Oregon daily emerald., May 16, 2005, Image 9

Oregon Daily Emerald
Monday, May 16, 2005
“I was terrible. I didn’t
do anything right. ”
Indiana forward Jermaine O’Neal after his 4 of 15 shooting
performance during the Pacers’ 89-76 loss to Detroit on Sunday
■ Men's track
Men's track wins conference title
Top performances abounded as Oregon took home
the Pac-10 axnvn for the fifth time since 1979
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
The Oregon men’s track and field
team has had to endure the depar
ture of head coach Martin Smith, sift
through the controversy which sur
rounded the distance program and
carry the expectation of still per
forming at a high level this season.
On Sunday, all distractions were
forgotten as Oregon received a total
team performance and took home
the 2005 Pacific-10 Conference
Championship title on Sunday at
Drake Stadium in Los Angeles.
Sunday’s 152-134 1/2 defeat of
UCLA marked the fifth time the
Ducks have won the title since
the conference expanded to 10
teams in 1979.
In addition, it was the 10th time
that the Ducks and Bruins have fin
ished first and second in the final
standings. Since 1979, UCLA has
taken home the conference crown
12 times and both teams have com
bined for 17 titles in 27 years.
This year was no different as
both teams battled until the final
event for the crown. Multiple
times throughout Sunday, Oregon
and UCLA found themselves trad
ing the top spot.
The Ducks received top perform
ances among the 24 entrants in all
events. Oregon got championship
performances from sprinters Eric
Mitchum and Kedar Inico, who won
the 110-meter hurdles and the 400
meter dash, respectively.
Mitchum successfully defended
his 110-meter title from last season
by beating UCLA’s Jonathan
Williams with a time of 13.59 sec
onds (wind: 0.5). Mitchum shaved
a 10th of a second from his prelimi
nary heat time, which was a 10th of
a second better than William’s final
time of 13.81.
Inico was the only competitor in
the 400 final to break 46 seconds,
recording a time of 45.61, which
pushed Inico to third all-time in
school history in the 400.
“Kedar’s win in the 400 was a big
turning point,” Mitchum said. “In
the 110 hurdles, my start was good,
and from there I got faster and
faster. The special part was that we
came together as a team.”
In addition to the two individual
championships, the Ducks also re
ceived a number of top finishes
from all of the events, including sec
ond place in the hammer throw,
javelin, triple jump, 4x100 relay,
4x400 relay and the 10,000-meters.
Those top finishes were much
needed after Oregon pole vaulter
Tommy Skipper received a no
height in the pole vault competition.
The defending Pac-10 champion
failed on each of his attempts at his
opening height of 17 feet,
41/2 inches.
“Tommy’s more disappointed
than anyone about the misfortune
in the pole vault, but he tried to
come back from knee surgery in
March and put us in position to
challenge in the team race,” Oregon
assistant coach Bill Lawson said.
“Unfortunately it didn’t work out as
expected, but this a meet that de
pends on the entire 24-person roster
in 21 events, and the other two
From left: Lars Mueller Laursen, Eric Mitchum, Paul Etter, Galen Rupp (332),
Tommy Skipper and Jeff Lindsey take their victory lap in celebration of Oregon's
fifth conference title since 1979.
vaulters scored in that event so they
deserve some credit against the na
tion’s deepest pole vault field.”
In the other field events, Oregon
javelin thrower Lars Mueller
Laursen finished second behind
California’s Paul Teinert, who won
the event with a throw of 235-11.
The junior made his 2005 out
door season debut on Saturday
and with his mark of 222-2,
Laursen moved into 10th all-time
in school history.
Oregon also got a second place
finish from senior hammer thrower
Paul Etter after his personal best
throw of 201-11.
Also in the field, Oregon senior
jumper Leonidas Watson turned
in solid second and third place
performances in the triple and
long jump.
“It takes me a little time to
warm up sometimes,” Watson
said. “But once I got going, I was
having a lot of fun.”
On the track, Oregon benefited
from its depth around the track,
headlined by the performance by
freshman distance runner Galen
Rupp. The Portland native, along
with teammate Eric Logsdon fin
ished in the top six in both the 5,000
and 10,000-meters — Arizona’s
Robert Cheseret won both events.
On Saturday, Rupp dueled with
Cheseret in the final mile of the
10,000 meters. Rupp separated him
self from the pack with a 62-second
lap heading into the last 1,600 me
ters. Cheseret was the only other
runner to keep up with Rupp and in
the final three laps stalked the Ore
gon freshman until he passed him
with 500 meters left.
“I knew it would be tactical com
ing in, so I tried to be patient and
stay back, although it was a little
MEN, page 12
■ Women's track
Oregon takes seventh place in Pac-lOs
Sarah Malone won first place in
the javelin, but overall team
performance was inconsistent
BY STEPHEN MILLER
SPORTS REPORTER
Oregon’s Sarah Malone competed with consis
tency at the Pacific-10 Conference Champi
onships last weekend. As a team, however, the
Ducks hoped for placement and cumulative scor
ing improvements from last year’s outcome, in
stead of just a consistent finish.
By Sunday’s conclusion, Oregon ended the
Pac-10 outdoor season in seventh place for the
third-straight season. The Ducks scored 68
points, which was a 10-point improvement on
their final team score from 2004, but not enough
to escalate their previous conference ranking.
