Taking the opportunity to hone their skills before getting into the thick of the outdoor season, eleven members of the Oregon women’s track and field team traveled to Salem on Saturday to compete in the Willamette Open.
The Ducks’ young guns led the way as five finished first-place in their events and another had her best race ever. Of the five first-place finishes, four were taken by underclassmen.
The Ducks’ throwing corps collected two of the top honors. Freshman Lindsay Horton recorded season bests in the shot put and hammer, placing first with a 38-foot, 9-inch throw and fifth with a 137-5 throw, respectively.
Redshirt senior Heather Hill won the hammer throw with a season-best mark of 154-9, just shy of her 156-11 personal best from last season.
Redshirt sophomore Shennae McNairy’s time of 14.73 seconds in the 100 meter hurdles was the fastest time of the year for Oregon. Meanwhile, freshman Erica Kelly sprinted to victory in the 200, finishing in 26.66. Teammate Alison Brown finished second in 26.70.
Freshman Deb Lee added a win in the long jump with a leap of 17-3.
Nattalie Wright finished fifth in the 1,500 meters with a personal-best time of 4 minutes, 39.07. The sophomore’s efforts rewarded her with her first-ever Pac-10 qualifying time.
Freshman Eri Macdonald also claimed a Pac-10 mark in the 1,500 with a sixth-place finish in 4:40.31. The meet was Macdonald’s Oregon debut.
Also finishing well was pole-vaulter Holly Speight, who finished second in the pole vault with a season-best mark of 12-0.
Both track teams compete Saturday at home in the Hayward Relays.