January 28, 2012
Mile Wins Cap Total Team Effort at A&M Challenge
Ducks see solid performances on the track and in the multis.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Oregon won both mile races, as well as the men’s 4x400 meter relay and the women’s 60 meters to cap the second day of the Texas A&M Mondo Challenge.
“This might have been the best total team effort at an indoor meet that I’ve seen from an Oregon group,” said Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna. “Almost everyone who travelled hit a PR or did what they set out to accomplish this weekend.
“It was a great meet. I couldn’t have been more pleased with those performances this weekend.
The Ducks were particularly impressive in the women’s mile, where Jordan Hasay and Becca Friday went 1-2 and just missed hitting the NCAA automatic standard. Hasay and Friday worked together for much of the race and finished well clear of the field. Hasay, a junior from Arroyo Grande, Calif., won in 4:37.29, with Friday right behind her in 4:37.53. It was a personal best for Friday, a junior from Bellingham, Wash., who moved into the No. 5 spot on the UO all-time mile list.
In the men’s mile, Trevor Dunbar won his first individual race as a Duck. The sophomore from Kodiak, Alaska, crossed the line in 4:06.75, well ahead of Texas A&M’s Will Barry (4:08.07).
Amber Purvis led Oregon’s efforts in the sprints. The senior from Hercules, Calif., won the 60 meters in 7.44 seconds. She edged Darshay Davis of Florida, who ran second in 7.48.
The women’s 200 meters was also entertaining with both English Gardner and Phyllis Francis winning their respective heats. Gardner hit a personal best of 23.58, which was the second-fastest time in school history, while Francis’ PR of 23.75 was No. 3 all-time for Oregon. Dominique Duncan of Texas A&M had the fastest time of all the heats, 23.54.
The men were also victorious in the 4x400 meter relay. Mike Berry led a come-from-behind win in 3:09.79. The sophomore from Seattle, Wash., turned in an impressive 45.38 anchor leg. Senior Bryan Harper led off, followed by freshmen Arthur Delaney and Jack Galpin. Barry made up more than a second on Tennessee’s Shane Brathwaite as the Volunteers were the runners-up in 3:10.04.
Sophomore Dakotah Keys set big personal bests in the 60 meter hurdles and the 1,000 meters to hit a PR in the heptathlon with 5,433 points. The Sweet Home, Ore., native was the runner-up behind Florida’s Gray Horn, who scored 5,971 points. Keys was second in the 60 hurdles in 8.42, knocking a tenth of a second off his previous best, and then turned in a 15-second PR in the 1,000 meters (2:48.72).
Duck freshman Alec Fellows finished fifth in the heptathlon with 5,089 points. The Woodway, Wash., native was third in both the hurdles (8.57) and the 1,000 (2:47.11).
Chanelle Price of Tennessee and Anne Kesselring of Oregon waged an entertaining race in the women’s 800. Price came out ahead on Saturday in 2:05.33, with Kesselring, the defending NCAA outdoor champion, just behind in 2:05.77.
Sophomore Boru Guyota finished fourth in the men’s 800 meters with the fourth-fastest indoor 800 time in school history, 1:48.84.
Chancey Summers took second in the women’s high jump with a clearance at 5-8.5/1.74m. That was tied for the fourth-best indoor clearance in school history.
In the men’s 3,000 meters, freshman Brian Shrader was third in 8:01.86, with freshman Jeramy Elkaim fourth in 8:03.61. Another freshman, Johnathan Cabral, was the runner-up in the 60 meter hurdles in 7.92.
In the conference portion of the competition, the Big 12 won the men’s title with 277.25 points, with the Pac-12 second at 227.25 and the SEC third at 164.5. The SEC won the women’s race with 216 points, followed by the Big 12 with 214 and the Pac-12 with 178.
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