After contributing to the NCAA record-setting distance medley team in New York two weeks ago, Oregon freshman Katie Rainsberger catapulted to the top of the NCAA conference with her win in the 3,000 meters at the Husky Classic in Seattle, Washington, on Saturday evening.
Her PR of 9 minutes, 1.21 seconds also ranks second on the school’s all-time list, only behind Nike Oregon Project’s Jordan Hasay.
Samantha Nadel and Alli Cash also set PRs in the 3,000 meters to take their spots in the NCAA season list as well. Nadel crossed the line in a career-best time of 9:05.52, sixth-best in the NCAA and fourth in Oregon history, while Cash smashed her PR with a 9:06.91 that ranks 11th in the NCAA and fifth in school history.
Jackson Mestler, the sole male representative for the Ducks in the 3,000-meter event also set a PR of 8:13.01.
All of the Ducks entered in the mile achieved PRs. Both Matthew Maton (3:58.34) and Tim Gorman (3:58.78) broke the four-minute barrier, putting themselves within qualifying range for the NCAAs. Maton is 12th in the nation while Gorman is 16th, but only the top-16 performers will be selected to compete at next month’s NCAA Indoor Championships.
Freshmen Austin Tamagno (4:01.02) and Mick Stanovsek (4:02.69) got a good start to their collegiate career with fresh mile PRs.
Lilli Burdon etched herself into the Oregon record books with her PR of 4:36.98, which puts her at seventh on the all-time list. Emma Abrahamson smashed her PR by more than 14 seconds with a time of 4:39.18.
Throwers Ronna Stone and Madeline Middlebrooks also established PRs, with Stone improving in both the shot put (14.33m/47-0.25) and the weight throw (17.21m/56-5.75). Middlebrooks, who was only entered in the weight throw, threw a distance of 61-8.25, the fourth top mark in Oregon history.
Going into the weekend, head coach Robert Johnson established that the team’s main goal was to get as many qualifiers as they could, and they did precisely that.
“Overall a productive weekend for the Ducks at both meets; I think we are headed in the right direction,” Johnson said in a press release. “Our objective was to get as many NCAA qualifiers as possible, and I think we did pretty well. Outstanding performances by Hannah, Edward and Katie and their new NCAA-leading marks, and many of their teammates did a fantastic job putting themselves in contention for an NCAA-berth. Awesome job by all!”
The sprinters and jumpers competed separately at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Hannah Cunliffe continued to dazzle the competition by establishing a school record, NCAA record and world leading time in the 60 meters.
The Ducks will have a two-week break before heading to the MPSF Championships in Seattle on February 24-25. This will be their final opportunity to secure qualifying marks for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Don Kirby Elite Invitational full results
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