-event as Elijah Greer, a freshman from Lake Oswego, took first place in the 600m. Greer, an 800m specialist, won the event in 1:18.01. Junior Travis Thompson finished second in 1:18.35, the second-best mark by a Duck in the indoor 600m.
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