■ Men's track
Ducks' chances slim for capturing NCAA title
Oregon earned its sixth Pac-10 Conference title since
1979 this year, which jumped the team to a No. 3 rank
BY BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
The Oregon men’s track and field
team closes out its 2005 track season
this week as the Ducks compete in
the NCAA Division I Outdoor Cham
pionships beginning Wednesday.
Entering last week’s West Region
al Championships, Oregon had an
outside chance of capturing its sixth
team title after the team’s victory at
the conference meet May 15.
Now, after a good, but not great,
performance at Regionals and with
the absence of defending NCAA
champion Tommy Skipper in the
pole vault, who no freighted at Re
gionals and failed to qualify for this
year’s meet, the Ducks’ chances for
their first title since 1984 have
diminished considerably.
After earning their sixth confer
ence title since 1979 this year, the
Ducks vaulted into the top three in
national rankings, according to track
wire, com. The Ducks were also pro
jected to finish third in the upcoming
national meet. However, the projec
tion was based on the assumption
that Skipper would come back and
successfully defend his title, despite
missing most of the outdoor season
due to knee surgery.
As of June 3, the Ducks had fallen
to No. 14 in both the national rank
ings and projected finishing rank.
Even with Skipper out of con
tention, Oregon has a very real shot
at improving on its ninth-place finish
last season — best since another
ninth-place finish in 2001.
“We’re looking to go down there
as a team and place in the top five
and bring home a trophy,” Oregon
junior sprinter Matt Scherer said.
“Individually, we are just going to
try and place as high as we can in
our events.”
The Ducks are still sending a deep
and talented field to Sacramento,
Calif., where 15 individuals will com
pete in 12 events.
Oregon, along with the rest of the
field, will be looking to knock off
defending national champion
Arkansas, which is a favorite to win
its 12th outdoor title under head
coach John McDonnell. From 1992
to 1999, Arkansas took home eight
consecutive team titles. The Razor
backs have stayed at the top of the
rankings for the season after win
ning the 2005 NCAA Indoor Cham
pionship and the Southeastern
Conference Championship.
The Razorbacks will have two in
dividual champions returning to de
fend their titles, headlined by Wallace
Spearmon’s run at his second straight
200-meter crown. This season, Spear
mon has run a personal and world
best time of 19.97 seconds.
The Duck contingent will be led
by Eric Mitchum, two-time regional
and conference champion in the
110-hurdles.
The junior finished second in last
year’s NCAAs with a personal best
time of 13.38 seconds. So far this sea
son, the best time in the 110 has been
13.38 seconds, set by Tennessee’s
Aries Merritt.
Mitchum is currently ranked
fourth in the nation with a time
of 13.56, which he set at the
Mt. SAC Relays.
“It’s going to be a fast race,”
Mitchum said. “So just got to run as
fast as I can, and the time will take
care of itself.”
Mitchum will be running in the
110 with teammate A.K. Ikwuakor,
who has lowered his personal best in
the 110 to 13.83 this season.
Also in the sprints, Oregon’s
400 tandem of Scherer and senior
Kedar Inico look to jump into the top
eight and secure critical points for the
Ducks. Inico has won his past two
races, including his unexpected vic
tory at the Pac-lOs.
Scherer and Inico will also buoy
the 4x100 and 4x400 relay squads.
Both squads have had record seasons
and should be able to finish in the
top five. The only question rests with
the left hamstring of Jordan Kent.
The sophomore pulled out of the
200 at last week’s Regionals to rest
and prepare solely for the relays.
Oregon senior Leonidas Watson
will lead the Duck field events. The
St. Louis native is competing in the
long and triple jump for the first time
in his career.
Last week at Regionals, Watson
recorded a personal best of 26 feet,
3/4 inches in the long jump, a mark
that Watson is only content with.
“I got a lot more,” Watson said. “I
only did that on my third jump, so
if I’d taken three more, I don’t know
what would of happened. So after
that, 1 was just trying to save my
self. I’m not peaking now, I’m just
getting started.”
Oregon pole vaulter Jon Derby will
also be making his first appearance at
nationals after finishing tied for third
at Regionals, clearing 16-7 1/4.
