THE CONNING TOWER by Keith Conning: Ducks Finish Strong at McCravy

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Ducks Finish Strong at McCravy

TRACK & FIELD

QUACK CAVE

DUCKS FINISH STRONG AT MCCRAVY MEMORIAL

COURTESY: GODUCKS.COM

RELEASE DATE: 01/24/2015

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LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Oregon track and field team added to its list of top collegiate marks as the Ducks closed out the Rod McCravy Memorial at Nutter Fieldhouse, Saturday.

After going 1-2-3 in the 5,000 on Friday night, the Ducks’ distance team only added to their accomplishments in Lexington, taking the top two spots in both the mile and 3,000, Saturday.

Edward Cheserek blew away the field on his way to a world-leading time of 7:49.56 in the 3,000, looking comfortable the entire way while setting meet and facility records. He was followed by transfer John Gregorek in second at 7:54.85 and redshirt freshman Jake Leingang in fifth at 7:56.81. With the Ducks leading the fastest 3,000 race in the country, the top five in the NCAA rankings now match the top five finishers at the Rod McCravy Memorial.

Colby Alexander led the charge for the Men of Oregon in the Bill Lee Men’s Mile, just missing the four-minute barrier. Alexander finished in 4:00.84 withDaniel Winn in tow at 4:01.49, both of which were personal bests. Those two times sit second and third in the NCAA so far this season.

“We were led by our distance and middle distance which was the goal when coming to Kentucky, to get those races in,” said head coach Robert Johnson. “I’m really proud that we were able to set a plan and come out here and execute. Coach Powell has done a great job developing those guys and as the younger guys continue to develop, that group will only get better.”

Sasha Wallace continues to improve her time in the 60 hurdles as the season progresses and was rewarded with a win against some stiff competition on Saturday. The sophomore won her preliminary heat in 8.31 seconds before edging out Morgan Snow of Texas with a time of 8.16, the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season.

Wallace was followed by second and third-place finishes from Jasmine Toddand Jenna Prandini in the 60 meter dash. After qualifying for the finals with the top two times, the pair both ran 7.26 with Todd edging out Prandini by three thousandths of a second. The race was likely a preview of the NCAA Championships as eight of the top 11 collegiate competitors ran in the final. While Todd did not win today, her time of 7.15 still holds as the best in the nation with Prandini’s season best of 7.24 in fifth.

Nikki Hiltz was the top Oregon finisher in the women’s mile, crossing the finish line in third at 4:39.38 which ranks sixth in the nation. She was followed by Katie Porada in fifth (4:44.22) and Alli Cash in seventh (4:45.55).

Redshirt junior Molly Grabill continued a solid day for the women’s distance team with a third-place finish in the first 3,000 of her Oregon career. Grabill posted a time of 9:25.68 which is the fifth-fastest collegiate time of 2015.

Freshman Nikolaus Franzmair put his stamp on the Oregon record book with a fifth place finish of 1:49.26 in the men’s 800. The performance also puts him fifth in school history, just ahead of Mike McGrath’s mark from 2008.

Moving up the school record list was Ryan Hunter-Simms who finished ninth overall in the shot put, using a big personal best on his first attempt of the day (58-8/17.88m) to move from third to second on the UO list and less than an inch away from the school record.

Also in the field events, Matt Hidalgo cleared 16-7.5 (5.07m) for a third place finish in the pole vault while Nate Moore (50-1.75/15.28m) and Josh Melu(49-11.75/15.23m) advanced to the finals of the triple jump, finishing eighth and ninth, respectively.

Brittany Mann made her 2015 debut in the shot put, taking fifth with a best of 49-7 (15.11m).

Oregon will compete again next week, returning to Seattle for the UW Invitational, Friday-Saturday, Jan. 30-31.

“Now we get to go back, retool, and try to correct some of the flaws that we had,” Johnson said. “It’s been a great learning experience in a number of ways, especially having the opportunity to get our competitive mindset on these past two weeks.”