The Oregon women are peaking at the right time of the season.
Led by first-place finishes from Keshia Baker, Nicole Blood and Rachel Yurkovich, the Ducks had their best showing at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships since 1996, scoring an even 100 points to take third place.
Yurkovich got the ball rolling for Oregon on Friday, with her third javelin title in a row. The junior from Newberg had five throws of 170 feet or better, including her best toss of 184-0 on her fifth attempt.
“It’s a relief because it was kind of a long day waiting to throw, but it feels really good,” Yurkovich said in a media release. “And it was good to get my best throw on my fifth attempt. That’s a new thing for me.”
Baker, a sophomore, became the Ducks’ first Pac-10 champion in one of the sprints since Camara Jones won the 400 meters in 1995.
Her time of 53.27 seconds moved her to fourth all-time at Oregon.
“I ran the best race I’ve ever run,” Baker told reporters. “I did exactly what my coach told me to do. I got out strong, maintained, and gave it all I had over the last 180. I felt really strong at the end, and I had no doubt in my mind that I could do it.”
Baker’s win came just after Blood finished a disappointing fourth in the 1,500m, fading after taking the lead on the final lap.
She came back with a vengeance to win the 5,000 in 16:33.70, beating runner-up Teresa McWalters of Stanford by nine seconds.
“When you put it together, it’s great,” Blood said. “But there was no doubt I was going for the win in the 1,500 and I wasn’t too happy with the way it turned out. In the 5,000, my coaches warned me not to go out too fast because I was pissed off. I was mad, but I had to get myself under control, and get my head back into it like it should be.”
Zoe Buckman captured second place in the 800 meters behind defending NCAA champion Alysia Johnson, dropping more than two seconds off her season best heading into the Pac-10 meet.
Her 2:04.52 is tied for fifth on the all-time list.
The Ducks were also helped by a trio of third-place finishes from Kasey Harwood in the 400 hurdles, Jamesha Youngblood in the triple jump and the 4×400 relay team. Harwood jumped to fifth all-time at Oregon at 58.98 seconds and the relay team moved to sixth.
The Ducks got 18 points from their distance crew Friday night in the 3,000 steeplechase and 10,000, which staked them at 41 points and third place going into Saturday’s final day, behind Arizona State and Stanford.
The Sun Devils won their third consecutive conference championship with 186.5 points, easily out-distancing the Cardinal, with 117, and the Ducks. USC was fourth with 91.
The Ducks have two weeks off before the West Region championships in Northridge, Calif. May 30-31.
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Multiple athletes help Ducks to third-place finish in Tempe
Daily Emerald
May 18, 2008
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