Oregon couldn’t have asked for a better performance this past weekend at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships in Tucson, Ariz.
However, UCLA was just a little better.
The Bruins, the favorites entering the meet, used strong second-day performances in the 800 and 1,500 meters to overtake the Ducks and claim the conference crown. UCLA finished with 143 points, 13 ahead of Oregon (second, 130).
The Ducks entered Saturday’s
action with a 67-49 lead on the Bruins but lacked depth in several key events down the stretch. Despite UCLA’s efforts, Oregon’s second-place finish marked the third consecutive top-two Pac-10 finish for the Ducks under head coach Martin Smith.
“I thought the men competed hard and dug down deep time and time again and did not back down,” Smith said. “We came as close to our projected score as you could. UCLA simply responded with an amazing team effort of their own, and they deserve credit for that.”
Arizona State finished third (120), followed by Southern California (95) and Arizona (93).
Sophomore Eric Mitchum and freshman Tommy Skipper earned individual Pac-10 titles in the 110-meter hurdles and the pole vault,
respectively.
Mitchum defended his top seed by running his second-fastest wind-legal time ever (13.62 seconds), edging UCLA’s Anthony Golston (second, 13.79) on Saturday. The Calumet City, Ill., native’s top wind-legal
time came in mid-April at the Mt. SAC Relays (13.53).
“It really helped having the Bruins around me at the start,” Mitchum said. “I knew what was expected from me, and it kept me focused on the race itself and not the pressure. I got out a little slow but then had a good middle part of the race and just finished it off from there.”
Skipper continued his brilliant freshman campaign Friday by setting a new outdoor season best (first, 18 feet 3 1/4 inches) in the pole vault. The Sandy native was tested by UCLA’s Yoo Kim early, but pulled away with first-attempt clearances at 17-11 1/4 and 18-3 1/4 to win by 8 inches.
“I wasn’t my best early in the pole vault, but once I got in the flow, things started feeling a lot better,” Skipper said. “Having Andy (Young) and Trevor (Woods) out there doing well and cheering you on was also really special, and the crowd added an extra energy.”
Woods, a two-time All-American, finished fifth (16-11 1/2). Young missed his personal best by an inch en route to a 12th-place finish (16-5 1/2).
Oregon senior Adam Jenkins just missed successfully defending his Pac-10 javelin title, finishing second to Arizona’s Matt Wagner (233-4). Jenkins’ top throw of 227-4 was good for third on the Oregon all-time list.
“I had a bad first two attempts, so Lance (Deal, Oregon throws coach) and I agreed to use a half approach to make it simpler, and that worked really well,” Jenkins said. “That got my spirits back up and back in the competitive mental framework. From there, as I got closer to Wagner, that made it easier to give me confidence and I started thinking I actually had a chance to get him.”
The Oregon 4×400 relay team of Travis Anderson, Brandon Holliday, Kedar Inico and Matt Scherer finished second (3:03.49) to Arizona State while setting a 2.51 second school record.
Holliday, who entered with the Pac-10’s top time in the 400 hurdles (51.08), finished fourth (50.52) despite running the fastest time of his career. UCLA’s Brandon Johnson won the event with a time of 48.85.