| Eaton and Theisen Earn Trips to NCAA Outdoor Track Championships |
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| Written by GoDucks.com | |||||
| Saturday, 29 March 2008 | |||||
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – University of Oregon’s Ashton Eaton and Brianne Theisen posted automatic qualifying marks for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in winning the decathlon and heptathlon, respectively, at Sacramento State’s Nike Elite Invitational Friday.
Eaton’s personal best of 7,792 points also was good enough to place him on the B qualifying list in the event for this summer’s U.S. Olympic track and field trials June 27-July 6 in Eugene, and within 108 points of the automatic qualifying standard.
Although the Bend sophomore recorded the best mark in only one of five events in Friday’s competition, he tallied personal bests in the 110 hurdles, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 to guarantee himself a spot in the NCAA meet by 292 points. He also recorded the second-best marks in the 110 hurdles, where he was good for 948 points, and the pole vault, and finished as low as fifth in the field in only the discus.
The Ducks’ senior, who entered the second day of competition tied with Darius Draudvila with 4,215 points, actually trailed the former Kansas State standout by 124 points heading into Friday’s final event. But Eaton finished the 1,500 with a PR of 4:24.15 to place more than 13 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger, and more than 30 seconds ahead of Draudvila.
“The kids really stepped up and had some great marks today,” Oregon Associate Head Coach Dan Steele said despite some windy conditions that also included occasional sprinkles. “Ashton posted consistent performances across the board. On paper, we expected some big points from him but until you do it, you never know. I’m thrilled that he was able to get his qualifying mark out of the way because this now takes all the pressure off of him. He will be able to step back and work on improving all aspects of his events.”
Sophomore Marshall Ackley accounted for a fourth-place finish with a personal-best 6,356 points.
Theisen, competing in her first heptathlon at the collegiate level, posted the top marks in the long jump and javelin to go along with her PR in the 800 meters, to accumulate a personal heptathlon best of 5,575 points.
The Humboldt, Saskatchewan freshman never trailed after Thursday’s first event, and was the only woman to score 800 points or more in two of Friday’s three events. She entered her final event with a 253-point lead over runner-up Dani McNaney, with her winning 800-meter time of 2:20.21 looming as approximately five seconds faster than needed to secure her automatic NCAA qualifying mark.
“And to think that she’s just getting started,” Steele said of the 2007 Pan American Junior heptathlon champion. “She has a lot of upside. (Oregon assistant coach) Kelly (Blair LaBounty) has done a great job with all of the heptathletes.”
In addition to Theisen, Oregon junior Kalindra McFadden finished third with 5,318 points to earn a NCAA championships provisional qualifying mark, while sophomore Erin Funkhouser accumulated a personal-best 4,529 points.
McFadden, who has placed sixth in the Pacific-10 Conference heptathlon each of the past two years while qualifying for the NCAA meet in 2006, finished second in the 800 meters in 2:17.04.
Final Decathlon Results
110 Hurdles – 1. Tom Pappas, Nike, 14.09 (963); 2. Ashton Easton, Ore., 14.21 (948); 3. Darius Draudvila, Unatt.,14.63 (895); 4. Adam Fretwell, Kan. St., 14.81 (873); 5. Luke Marker, Unatt., 15.22 (823); 6. Justin Taylor, Wich. St., 16.09 (723); 7. Robert Brazier, Sac. St., 16.31 (698); 8. Marshall Ackley, Ore., 16.53 (674).
Discus – 1. Tom Pappas, Nike, 156-3 (821); 2. Darius Draudvila, Unatt., 130-6 (660); 3. Justin Taylor, Wich. St., 118-8 (587); 4. Adam Fretwell, Kan. St., 115-8 (569); 5. Ashton Eaton, Ore., 115-4 (567); 6. Marshall Ackley, Ore., 111-7 (544); 7. Robert Brazier, Sac. St., 104-4 (500); 8. Aaron McVein, Ore., 103-2 (493); 9. Luke Marker, Unatt., 88-11 (408).
Pole Vault – 1. Adam Fretwell, Kan. St., 15-1 (790); t2. Marshall Ackley, Ore., Ashton Easton, Ore., 14-9 (760); 4. Justin Taylor, Wich. St., 14-5.25 (731); 5. Darius Draudvila, Unatt.; Robert Brazier, Sac. St., nh; Luke Marker, Unatt., nh; Tom Pappas, Nike, nh.
Javelin – 1. Darius Draudvila, Unatt., 180-1 (661); 2. Adam Fretwell, Kan. St., 179-7 (659); 3. Marshall Ackley, Ore., 148-9 (520); 4. Ashton Easton, Ore., 148-6 (519); 5. Justin Taylor, Wich. St., 143-4 (496); . 6. Robert Brazier, Sac. St., 136-3 (464); 7. Luke Marker, Unatt., 132-6 (448); Tom Pappas, Nike, nm.
1,500 – 1. Ashton Easton, Ore., 4:24.15 (783); 2. Robert Brazier, Sac. St., 4:38.10 (692); 3. Marshall Ackley, Ore., 4:46.32 (641); 4. Adam Fretwell, Kan. St., 4:53.18 (600); 5. Darius Draudvila, Unatt., 4:55.00 (589); 6. Luke Marker, Unatt., 4:59.27 (564).
Final Heptathlon Results
Long Jump – 1. Brianne Theisen, Ore., 19-5.75 (831); 2. Kalindra McFadden, Ore., 18-7.5w (753); 3. Dani McNaney, Unatt., 18-1 (703); 4. Bridget Johnson, Team XO, 17-11w (688); 5. Stephanie Hejde, Kan., St., 17-5.5 (648); 6. Moira Robinson, Sac., St.,17-5w (645); 7. Erin Funkhouser, Ore., 16-10w (595).
Javelin – 1. Brianne Theisen, Ore., 131-11 (671); 2. Dani McNaney, Unatt., 129-7 (658); 3. Bridget Johnson, Team XO, 128-2 (650); 4. Kalindra McFadden, Ore., 121-6 (610); 5. Stephanie Hejde, Kan., St., 115-11 (578); 6. Erin Funkhouser, Ore., 112-8 (559); 7. Moira Robinson, Sac. St., 92-1 (440).
800 – 1. Dani McNaney, Unatt., 2:14.17 (905); 2. Kalindra McFadden, Ore., 2:17.04 (864); 3. Erin Funkhouser, Ore., 2:18.90 (839); 4. Brianne Theisen, Ore., 2:20.21 (821); 5. Stephanie Hejde, Kan., St., 2:23.70 (774); 5. Bridget Johnson, Team XO, 2:36.31 (616); 6. Moira Robinson, Sac. St., 2:47.17 (493).
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