Mac Fleet broke the school record in the men’s mile

Wheating Sets Stadium Record in the 800
Courtesy: GoDucks.com
Release: 02/13/2010

SEATTLE, Wash. -- Andrew Wheating set a stadium record in the men’s 800 meters, running 1:46.36, to highlight a successful day of track and field for the Ducks both at Husky Classic and the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.

Also Saturday, freshman Mac Fleet broke the school record in the men’s mile in Seattle, while the women’s 4x400 meter relay team shattered the previous school mark at the Tyson Invitational.

In his opening race of 2010, Wheating, a senior from Norwich, Vt., broke his own school and Dempsey Indoor Facility record of 1:47.03, set just last season. His time of 1:46.36, an NCAA Indoor Championships automatic qualifier, leads not only the NCAA in 2010, but is tops among all American runners this season.

Freshman Elijah Greer also hit an NCAA automatic time in the men’s 800 meters on Saturday, finishing second in his heat in 1:47.33. The Lake Oswego, Ore., native’s mark ranks second all-time at Oregon behind Wheating.

Fleet, from San Diego, Calif., ran 3:57.70 to finish second to Adrian Blincoe of New Balance (3:57.05) and break Galen Rupp’s mile mark of 3:57.86, set in Seattle last March. In fact, it was the fourth time in the last three seasons that the UO indoor mile standard had been lowered. It was also an NCAA automatic qualifying mark for Fleet and ranks second in the NCAA this season.

In the same race on Friday, senior A.J. Acosta took ninth in a season-best 3:59.48, which was and NCAA provisional mark.

Freshman Jordan Hasay delivered Oregon’s fourth NCAA automatic mark of the day, winning the women’s 3,000 meters in 9:12.25. That time was the fourth-best at Oregon. Junior Claire Michel added another NCAA provisional time in the 3,000 with a 10th place finish in 9:29.20.

Freshman Anne Kesselring ran the fastest women’s indoor mile at Oregon in 28 years. She finished fifth, running 4:37.94, in a fast heat that saw Florida’s Charlotte Browning break the Dempsey record in 4:31.24. Kesselring’s time was an NCAA provisional mark and was the best by a Duck since Leann Warren clocked 4:33.26 in 1982.

Duck freshmen have now run the top two mile times in school history this winter. Kesselring’s time is second all-time, while Hasay’s 4:38.48 from two weeks ago at Texas A&M now falls to No. 3.

Junior Brianne Theisen broke her own school record in the women’s 60 meter hurdles, winning her finals heat in 8.46. That was better than the 8.54 she ran last year at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Theisen was also fifth in the long jump with a season-best leap of 19-06.25.

Making his Oregon debut, LaMichael James was the top collegian and placed third overall in the men’s 60 meters in Seattle. The freshman All-America football player ran 6.77 in the final, finishing behind only Ryan Bailey of Nike (6.61) and Josh Norman, running unattached (6.66). James’ time was tied for third all-time at Oregon. The former Texas sprint champion won his preliminary heat of the 60 meters in 6.83 to advance to the finals.

Meanwhile in Fayetteville, Ducks recorded the top three women’s 200 meter times ever recorded at Oregon before shattering the women’s indoor 4x400 meter relay mark.

Purvis erased the school’s indoor 200 meter record in winning her heat in 23.47, an NCAA provisional qualifying time. That was the eighth-fastest time at the Randall Tyson Track Complex, and fourth among collegians. Purvis, a sophomore from Hercules, Calif., bettered Keshia Baker’s previous school mark, 24.15, by more than half a second.

Baker also notched a PR in the 200, winning her heat in 23.92. That time was 16th overall and ranks second all-time at Oregon. Junior Mandy White also notched a PR in the 200, running 24.13, a mark that falls at No. 3 on the school’s all-time list.

In the 4x400 meter relay, Oregon trimmed nearly :03 off the previous school mark in an impressive second place showing against some of the nation’s top relay teams.

Arkansas won the event in 3:32.87, with the Ducks next in 3:33.31. That time was an NCAA provisional mark and just .01 shy of an automatic mark. Oregon’s quintet consisted of junior Jamesha Youngblood (55.05), Purvis (52.48), Baker (53.34) and junior Michele Williams (52.47). Their time was nearly :03 better than the time of 3:36.16 that group set two weeks ago at Texas A&M.

Louisiana State was third in 3:34.11, a team from Pure Athletics took fourth in 3:34.39 and Auburn was fifth in 3:36.06.

Arkansas and Oregon recorded the top two 4x400 meter relay times in the nation this season on Saturday.

The Duck men’s 4x400 meter relay team also recorded an NCAA provisional mark in a sixth place finish in 3:08.66. Sophomore Matt Butcher went out in 48.94, followed by senior Ashton Eaton in 46.27, junior Travis Thompson in 47.19 and senior Chad Barlow 46.27.



Back in Seattle, in the women’s pole vault, Melissa Gergel and Jordan Roskelley tied for third at a height of 13-3.75. That was an all-conditions personal best for Roskelley, a sophomore from Spokane, Wash., and also an NCAA provisional mark.

Three Ducks recorded NCAA provisional times in the women’s 800 meters. Freshman Chloe Steinbeck led the way with a second-place finish in her heat in 2:07.21. Fellow freshman Becca Friday was also second in her race, clocking 2:07.91. In the top section, junior Zoe Buckman was seventh in 2:07.55.

Sophomore Luke Puskedra recorded Oregon’s final NCAA provisional time of the day, turning in a personal-best 7:57.42 in the men’s 3,000 meters.

Freshman Alexandria Davidson went 7.71 to tie for fourth in the finals of the women’s 60 meters. That mark moved Davidson to fourth on the UO list. Davidson also won her heat in the 200 meters in 24.93. That time was third overall.

Junior Eric Hersey took fourth in the men’s 60 meter hurdles in 8.13.
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