Five Event Wins Spark Start to Indoor Season
SEATTLE, Wash. – Raevyn Rogers set a 600-meter indoor collegiate record as part of five wins for the Oregon track and field team to begin the 2016 season at the UW Preview, Saturday.
Rogers picked up where she left off last year, breaking two minutes and winning the 800-meter NCAA Championships as a freshman to cap the 2015 season. On Saturday, the Houston, Texas native broke a 35 year-old record set in 1981 by Delisa Floyd of Tennesse. Rogers spent a large portion of the race in second place, but charged past Stanford’s Olivia Baker on the final lap and holding off teammate Brooke Feldmeier with a winning time of 1:26.34. The time is also the second-fastest ever run by an American, only trailing Alysia Montano’s 1:23.59.
“For Raevyn it’s just a matter of doing what she’s capable of doing,” said head coach Robert Johnson. “She’s bought into the coaching 100 percent and it will be exciting to see her keep progressing.”
Feldmeier finished second to Rogers in 1:28.21 while making her debut for Oregon after transferring from Mississippi.
Fellow newcomer Itohan Aikhionbare impressed in her Oregon debut as well, setting an indoor personal best and meet record in the shot put with a winning throw of 55-2.25 (16.82m). Aikhionbare steadily improved over the course of her four legal throws before reaching her best mark which now ranks second on the Oregon all-time list behind teammate Brittany Mann.
Jasmine Todd continued her success at the Dempsey Indoor, winning the 60 for the second straight year at the UW Preview. Todd advanced through the semifinals with a time of 7.31 which she improved to 7.24 in the final to become the collegiate leader and second in the world this year. Todd’s new teammate, Hannah Cunliffe, took third in her hometown of Seattle with a time of 7.31, quickly etching her name into the Oregon record book with the fifth-fastest time in school history.
A pair of 60-meter hurdlers also advanced to the final as school-record holder Sasha Wallace finished as the top collegian in the field with a season-opening time of 8.19, the third fastest in the NCAA this season. She was joined by redshirt freshman Alaysha Johnson who ran a personal best of 8.35 in both the semifinal and final, finishing fourth. Johnson’s time in the hurdles was good enough to put her third in Oregon history while she just missed the top-10 list in the 200 where she set another personal best in 24.28 to take third place.
Oregon earned two more wins from Niki Franzmair men’s 600 and Greg Skipper in the weight throw. Franzmair edged out Ricky Morgan of USC at the line in 1:18.37 while Skipper returned to the weight throw after an All-American year and scoring fifth-place points at the NCAA Championships. The senior threw 70-9.75 (21.58m) in his first attempt of the finals, winning the competition by more than 12 feet.
The Ducks received a pair of runner-up performances in the women’s middle-distances as Alli Cash became the NCAA leader in the women’s mile, clocking a time of 4:37.26 while becoming the sixth-fastest indoor miler in Oregon history. Senior Annie Leblanc was the second-place finisher in the women’s 1,000, moving up from 800 meters to finish the unique distance in 2:45.40.
In the women’s weight throw, Brittany Mann set a big personal best, finishing second with a mark of 62-0.25 (18.90m). The mark is third on the Oregon all-time list and was more than two feet better than her previous record set in 2014.
Dual sport athlete Tony Brooks-James began his transition to the track by making the final of the 60, running 6.79 in both the semifinal and final, taking second overall and finishing as the top college athlete in the field. He was joined in the final by Travonn White who competed in his first meet as a Duck. White ran his fastest time of 6.87 in the semifinal before finishing fifth in the final, clocking in at 6.93.
“For our athletes to go out there and set some personal records and get some wins is all we could ask for in an early season meet like this,” Johnson said. “It was good to see them get out there and compete against someone other than their own teammates.”
Oregon will travel cross-country for their next meet in Fayetteville, Ark., at the Razorback Invitational, Jan. 29-30.
