Double Platinum: Purvis’ Records Lead UO Women to Pepsi Meet Win

Double Platinum: Purvis’ Records Lead UO Women to Pepsi Meet Win
04/04/2009

EUGENE, Ore. -- Amber Purvis’ school records in the 100 and 200 meters powered the Oregon women’s track and field team to a record-setting win Saturday at the Pepsi Team Invitational. On the men’s side, Cyrus Hostetler’s Pac-10 and meet record javelin throw of 272 feet, 10 inches thrilled the sun-drenched Historic Hayward Field crowd of 4,636.

Hostetler’s monstrous heave, which came on his on his opening attempt, met the "A" standard for the 2009 IAAF World Championships. The junior from Newberg, Ore., shattered John Stiegeler’s 2001 school record of 252-10 by 20 feet. He also broke Art Skipper’s Pepsi meet mark of 251-8, set in 1992 and the Pac-10 record of 268-7, set by Arizona’s Esko Mikkola in 1998.

"I came out and I just hit it," said Hostetler. "It felt like I didn’t even use my arm. I looked at Alex (Wolff) and I couldn’t believe it. I feel like I am on cloud nine right now, and I think this will set in sometime next week. I never expected this to happen this early in the season."

Hostetler also recorded the fourth-best javelin mark in NCAA history on Saturday.

The Duck women won the competition by scoring a meet-record 233.5 points. Indiana was second with 167 points, Utah State was third at 132.5 and Kansas State finished fourth with 119 points. The previous high for a Pepsi meet was 204 points by Oregon in 2003. The 66.5 point margin of victory was the largest in meet history.

"The women had something to prove," said associate director of track and field Dan Steele. "They really wanted to win this meet. They believe they have got a great team and I agree with them. This team is really serious about winning everything they compete in. We are feeling very good about their progress. I think it’s going to be an enjoyable experience for everybody."

Purvis opened her day by helping the Ducks win the 4x100 meter relay in 45.35 seconds. She was just getting started.

The freshman from Hercules, Calif., then blazed to a school record in the 100 meters, running 11.41 with a legal plus-1.4 tailwind. Thirty-five minutes later, Purvis, who said she was a little under the weather, smashed another UO mark with her 23.09 time in the 200 meters, which came with a legal plus-1.6 wind.

"I have been sick, and I did better than I expected," she said. "I wanted to come out and break the school record and I knew my times would be fast. I felt like I could have given more in the 100, but I gave everything that I had in the 200."

Purvis broke the school’s 20-year-old 100 meters record of 11.58, set by Rosie Williams in 1989 and matched by LaReina Woods in 1993. She also snapped Williams’ mark in the 200 meters, 23.39 from 1989.

Purvis also surpassed the automated Pepsi meet record time in the 100, 11.46 set by Denise Lucas of Nebraska in 1992, though USC’s Carol Rodriguez still holds the official meet standard with her hand-timed 11.0 from 2007.

"I think we are watching a star emerge," said Steele. "(Purvis) is really impressive and she is only going to get better. She is a true freshman and she’s got a nose for the finish line."

Purvis had a hand in three of Oregon’s 15 NCAA regional marks on the afternoon.

Sophomore Alex Kosinski set a personal best in winning the 1,500 meters in 4:18.43. That moved her to No. 8 on the Ducks’ career top-10 list. Kosinski also came back to finish fourth in the 800 meters. Junior Nicole Blood also notched a regional mark in the 1,500, finishing second in 4:20.49.

"I wanted to go out and get a good time in the 1,500 and I wanted to work on my speed in the 800," said Kosinski. "It was nice to get a personal record and I have been feeling good."

One year after her only collegiate loss of 2008, Rachel Yurkovich reclaimed her meet record in the javelin with a throw of 187-11, which was short of her 2009 best, but still five inches farther than what Ruby Radocaj threw last season to best the eventual NCAA champion.

"I didn’t get the throw I was looking for, but I have to remind myself that this is where I should be at this point in the year," said the senior from Newberg, Ore. "It was my plan to take all of the throws and it was good practice in a live situation."