The four-day event will begin at
11 a.m. on Wednesday.
briansmith@ daily emerald, com
Oregon junior Jon Derby vaults
during last week’s NCAA West
Regionals in which he tied for
third. Derby will now compete in
this week’s NCAA Outdoor
National Championships.
Tim Bobosky | Photographer
■ Women's track
Sarah Malone seeks elusive NCAA championship
In postseason play so far, the senior won a Pac-10
title and rewrote the school's record in the javelin
BY STEPHEN MILLER
SPORTS REPORTER
Sarah Malone wrote a to-do list on
a picture of herself that a friend print
ed for her last year.
The fifth-year Oregon senior won
her first javelin title at the Pacific-10
Conference Championships three
weeks ago and finally crossed that
off the list after having finished as the
runner-up in her three previous trips.
Also crossed off the list are: NCAA
West Regional champion and Oregon
school record-holder in the javelin,
for which she adjusted the mark
from 179 feet, nine inches to 186-10
on May 28.
Going into the NCAA National
Track and Field Championships in
Sacramento, Calif., Malone only
has two things left to cross off her
list, and one of them can be taken
care of this week.
‘An NCAA championship is still
sitting there, and to become an
Olympian,” Malone said. “So those
are the last two I’m waiting to scratch
off, and that’s what I’m looking for
ward to doing.”
Malone’s mark of 186-10 meas
ured as the second-best throw in the
nation by a collegian behind Air
Force junior Dana Pounds (188-8).
After Malone’s Regional-clinching
toss, she said her plan was to “just
keep this momentum going and take
it on to NCAAs.”
Oregon junior Roslyn Lundeen sits
at No. 16 on the national list for the
javelin. She received an at-large berth
with a sixth-place finish at Regionals
and the fourth-farthest distance
recorded this season by an athlete
that did not qualify automatically.
Her season best is 155-9, and her
personal best is 166-11.
For the other Ducks headed to Na
tionals this week, the goal is just to
improve their personal records.
Senior Kayla Mellott is ranked 27th
overall in the 400 hurdles with a sea
son and personal-best time of 60.13
seconds. The Bellingham, Wash., na
tive is looking to improve on that
time and break a coveted barrier.
“My main goal is just to run a PR,”
Mellott said. “My goal this whole
year has been to go sub-60 (sec
onds) , and 1 have been way too close
way too many times. My chances are
dwindling, so that’s what I’m going
to focus on at Nationals.”
Mellott altered her stride pattern
late in the season, but her times have
stayed fairly consistent.
“I’ve run under 60.50 four or five
times this season,” she said, “and
there’s something to be said about
being consistent, but I’d also still like
to have another big breakthrough.”
T\vo more top-20 throwers and Ore
gon record holders, senior Bree Fuqua
and junior Brittany Hinchcliffe, are
slated to compete this week.
Hinchcliffe is No. 17 on the ham
mer throw list with a best sling of
199-2. Fuqua’s mark of 53-11 in the
shot put, which set the program
record early this season, ranks 12th in
the nation.
“I have some big throws in me that
I haven’t thrown in a competition
yet,” Fuqua said. “I’ve fouled a few in
meets that have been pretty good. I
just need to do that (this week).”
The Poison, Mont., native also
received an at-large bid in the
discus (165-4).
“The discus was really a shot in
the dark that I made it,” Fuqua said.
“It’d be nice to end my career on a
high note and do well personally. ”
Senior sprinter Sofie Abildtrup will
represent the other half of Oregon’s
running corps. She finished fourth at
Regionals (53.63) and is ranked 27th
nationally (53.48). Her personal-best
time is 52.92. UCLA’s Monique Hen
derson holds the fastest collegiate
time in the country at 50.78.
Junior Lauryn Jordan will compete
in the heptathlon for the Ducks. She
posted a score of 5,299 points at the
Pac-10 Multi-Event Championships.
stephenmiller@ dailyemerald.com
Tim Bo bosky | Photographer
Oregon senior Sarah Malone can cross another
goal off her to-do list if she earns a victory at the
NCAA National Championships this week. She
ranks second overall (186-10).
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