Individual victories by Brianne Theisen and English Gardner combined with a well-rounded team effort to propel the Oregon women to their third straight NCAA championship in indoor track and field at Jacksons Indoor Track in Nampa, Idaho, this Saturday.
The Ducks became the second team to ever win three-straight NCAA indoor titles. The only other program to achieve that feat is LSU, which claimed titles in 2002-04 and 1993-97. The Ducks finished with 49 points, followed by Kansas (30 points), LSU (27), and Texas (25). @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=243&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205395809@@
“It was a great ‘team’ win,” Oregon associate athletic director Vin Lananna said to GoDucks.com. “Our team delivered big performances multiple times throughout the night. It is an exciting night for the University of Oregon and Track Town USA.”
Fifth-year senior Theisen grabbed key points for Oregon early in the meet by winning her third national title in the pentathlon. She topped the competition with 4,536 points, only 19 shy of her NCAA and Canadian record. Finishing second was Dorcas Akinniyi of Wisconsin (4,299 points), followed Maddie Buttinger of Notre Dame in third (4,269 points).
Gardner, a freshman sprinter from Voorhees, N.J., also had an outstanding individual performance to give the Ducks a boost. She used a quick start to finish the 60-meter dash in 7.12 seconds — a stadium record, as well as the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=243&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205395809@@
“I fixed my start from yesterday and felt pretty comfortable in the race,” Gardner said to GoDucks.com. “I executed everything I was supposed to do.”
As expected before the meet, Oregon used a deep contingent in the mile to grab 11 important points. Jordan Hasay led the pack before falling behind two runners — Lucy Van Dalen of Stony Brook and Aisha Praught of Illinois State — to finish third. Van Dalen broke the tape in 4:39.76, while Praught was second in 4:39.85. Hasay finished in 4:40.09.
Becca Friday, a junior from Bellingham, Wash., made a momentous comeback in the last two laps to pass several runners down the backstretch. She took fourth in 4:40.24, while fellow junior Anne Kesselring finished 10th in 4:47.66.
“I saw a lot of girls in front of me and I decided I needed to get up there,” Friday said to GoDucks.com. “In the back of my mind, I was hoping for top three, but I’m definitely happy with fourth.”
Hasay was a bit disappointed with her performance but was happy to know her teammates were there to pick up the slack.
“Of course I wanted to win, but I was happy I could come out here and score some points for the team,” Hasay said to GoDucks.com. “I still have a long season ahead of me, so I’m OK with how this meet went.”
Although Theisen made history with her win in the pentathlon, she actually fell behind early on before recovering later in the day. In the opening event, the 60-meter hurdles, she clocked in at 8.25 seconds, a school-record effort that earned 1,073 points.
“I really got that great start and got over the first two hurdles,” Theisen said to GoDucks.com.
She followed that by tying her own NCAA Championships meet record in the high jump. Theisen cleared 1.84 meters in the high jump, good enough to tie for first place and earn an additional 1,029 points.
The shot put, the third event, saw Theisen throw 12.46 meters for 692 points. But Akinniyi set a personal record by a wide margin to top Theisen by four points in the overall race (2,798 to 2,794).
Theisen returned the favor in the long jump by recording a distance of 5.95 meters, earning 834 points to help her claim the overall lead, an advantage she would never relinquish.
Theisen then finished the 800 meters in 2:13.95 to earn 908 more points and secure her sixth overall NCAA title. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=243&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205395809@@
“I’m really happy with how I ran the 800,” she said to GoDucks.com.
Theisen became just the second three-time pentathlon champion in NCAA history, joining Arizona State’s Jacquelyn Johnson (2006-08).
“I think it is special, because when I came here as a freshman, we weren’t very good,” Theisen said to GoDucks.com. “It’s been really cool to see the team grow.”
“We’re a true team,” said Gardner to GoDucks.com. “We have a tremendous home field advantage and we bring that Hayward Field magic wherever we are.”
The Ducks also got a strong performance from sophomore Phyllis Francis in the 400 meters. Francis finished in a personal best 53.01 to take fourth place despite entering the competition seeded 12th. That effort was the second-fastest time in school history.
The Oregon men only sent three competitors to Idaho but saw some positive results. Sophomore sprinter Mike Berry broke the school record in the 400m, with a time of 45.93, good enough for fourth in the country. The Seattle native broke Sammie Parker’s school record of 45.95 set in 2005. Sophomore Trevor Dunbar finished in 10th place in the 3,000 meters in 7:56.24.
The men’s competition also saw a historic winner, as Florida claimed its third straight NCAA men’s indoor title with 52 points. Arkansas was second (47), followed by Arizona (41) and Arizona State (31). Oregon tied for 35th with six points.
Oregon women claim third straight NCAA title at indoor track and field championships
David Lieberman
March 10, 2012
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