The 5,000 meters produced a trio of regional marks. Junior Mattie Bridgmon ran an outdoor lifetime best of 16:26.21 to win the event and was followed closely by senior Lindsey Scherf in 16:28.62. Sophomore Betsy Bies’ fourth-place run in 16:51.73 rounded out Oregon’s trio of 5K regional qualifiers.

In her first 400 meters of the season, junior Keshia Baker eased to victory in an NCAA-regional time of 53.41, while sophomore Jamesha Youngblood won the long jump with a season-best leap of 20-8. Senior Lucy Cridland won the discus with a throw of 160-11.

The Ducks also won both relays, with the 4x400 team of Youngblood, Baker, Brianne Theisen and Leah Worthen finishing in 3:42.29.

Oregon had a pair of regional marks in the pole vault where sophomore Melissa Gergel finished second with a clearance of 13-1.5 and sophomore Jordan Roskelley earned her first NCAA regional appearance by clearing the bar at 12-7.5 to place third. That mark tied the Spokane, Wash., native for eighth on the UO career top 10.

Junior Zoe Buckman also hit the regional standard in the 800 meters with a second-place showing in 2:08.28.

Indiana won the men’s title on the last event, the discus, eking out a 200-194 victory over Oregon. Kansas State finished third with 130 points, while Utah State was fourth at 127.

"When you go after an indoor NCAA title you have to rest your athletes," said Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna. "It is important for us to take a deep breath and be careful not to overwork our athletes if we want to have a shot at an outdoor title."

The host Ducks nearly pulled off the victory despite resting All-Americans Galen Rupp, Andrew Wheating, A.J. Acosta, Matthew Centrowitz, Luke Puskedra and Mike Simmons.

"The men did some very good things today," said Steele. "We tried to win the meet, but these kinds of meets are hard to win with the way the points are set up, and you can’t have too many slip-ups."

The Men of Oregon saw nine NCAA regional marks, including three in the javelin, where Hostetler led a 1-2-3 sweep. Junior Alex Wolff hit an eight-foot personal best with a second-place throw of 234-4. That moved him from 10th to fourth all-time at Oregon. Sophomore Britton Nelson came in third at 208-9.

"It’s a great day," said Wolff. "I can’t believe that Cyrus just threw 83 meters. It was amazing. It is really exciting when you see your teammate beating a record. It’s great for the whole team and it gives all of us energy. I am so happy."

"Today we saw a performance of the meet by Cyrus Hostetler," echoed Steele. "It was probably one of the best performances by a University of Oregon athlete ever at Hayward Field. He was terrific.

"I watched the javelin and I didn’t know if it was going to come down. It was a thrill. Alex Wolff threw over 70 meters, which on any other day is a big deal."

Senior Shadrack Biwott hit a regional standard in winning the 5,000 meters in 14:05.42. Sophomore Jordan Stray collected a win in the hammer with a toss of 194-3, while senior Steven Johnson grabbed third at 187-9. Both were NCAA regional marks.

"Today my goal was to just go out there, have fun, and do my best," said Biwott. "We wanted to run as a team for the first two miles and then each of us would do our own thing. It worked out great."

Junior Chad Barlow picked up a win in the 400 meters with a time of 47.16 and then anchored the Ducks’ winning 4x400 meter relay team (3:12.51). Sophomore David Klech won the 400 meter hurdles in 51.57 and also was on Oregon’s winning 4x400 meter relay squad.

"Our whole group has been working really hard in practice," said Klech. "We are in our highest volume of training right now and it’s paying off. It was fun to just go out there and compete. We all had tough races earlier today and to get the win for Oregon really means a lot."

Sophomore Vernell Warren won the long jump at 24-0.25, which matched his outdoor personal best.

Senior Chris Winter picked up a provisional mark in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, finishing second in 8:49.53.

The men’s high jump proved to be one of the most entertaining events of the day with 2009 NCAA indoor champion Scott Sellers of Kansas State winning with a clearance of 7-2.5. Indiana’s Derek Drouin was second at 6-10.75.

"There is not a better place to host an outdoor track meet," said Lananna. "You see the students sitting in their section and we need to take this in and see the value."

Courtesy - www.GoDucks.com -