*U.S. and world indoor records are mandated to be recorded on 200-meter tracks, however, there are no official standards for collegiate records regarding oversized tracks. Rogers' mark is the fastest time run by a collegian on any size track.
Rogers picked up where she left off last year, breaking two minutes and winning the 800-meter NCAA Championships as a freshman to cap the 2015 season. On Saturday, the Houston, Texas native broke a 35 year-old record set in 1981 by Delisa Floyd of Tennesse. Rogers spent a large portion of the race in second place, but charged past Stanford’s Olivia Baker on the final lap and holding off teammate Brooke Feldmeier with a winning time of 1:26.34. The time is also the second-fastest ever run by an American, only trailing Alysia Montano’s 1:23.59.
“For Raevyn it’s just a matter of doing what she’s capable of doing,” said head coach Robert Johnson. “She’s bought into the coaching 100 percent and it will be exciting to see her keep progressing.”
Feldmeier finished second to Rogers in 1:28.21 while making her debut for Oregon after transferring from Mississippi.
Fellow newcomer Itohan Aikhionbare impressed in her Oregon debut as well, setting an indoor personal best and meet record in the shot put with a winning throw of 55-2.25 (16.82m). Aikhionbare steadily improved over the course of her four legal throws before reaching her best mark which now ranks second on the Oregon all-time list behind teammate Brittany Mann.
Jasmine Todd continued her success at the Dempsey Indoor, winning the 60 for the second straight year at the UW Preview. Todd advanced through the semifinals with a time of 7.31 which she improved to 7.24 in the final to become the collegiate leader and second in the world this year. Todd’s new teammate, Hannah Cunliffe, took third in her hometown of Seattle with a time of 7.31, quickly etching her name into the Oregon record book with the fifth-fastest time in school history.
A pair of 60-meter hurdlers also advanced to the final as school-record holder Sasha Wallace finished as the top collegian in the field with a season-opening time of 8.19, the third fastest in the NCAA this season. She was joined by redshirt freshman Alaysha Johnson who ran a personal best of 8.35 in both the semifinal and final, finishing fourth. Johnson’s time in the hurdles was good enough to put her third in Oregon history while she just missed the top-10 list in the 200 where she set another personal best in 24.28 to take third place.
Oregon earned two more wins from Niki Franzmair men’s 600 and Greg Skipper in the weight throw. Franzmair edged out Ricky Morgan of USC at the line in 1:18.37 while Skipper returned to the weight throw after an All-American year and scoring fifth-place points at the NCAA Championships. The senior threw 70-9.75 (21.58m) in his first attempt of the finals, winning the competition by more than 12 feet.
The Ducks received a pair of runner-up performances in the women’s middle-distances as Alli Cash became the NCAA leader in the women’s mile, clocking a time of 4:37.26 while becoming the sixth-fastest indoor miler in Oregon history. Senior Annie Leblanc was the second-place finisher in the women’s 1,000, moving up from 800 meters to finish the unique distance in 2:45.40.
In the women’s weight throw, Brittany Mann set a big personal best, finishing second with a mark of 62-0.25 (18.90m). The mark is third on the Oregon all-time list and was more than two feet better than her previous record set in 2014.
Dual sport athlete Tony Brooks-James began his transition to the track by making the final of the 60, running 6.79 in both the semifinal and final, taking second overall and finishing as the top college athlete in the field. He was joined in the final by Travonn White who competed in his first meet as a Duck. White ran his fastest time of 6.87 in the semifinal before finishing fifth in the final, clocking in at 6.93.
“For our athletes to go out there and set some personal records and get some wins is all we could ask for in an early season meet like this,” Johnson said. “It was good to see them get out there and compete against someone other than their own teammates.”
Oregon will travel cross-country for their next meet in Fayetteville, Ark., at the Razorback Invitational, Jan. 29-30.
*U.S. and world indoor records are mandated to be recorded on 200-meter tracks, however, there are no official standards for collegiate records regarding oversized tracks. Rogers' mark is the fastest time run by a collegian on any size track.
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