Thursday marked a solid afternoon in the young Oregon career of David Moore.
The redshirt freshman pole vaulter tied for 10th, clearing 16 feet, 4 3/4 inches at the 77th-annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, improving on his mark of 15-11 two weeks ago at the Oregon Preview.
Moore just missed a pair of attempts at 16-10 3/4, which would have been a personal best. He cleared 16-8 3/4 at the 2003 Cardinal Invitational in Stanford, Calif.
The Orinda, Calif., native said he would like to clear 17-6 by the end of the year.
“(Clearing 16-4 3/4 is) pretty good,” Moore said. “I’m not disappointed but I would like to go higher.”
Moore is in his first season competing for the Ducks, after participating unattached in several meets during his redshirt year. The former prep All-American brought an impressive résumé to Oregon, finishing tied for seventh nationally as a senior with a personal best of 16-6.
Despite his quality marks, Moore and other Duck pole vaulters are often overshadowed by freshman phenom Tommy Skipper. Moore, however, said he enjoys competing with Skipper and has no
problem with the attention the Sandy native receives.
“(Skipper) is really good to jump with and brings a lot of energy to our team,” Moore said. “It’s just a lot of fun to jump with him.”
Skipper is set to compete Saturday at the Texas Relays.
Senior Trevor Woods and redshirt sophomore Jon Derby also competed in the pole vault for Oregon Thursday. Woods tied for eighth, clearing the same final bar height as Moore (16-4 3/4) but finishing in a better position due to fewer overall misses.
Derby finished with a no-height after failing to clear his opening bar of 15-11.
All three Duck pole vaulters have already met the Pacific-10 Conference
qualifying standard of 16-4 3/4 during the 2004 indoor season.
Texas A&M junior Justin Sutton (17-4 1/2) dominated the event, defeating his closest opponent by nearly six inches.
A trio of Oregon hurdlers also competed Thursday. Senior Brandon Holliday, sophomore A.K. Ikwuakor and sophomore Eric Mitchum tallied solid times in the 400 hurdles, but failed to stay under the time qualifier (52.62) for the event final.
Holliday finished tops among Oregon hurdlers (14th, 53.01) and finished second in his respective heat behind Florida freshman and former prep All-American Kerron Clement (49.94).
Ikwuakor, a transfer from Colorado, finished 17th (53.27), while Mitchum finished 20th (53.47). Each finished second in his respective heat.
Thursday marked the second outdoor appearance in the 400 hurdles for Holliday and Ikwuakor after recording Pac-10 qualifying times of 51.89 and 52.93 at the Oregon Preview.
Junior Paul Etter rounded out the field of seven Oregon competitors, taking the hammer circle for the second time this season. The Clackamas Community College transfer ranked 16th (191-10) in the 23-man field. Etter’s mark failed to match his throw of 195-9 in the Oregon Preview, a toss that left him less than seven feet shy of the Oregon all-time top-10 list (10th is 202-1).
The Texas Relays continue through Saturday with several high profile Ducks yet to compete. All-American long jumper Leonidas Watson is slated to compete today, along with participating in the triple jump Saturday. Adam Jenkins, an All-American in the javelin, is scheduled for Saturday.
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