Friday afternoon, fifth-year senior Brianne Theisen wrapped up a historical career at Oregon, winning an NCAA title in the heptahlon with 6,440 points. The Humboldt, Sask., native leaves Eugene with seven NCAA titles, including three in the heptathlon.
Theisen now sits No. 2 all-time in NCAA heptathlon scoring, and is just the third person to win three NCAA heptathlon titles. Her total score eclipsed UCLA legend Jackie Joyner-Kersey, who scored 6,390 points at the 1983 NCAA meet, for the No. 2 score in collegiate history. Theisen’s effort stands second to all-time NCAA leader Diane Guthrie-Gresham of George Mason, who tallied 6,527 points at the 1995 NCAAs. Theisen’s score also was the second-highest in Canadian history, standing behind only Jessica Zelinka’s 6,490 from the 2008 Olympics.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better way to finish my career in my last meet as a Duck,” Theisen said to GoDucks.com. “It’s just been amazing being here with my teammates competing for a national championship. When I was being recruited, I looked at the scores from the NCAA meet and thought it would be great to finish in the top 13.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would win three NCAA titles.”
Outside than Theisen, Oregon had twelve athletes competing in finals in Des Moines, Iowa. When all was said and done, the Ducks with were tied for first with LSU at 40 points, with a healthy lead on the rest of the NCAA field heading into Saturday, the last day of competition.
“I think it’s a little early to start counting points,” associate athletic director Vin Lananna said to GoDucks.com. “It’s going to come down to the last day and probably the last event and every point is going to make a difference.”
Also making history for the Ducks was sophomore sprinter English Gardner. The Voorhees, N.J., native became the first 100-meter champion in school history, finishing in 11.10 to claim 10 big points for the Ducks. Gardner went head-to-head with two elite sprinters from LSU, Kimberlyn Duncan and Semoy Hackett. The pair finished second and third, respectively.
“I definitely came out there with a lot of fire and intensity,” Gardner said to GoDucks.com. “My start was a little bit better than yesterday. I wanted to stay calm and just trust my training.”
In the women’s 800-meter final, Laura Roesler and Anne Kesselring finished in fourth (2:02.96) and fifth (2:03.41) respectively. LSU’s Charlene Lipsey came in second.
“That was a hard race,” Roesler said to GoDucks.com. “It was my first NCAA final and hopefully I can learn and improve from here.”
In the men’s 800, Elijah Greer stayed in contention until late, finishing in third after crossing the line in 1:46.015.
In the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase, Lanie Thompson recorded the best effort in school history, finishing sixth in the country to gain three points for the Ducks.
The men’s 400 meters saw Mike Berry finish second in a school-record 44.75 to claim eight points for the Oregon men. In the women’s 400, Phyllis Francis grabbed 5th in 51.79.
“Mike Berry ran brilliantly,” Lananna said to GoDucks.com. “I can’t remember ever seeing a 400 field as good as that one.”
In the last race of the day, the men’s 5,000 meters, the Ducks sent out Trevor Dunbar, Parker Stinson and Chris Kwiatkowski. The trio sat 8-9-10 with three laps to go before finishing 7-9-10.
The significance of Theisen’s groundbreaking effort Friday cannot be understated. She started the day with a personal-best effort, recording 20-7.25/6.28m on her first attempt in the long jump. The mark was the sixth-best in school history.
Theisen followed up that performance by setting another personal best in the javelin, going 152-2/46.38 for the ninth-best throw in school history. Theisen wrapped up her day by finishing the 800 meters in 2:13.81 to win handedly with 6,440 points.