Stanford sustained its lead through the first day
and collected 173 points to claim its first women’s
conference championship. At the same time, the
Cardinal broke UCLA’s streak of eight consecu
tive Pac-10 titles. The Bruins finished with 125
points on their own turf, Drake Stadium.
Oregon’s javelin unit earned 18 of the 36 points
the team scored on Saturday.
Malone, who had finished second for Oregon
in three previous championship appearances and
was the Pac-lO’s top javelin thrower this season,
broke out of her runner-up shell.
The fifth-year senior gained two feet of separa
tion on her fourth toss, which measured 170 feet,
9 inches — the same measurement she recorded
in the preliminary round — to win the event after
Zani: Ritt | Photographer
Oregon junior Lauryn Jordan, seen here at the Pepsi
Invitational, set a personal record of 5-10 in the high
jump at the Pac-10 Championships.
she fouled on her first two throws. Until that,
Washington State’s Jenna Dean held the top
mark of 168-11 from her second throw.
“I’m a little rusty since I haven’t done as
much in practice as I would have liked the
past two weeks, but that’s not an excuse,”
said Malone, who recorded a mark exceeding
170-feet for the third consecutive meet. “It’s
nice to finally have a chance to win, although
it’s not as big a deal for me. It’s more an hon
or for all the people who have gotten me here
— my parents who were here again cheering
me on today, coaches, and all my friends.”
Redshirt junior Roslyn Lundeen threw her
spear a season-best distance of 162-8 to finish
third and collect six points for the Ducks. Senior
Rachael Kriz Wallace racked up two points with a
career-best 149-10.
Oregon’s Lauryn Jordan scored 13 points
over the two days. A week earlier, Jordan con
tributed five points to the team score with a
fourth-place finish in the heptathlon champi
onships. The junior-transfer finished fifth in
the triple jump (40-9 1/2) on Sunday.
“I came in fairly fatigued and had some cramp
ing beforehand,” Jordan said after competing in
her final event, “so I’m glad to get a good mark
and more points for the team. ”
On Saturday, she soared to a two-inch personal
record and second-place finish in the high jump
with a 5-10 clearance. Washington State’s Robin
Mikesh won the event as she cleared the same
height as Jordan in one less attempt.
“The whole high jump field was cheering for
me and that helped get me going,” said Jordan,
who is now tied for fifth on Oregon’s all-time list.
“They were saying I was getting great height, but
I just needed to arch my back. I was a little sur
prised I went that high because I hadn’t even
practiced it this week.
“My approach was off, but I still got my
WOMEN, page 12
■ Duck softball
Ducks end
season and
qualify for
postseason
Oregon split a weekend set
with the Huskies and is now
preparing for the NCAAs
BY ION ROE! MAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
It turns out 34 wins and the stellar repu
tation of Pacific-10 Conference softball
were enough for Oregon to qualify for
the postseason.
The Ducks (34-23 overall, 7-14 Pac-10)
received a berth in the NCAA regional
softball playoffs and a first-round matchup
with Louisiana Lafayette (50-8, 19-1 Sun
Belt Conference) on Friday at 3 p.m. in
Norman, Okla.
If the Ducks beat the Ragin’ Cajuns, they
will face the winner of the matchup be
tween Wichita State (46-16) and 14th seed
ed Oklahoma (47-15) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
If Oregon is defeated, the Ducks will face
the loser of the Shockers, Sooners game on
Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Oregon concluded its regular season by
splitting a pair of road games with No. 22
Washington (31-20,10-11) during the week
end. The Huskies defeated the Ducks 7-1 on
Saturday, marking Oregon’s first loss in
Seattle in five games during head coach
Kathy Arendsen’s tenure.
Washington jumped out to an early lead
on an RBI single from center fielder Aimee
Minor and a solo home run by right fielder
Lauren Greer, which gave the Huskies a 2-0
advantage in the second inning.
Oregon loaded the bases with one out in
the third inning but managed only one run
on an RBI single by senior catcher Ashley
Richards, which cut the Washington lead in
half. The Huskies quickly got the run back,
however, on a solo home run by Minor in
the bottom of the inning.
Washington added another run in the
fourth and three more in the fifth to put the
game out of reach.
Oregon starting pitcher Amy Harris
(17-14) took the loss, allowing two earned
runs and four hits in 1 1/3 innings. Alicia
Cook and Lindsey Kontra experienced con
trol problems in relief, walking a combined
six batters in 4 2/3 innings.
“We had opportunities to score and put
runners on, but we didn’t get it done,”
Arendsen said. “But I thought we had a
good weekend overall and I’m pleased with
the way we finished the regular season.”
One day earlier, Oregon used the right
arm of Harris and the bat of shortstop Bre
anne Sabol to edge Washington 3-0.
Harris struck out eight and allowed five
hits during her complete-game shutout.
The win came one day after Harris shut
out No. 12 UCLA.
Washington starter Caitlin Noble (14-8)
was equally brilliant, however, taking a no
hitter into tire seventh inning. After walks to
Oregon third baseman Beth Boskovich and
Richards, Noble gave up a three-run home
run to Sabol — her first of the season — as
the Ducks pulled out the late-inning win.
“We battled all day,” Arendsen said after
the game. "We didn’t strike out all that
much and we kept making contact so I
knew we’d come around. The important
thing is to play and battle for seven innings
and we did that today. ”
jonroetman @ daily emerald, com