Oregon Runners, Throwers do Well at NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships

The Duck men wrapped up the meet tied for 19th place, while the Oregon women tied for 21st place.

Rebekah Noble (second, 2:04.74) ran a .02-second 800m personal best that still ranks her #2 all-time for UO. Photo: goducks.com

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - University of Oregon redshirt senior Britney Henry and sophomores Rebekah Noble and Galen Rupp added to their already-crowded trophy mantles Saturday with top-four finishes in second-day action Saturday and led UO to a pair of top-25 team finishes in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by the University of Arkansas.

Noble repeated runner-up honors in the 800 meters (2:04.70) thanks to her familiar kick that took her past three runners in the final 50 meters and two others earlier in the final 200m lap.

Out front, California junior Alysia Johnson led from start to finish to hold off Noble’s charge by 10 meters, while Noble passed last year’s champion, Heather Dorniden with 30 meters left as the Gopher finished third (2:04.87).

Johnson entered the meet as the sixth seed based on her prior season best of 2:05.06.

“My positioning was really good the first two laps, but I let them get away a little the third lap,” Noble said. “Alysia ran a great race from start to finish. I knew she was out there, and hoped I could get her, but she hung on – I’ll give her props. I felt pretty good during the race and knew I’d be in a position to challenge for the win since my training has gone so well. Coach (Lananna) said it was really important to have a good last 200m to help me transition into the outdoor season, and I did that.”

Saturday’s time proved a .22-second season best and .02-second personal best for Noble who entered the meet seeded fifth nationally with her season best of 2:04.92 - her previous season best that bested Johnson in the Mountain Pacific Championships two weeks ago.

She had also competed in another 800m race on the same banked Arkansas track in the Tyson Invitational in early February (seventh, 2:08.42).

She still stands second all-time for UO indoors behind former NCAA outdoor champion Leann Warren (2:03.9c, 1982).

Two weeks ago in Seattle, Noble also combined on NCAA provisional marks for the Ducks’ 4x400m (3:37.48) – also a school record -and its second-fastest ever distance medley relay (11:18.29).

Noble qualified for Saturday’s final after she finished second in the first of three preliminary heats Friday (2:07.22).

Earlier in the day, Henry scored an All-America honor in her first NCAA indoor weight throw appearance and did it in dramatic fashion.

After a foul past the right and left quadrants on her opening throws, respectively, she unleashed a legal third and final throw of the prelims in the center of the sector to claim the eighth and final slot in the event final.

In her final three throws, she added fouls on her fourth and fifth throws, then threw 59-2 3/4 on her sixth attempt.

“I’m still not a weight thrower, and I don’t think I really will ever be one because I love the hammer so much,” Henry said. “It was a rocky start, so I tried to focus on being positive and the technical things that Coach (Deal) had been going over in practice this week. That third throw wasn’t great technically, but it did the job. My finish was missing on the first two throws, but I was fairly close on the third one.”

Overall in the event, top-seeded Brittany Riley of Southern Illinois (first, 83-10 1/4) broke the world record on her final effort, and was almost 10 feet better than the field.

Returning NCAA champion and Georgia senior Jenny Dahlgren followed in second place (73-11), and Clemson senior Della Clark added third place (68-5).

Henry entered the competition as the eighth seed based on her school record and nearly three-foot season best last weekend in the Husky Last Chance Qualifier (68-4 1/2).

The Spokane, Wash., native opened the season tied for the school record with recent All-American Brittany Hinchcliffe with their marks from ’06 (61-1 1/4), and Henry easily topped it in her two other appearances this indoor season (Husky Classic, 65-6; Mountain Pacific Championships, 65-2).

“This is a great field,” Henry said, “so I wanted to concentrate fully on myself and what I could do, which isn’t always easy. It was really fun to be here.“

Noble’s second career NCAA runner-up honor Saturday made her the first Duck female distance runner to win multiple indoor All-America honors in school history.

The only other former Ducks to turn the feat were pole vaulters Becky Holliday (second, 2003; seventh, 2002) and Niki McEwen (fourth, 2003; fourth, 2000). Henry’s honor was Oregon’s first ever in an indoor throwing event.

On the men’s side, sophomore Galen Rupp made another brave run for a medal in the 3,000 meters Saturday night, and ultimately finished fourth (7:56.79) thanks to a strong kick the final lap.

Overall in the event, Northern Arizona’s Lopez Lomong - a fourth-place finisher in '06 outdoors in the 800m and in cross country - successfully bridged the divergent distances Saturday and ran away in the final lap for the win (7:49.74).

Wisconsin senior Chris Solinsky, the top seed and 5,000m champion from the night before, finished second (7:51.69) ahead of Liberty’s Josh McDougal (third, 7:56.79) as the latter runner moved up through most of the field in the second half of the race.

A very slow first lap nearly caused a pile-up after the first 200 meters, and almost claimed Rupp.

Soon after Wisconsin’s Stuart Eagon quickly pushed ahead to pick up the pace for the first half of the race although the native Oregonian dropped out in the final mile.

Solinsky maintained the lead in the second half, initially ahead of Arkansas’ Joseph Kosgei, Rupp and Lomong, as the latter moved up just behind Solinsky in the final two laps after the remainder of field drifted back 30 meters or more.

Lomong easily rallied past Solinsky on the back straightaway the last lap to win by approximately 10 meters.

Rupp’s All-America honor Saturday was his fourth on the indoor circuit, and the second straight year that he had pulled the 3,000m-5,000m event double after he finished third in the 5,000m Friday night (13:40.38), and contended for the lead for most of the way and ultimately finished two seconds behind Solinsky (first, 13:38.61).

The Duck men wrapped up the meet tied for 19th place with 11 points courtesy of Rupp’s placings, and notched its fifth top-20 finish ever and all in the past six years.

Overall on the men’s side, Wisconsin won its first ever title with 40 points, and edged Florida State (second, 35), Texas (third, 34) and Stanford (fourth, 28).

Other Pac-10 teams on hand included Washington (seventh-tie, 22), Arizona (14th, 19), California (19th-tie, 11), USC (22nd-tie, 10), Arizona State (25th-tie, 9), Washington State (32nd, 6).

The Oregon women tied for 21st place with its nine points from Noble and Henry – its third top-25 finish ever and all in the past five years.

Arizona State claimed the overall team championship with 38 points, ahead of LSU (second, 33), Tennessee (third, 30) and Georgia (fourth, 28).

Other Pac-10 teams that scored included Stanford (sixth, 24), UCLA (seventh, 23), California (15th, 15), Washington State (27th-tie, 8), Washington (34th-tie, 6), USC (41st, 5).

Individually, other Duck men that competed in the meet Friday included senior Brian Richotte (weight throw, 11th, 67-8 3/4) and freshman A.J. Acosta (mile-prelims, 13th, 4:08.78).

Also Friday, redshirt senior Lauryn Jordan added UO’s first-ever indoor women’s All-America horizontal jump honor (long jump, ninth, 20-1 1/2, 6.13m).

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