Sprinters English Gardner, Amber Purvis and Mike Berry continued their outstanding outdoor seasons, and sophomore Anne Kesselring posted a personal-best time in the women’s 800 meters at the Oregon Relays, held Friday and Saturday at Hayward Field.
Kesselring stayed close to Oregon Track Club’s Geena Gall throughout the race and emerged the runner-up in 2:02.44, behind Gall’s 2:02.04. Kesselring’s time was the fastest by a collegian this year and the fifth-best in school history.
“That’s killer. That’s a killer performance,” Oregon associate athletic director Vin Lananna said. “Anne was nice and composed, and she has more in the tank.”
“I was definitely looking for a PR and it was going to be a good race,” Kesselring said. “2:02.44 is a huge PR. I was super pumped.”
Purvis and Gardner each won a section of the women’s 200 meters, with the junior Purvis in 23.13 seconds and the freshman Gardner in 23.22 seconds. Purvis, a junior from Hercules, Calif., broke a 12-year-old meet record in the process.
Gardner set a personal best in her 200m heat, then teamed with Purvis to win the 4×100-meter relay in 43.82 seconds – the second-fastest time in school history. Mandy White, Purvis and Lauryn Newson ran the first three legs before handing off to Gardner at anchor.
“Today was a little off. We didn’t know who was running what leg,” Gardner said. “Handoffs were a little shaky, but it turned out really well. We got a good time.”
Boru Guyota continued his impressive freshman season with a personal-best 1:47.75 in the 800m, tied for 10th -fastest in school history. Guyota, a native of Ethiopia who attended high school in Portland, made a push with 250 meters to go to counter that of OTC’s Tyler Mulder, who won the race in a meet-record 1:46.79.
“I’m really happy,” Guyota said. “I feel like I’m getting in good shape, but I have to continue to work hard.”
Three other Ducks cracked school history lists in their events over the course of the Relays.
Freshman sprinter Chizoba Okodogbe won her heat of the women’s 400m in 54.04 secondson Saturday, sneaking into 10th on Oregon’s all-time records list.
Newson, a junior college transfer from Richmond, Calif., finished third in the 100m in 11.90 seconds, with Oregon’s Mandy White (11.60) winning the race. Newson, however, sneaked into the Ducks’ all-time list with the 10th -best mark.
Junior Brian Schaudt was the runner-up in the triple jump with a wind-aided mark of 51 feet, 9 inches, a personal best. His second-best mark was a wind-legal 51 feet, 1/4 inch, which broke into the Oregon top-10 list at No. 10.
Berry beat former three-sport Duck and former NFL wide receiver Jordan Kent in Friday’s 200m, winning in 21.10 seconds to Kent’s 21.26. Kent, competing unattached, came back on Saturday in the 400m and won the event in 47.23 seconds.
Former Oregon decathlete and current OTC athlete Ashton Eaton competed in the discus, pole vault and 110-meter high hurdles over the course of the event. Eaton’s best performance came in the latter event, which he won in 13.57 seconds despite clipping three hurdles.
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