Ashton Eaton won his third consecutive NCAA decathlon title, and Andrew Wheating bested Robby Andrews in an electric 800-meter final as Oregon built significant momentum heading into the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Eaton started his day off on the right foot, winning the 110-meter hurdles in 13.68 seconds, a hundredth of a second off Dan O’Brien’s American decathlon record for the event. Nevertheless, the mark is a collegiate, meet, track and personal decathlon record for Eaton, a senior from Bend.
Eaton ended the day on better footing, gutting out a win in the 1,500m in 4:21.85 over Mateo Sossah of North Carolina (4:22.64). The sold-out Hayward Field crowd of 11,972 was roaring in praise for Eaton’s effort. His 8,457 points – eight shy of Trey Hardee’s 2006 NCAA record – is a new NCAA meet and Oregon school record, bettering both by more than 150 points.
“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “It’s never going to be like that again for me in an Oregon uniform.”
And then … the cheers continued. Louder. And louder still.
Oregon decathlete Marshall Ackley had no-heighted in the pole vault, a hamstring injury preventing him from running and getting the requisite lift. A senior from Nyssa, Ore., Ackley couldn’t stomach the thought of withdrawing from his final decathlon and told his coaches he would continue.
Ackley threw 168 feet, 2 inches in the javelin to take 14th place in the event, then slowly jogged his way around the Hayward track in the 1,500m. Lapped by the field, Ackley persevered to finish in 7:04.56 (63 points) as the entire Hayward crowd stood, applauded, cheered and coaxed him on.
He finished in 22nd place with 5,883 points.
“It gives me chills,” Ackley said of the crowd’s reaction. “This is where I wanted to finish. To do it in front of this crowd was unbelievable. I can’t thank them enough.”
The decathlon finale was so powerful that it somehow managed to overshadow a hyped men’s 800-meter final showdown. At the starting gun, Oregon’s Andrew Wheating and Virginia’s Robby Andrews, the two race favorites, both sat in the back of a pack led by USC’s Corey Primm and Alabama’s Fred Samoei. After the first lap, Wheating moved into fourth position, while Andrews held court at the rear.
At the 650-meter mark of the race, Andrews sprung into action. His signature kick was employed as he began wheeling around the runners. However, as if activated by a sensor, Wheating employed his own kick to burst into the lead – and he never let up, getting the easier-than-expected victory in 1:45.67.
“I did what Nick Symmonds did to me two years ago (in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials),” Wheating said. “I put the pedal on the floor and never let up.”
Andrews clipped Georgia sophomore Aaron Evans at the finish line to take second in 1:46.83.
“Andy was the class of the field,” Andrews said. “I almost didn’t even get second.”
The Duck women had three point-scorers for the day as their quest for a second national title this academic year continued.
Freshman Anne Kesselring made an early move in the women’s 800 meters but fell to the back of the pack and finished in sixth place in 2:05.41. Keshia Baker closed out her decorated Oregon career with a fourth-place finish (52.34) in the women’s 400 meters. Alex Kosinski couldn’t catch Lisa Koll of Iowa State or Marie Louise Asselin of West Virginia in the women’s 5,000 meters, but her third-place finish (16:02.90) gave the Ducks critical points.
In the midst of the success, the Oregon women endured setbacks. Nicole Blood, fresh off a third-place finish in the women’s 10,000 meters two days prior, tired and faded early in the 5,000m. The senior finished a disappointing 23rd.
In the women’s pole vault, junior Melissa Gergel was forced to use her third clearance three separate times before bowing out in 10th place, failing to score. Her highest clearance of 13 feet, 9 1/4 inches was identical to the winning fourth-place clearance, but misses sealed her fate.
The Duck women do head into Saturday’s finals with 30 points, ahead of Southern Illinois (26), Arizona (19), Oklahoma (16) and LSU (16). On the men’s side, Texas A&M (36 points) holds the lead over Florida (28), though the Gators are still projected favorites to take home the NCAA outdoor title. Oregon sits tied with LSU for fourth at 20 points.
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