The Oregon men and women finished fourth and second, respectively, at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championships at Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle while adding another set of NCAA provisional and automatic qualifying marks, with the NCAA championships just two weeks away.
The Ducks received a big boost in Friday competition with senior Kalindra McFadden’s win in the pentathlon, the first of her career. McFadden’s personal-best 4,044 points was an NCAA provisional qualifying mark (six points from automatic status) bolstered by wins in the 800m (2:17.45) and the shot put (42 feet, 8.25 inches). It was the second-best pentathlon performance in school history.
Sophomore Vernell Warren also turned in a personal best in Friday’s long jump competition, tying for third with a distance of 24 feet, 7.25 inches. The Portland native’s mark was an NCAA provisional qualifier.
Saturday was helped in large part by sophomore Alex Kosinski and the women’s 4x400m relay team, which helped guide Oregon to its second-place finish. Kosinski ran a personal-best 9:11.24 in the 3,000m, a school record and NCAA automatic qualifying time. She also finished fourth in the mile in 4:42.16.
The 4x400m team of sophomore Jamesha Youngblood, senior Leah Worthen, freshman Amber Purvis and junior Keshia Baker won its race in 3:36.52, besting the school record of 3:37.48 set in 2007. The relay time is the second-fastest in the nation and an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.
The 3,000m was also good for freshman Matthew Centrowitz, who set a 17-second personal best (7:55.90) in winning the race. Oregon men posted three NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the MPSF 3,000m: Centrowitz, freshman Luke Puskedra (third, 7:58.42) and senior Scott Wall (fourth, 7:59.27, PR).
Fresh off his American indoor 5,000m record, senior Galen Rupp competed in the MPSF 800m race and ran the fourth-best time in school history (1:49.87), an NCAA provisional qualifier. Junior A.J. Acosta, out with a foot injury suffered in cross country season, made his track season debut in the mile, running an NCAA provisional qualifier 4:01.89.
The men’s 4x400m team (juniors Ashton Eaton and Chad Barlow, and sophomores David Klech and Travis Thompson) also posted an NCAA provisional mark, finishing third in a season-best 3:10.40.
The Stanford women and the UCLA men won team top honors.
– Robert Husseman