Like the thunderstorms that temporarily ravaged the Baton Rouge, La., area on Thursday, the Oregon women’s javelin squad came in with force to the NCAA Championships, but left with a whimper.
The trio, all ranked in the top 12 in the nation, clearly did not have their day down in the Bayou, with freshman Roslyn Lundeen taking the highest ranked spot at No. 7. Her top throw of 165 feet, 2 inches earned Oregon two points, but that’s all the Ducks would receive on the day.
Fellow freshman Elisa Crumley, entering the NCAA Championships for the first time, earned a mark of 157-04, but was still five feet from making the final field of nine. Lundeen and Crumley became the first freshmen duo from Oregon to garner All-American status in the same event since 1982.
Sophomore Sarah Malone, ranked fourth in the nation before the meet, fell to 14th with a top throw of 155-04.
Lundeen’s final score gives Oregon eight points after day one, a marked improvement over 2001, a year in which the squad was able to post only two points.

However, Lundeen had more than just the championship experience in Louisiana.
Suffering from what she called food poisoning, Lundeen was stuck in her hotel room for much of Wednesday, missing the first day of the championships — even though she wasn’t set to compete — and trying to recuperate her strength.
“I was just so thankful to be coming out here,” Lundeen said during a telephone interview Thursday.
Crumley and Malone, on the other hand, were at full strength entering the meet. Both fell below regular season marks by at least 10 feet.
Malone, who finished seventh at the 2001 NCAA Championships, could not be reached for comment.
For Crumley, the excitement of participating in one of the most competitive meets in the nation may have played a little part in her drop off.

“It was just an intense experience,” she said. “I was maybe a little nervous.”
Like the pole vault competition on Wednesday, which saw a majority of its competitors fall far below personal bests, the javelin competition had its demons. Purdue’s Serene Ross won the meet with a toss of 195-08, while USC’s Inga Stasiulionyte — the favorite coming into the competition — finished second with a throw of 177, almost nine feet shorter than her best throw in 2002.
However, that is no consolation to Oregon’s trio. Crumley, while happy to have made the top meet in her first season, knew she could have done better.
“It was just a matter of putting it all together,” she said. “I just didn’t feel it. It just wasn’t there.”
Lundeen, on the other hand, jumped up five spots from her 12th place season ranking.
“My rhythm was just on,” she said. “I was a little nervous coming into it, but the girls were just so friendly. It was a great experience.”
And what of the thunderstorms that delayed the start of the javelin competition for an hour?
“It’s really only going to be a disadvantage to the girls who aren’t used to it,” Lundeen said, comparing the weather to Eugene. “Sarah, Elisa and I knew it wasn’t going to be a problem coming into it.”

Etter ends Oregon’s

NCAA participation
Oregon now has one competitor left, Mary Etter, in the team’s quest to earn double-digits in points for the first time since 1995, when it earned 10.
Etter, in her third appearance at the NCAA Championships in the discus — finishing eighth in 2000 and 19th in 2001 — has high hopes on earning the team much-needed points.
“My goal all year has been 180 (feet),” she said. “If I can hit 180, I’ll be happy because I’ll have reached my goal, but then on the other hand I’ll have placed at nationals. Hit my goal and everything else will take care of itself.”