Oregon freshman English Gardner capped her 2011 outdoor season with a second-place finish in the Junior National women’s 100-meter dash Friday afternoon at Hayward Field.
In day two of the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Gardner cruised to an easy victory in her semi-final heat in the morning in 11.40.
Two hours later, however, Gardner couldn’t hold off Central Florida freshman Aurieyall Scott as the two crossed the line neck-and-neck, with Garner finishing second in 11.18 to Scott’s 11.12.
“Can’t ask for more,” Gardner said. “I went out there and did everything I was supposed to do, sometimes you just come up short. It was just one of those days.”
Gardner, the Pac-10 100m champion and school record holder in the event, said she will not compete in Saturday’s 200m semi-final after speaking with Oregon sprints and jumps coach Robert Johnson about her nagging knee injury suffer at the NCAA Championships in early June.
“I’m not where I want to be,” Gardner said. “It’s just one of those things where you’ve got be smart about it, listen to your body, and say ‘OK, I hear you. I’m going to take a break.’”
Despite not being able to compete on Saturday, Garnder seemed genuinely pleased with the way her freshman season concluded, and equally excited about the future of Oregon track and field.
“When I came here as a freshman, I told the vets here, ‘We might as well just hold each other accountable and make each other work harder, because next year its going to be better runners and people who jump farther, and they year after that and the year after that,’” Gardner said.
As Gardner mentioned, there were plenty of current and future Ducks that impressed on Friday.
Jenna Prandini, a 2011 Oregon recruit, also competed in the 100m final, where she finished fifth in 11.51. The Fresno, Calif., native quietly had a very strong day by also taking the junior women’s long jump title moments after the 100m final.
“It was a pretty good day overall,” Prandini said. “And I’m excited about what I did overall.”
Fellow Ducks signee Greg Skipper placed second in the hammer throw with a 220-7 mark to finish behind UCLA’s Alec Faldermeyer (241-2), while future teammate Johnathan Cabral looked to be in contention for the title in the men’s 110 hurdles, but tripped over the final obstacle and fell to the turf as the rest of the field past him by to end in seventh place.
Oregon signee Alyssa Monteverde placed fifth in the women’s heptathlon with 4,876 points.
Monteverde’s twin sister, Anginae, tied for fifth in the women’s junior pole vault, alongside a pair of Oregon freshman, Kortney Ross and Sammie Clark, who placed fourth and fifth in that event, respectfully.
Ross cleared 12-feet, 11 1/2 inches, while Monteverde and Clark cleared 12-5 1/2.
Oregon’s Phyllis Francis ran the top time in the women’s 400 semi-final (53.28), and will be among the favorites in Saturday’s 5:20 p.m. final.
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