Oregon track and field concluded its first of two competition days at the Razorback Invitational in Fayette, Arkansas, Friday evening. 10 USTCCCA ranked teams flocked to the invitational, providing a highly competitive field for the Ducks’ second meet of the indoor season.
With 38 points after seven events, the 10th-ranked women’s team sits in third place behind No. 1 Arkansas and No. 8 Kentucky. And on the men’s side, the team ended the day in second place with 37 points after six events behind No. 2 Florida.
Only two running events, the distance medley relay and the 200-meter dash were featured in Friday’s competition alongside four field events, which included the hammer throw, the long jump, the pole vault and the high jump.
On the track, the women’s relay squad took second place just two seconds behind their only other competitor, Florida. In the 200 meters, the top finisher was sophomore Iman Brown, who took seventh place.
Junior Rhesa Foster and senior Chaquinn Cook took the top two spots in the women’s long jump, with Foster winning the event off a leap of 20 feet, 10 ½ inches.
But maybe the most impressive performance on the day for the women’s team was sophomore Keira Mccarrell. She scored a career-high 3,685 points in the pentathlon – over 300 points past her previous personal record. Although she only placed sixth in the competition, Mccarrell posted personal bests in five separate events and moved up to No. 7 all-time for UO.
For the men on the track, the distance medley team took home the victory in a time of 9 minutes, 36.21 seconds. And in the 200 meters, senior Cravon Gillespie was the top performing Duck with a time of 21.22, granting him sixth place.
Off the track, throwers Max Lydum, Jared Briere and Austin Tharp placed third through fifth in the men’s hammer throw, topped off by Lydum’s throw of 60 feet, 1 ¾ inches. In the long jump, junior Tristan James and senior Spenser Schmidt took fourth and fifth place.
Day two of the invitational begins Saturday at 11:35 a.m. where the rest of the over 70 competing Ducks will get their first chance competing against a stacked field this season.
Follow Bryce Dole on Twitter @DoleBryce