Nine Ducks Accepted for NCAA Indoor Track and Field Champs

The two-day meet will feature 284 athletes in each of the men’s and women’s competitions.

Photo: goducks.com

EUGENE - The University of Oregon track and field teams received word Monday evening that six NCAA provisional qualifying entries were invited to the upcoming NCAA Indoor Championships, scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 9th-10th at the University of Arkansas.

The Ducks already had three other NCAA automatic qualifiers – senior Tommy Skipper (pole vault) and sophomores Rebekah Noble (800m) and Galen Rupp (5,000m) – that were already guaranteed positions in the NCAA field based on their season bests.

The two-day meet will feature 284 athletes in each of the men’s and women’s competitions, and invitations are based on athletes’ indoor season best marks.

Each NCAA individual event typically has between 10-12 relay entries and 12-20 entries in individual events, based on size limitations.

More NCAA Indoor Championships information is available at the www.NCAAsports.com , www.HogWired.com and www.LadyBacks.com websites.

A list of UO’s NCAA qualifiers, and their national and all-time UO indoor rankings, and season and personal bests follows:

Men’s NCAA Indoor Automatic Qualifiers

Galen Rupp, So., Portland, Ore., 5,000m, 3rd, 13:38.62, 2/10/06 (PR, School Record)

Tommy Skipper, Fr., Sandy, Ore., Pole Vault, 3rd, 5.51m, 18-1 (PR-School Record 18-8 3/4, 2004, ’06)

Men’s NCAA Indoor Provisional Qualifiers That Received Invitations

Mile – Andrew Acosta, Fr., Oceanside, Calif., 7th, 4:00.37, 3/3/07 (PR)

3,000m – Galen Rupp, So., Portland, Ore., 5th, 7:54.19, 2/24/07 (School Record)

Brian Richotte, RSr., Berkeley, Mich., Weight Throw, 12th, 20.73m (69-0 1/4), (School Record) (PR 69-4 1/4, 2006)

Women’s NCAA Automatic Qualifiers

Rebekah Noble, So., 800m, 5th, 2:04.92, 2/24/07 (PR 2:04.72, 2006, UO #2)

Women’s NCAA Indoor Provisional Qualifiers That Received Invitations

Emily Enders, Sr., Snohomish, Wash., Pole Vault, 12th-tie, 4.12m (13-6.25), 3/3/07 (PR, UO #3)

Lauryn Jordan, RSr., Stockton, Calif., Long Jump, 16th, 6.26m (20-6.5), 2/9/07 (School Record)

Britney Henry, RSr., Spokane, Wash., Weight Throw, 8th, 20.84m (68-4.5), 3/3/07 (School Record)

*Note: PR=Personal Record

NCAA Experience

Among UO’s qualifiers, four athletes (3 men / 1 woman) have competed in prior NCAA Indoor Championships and have accounted for two NCAA titles and two more runner-up finishes among their seven All-America honors in their seven NCAA appearances.

A list of previous qualifiers follows:

Women’s NCAA Indoor Returnee (Prior NCAA appearance (*=All-American))

Rebekah Noble, So. (1) - 800m (2nd*, 2:05.72, 2006)

Men’s NCAA Indoor Returnees (Prior NCAA appearances (*=All-American))

Galen Rupp, Jr. (2) - 3,000m (6th*, 8:07.85, 2006); 5,000m (5th*, 13:56.41, 2006)

Tommy Skipper, Sr. (3) - Pole Vault (1st*, 18-6.5, 2006; 1st*, 18-4.5, 2005; 2nd*, 18-4.5, 2004)

Brian Richotte, Gr. (1) – Weight Throw (8th, 69-3.5, 2006)

Women’s NCAA Outdoor Returnees (Prior NCAA appearance (*=All-American))

Rebekah Noble, So. (1) - 800m (1st*, 2:02.07, 2006)

Emily Enders, Sr. (2) - Pole Vault (22nd-tie, 12-9.5; 15th-tie, 12-9.5, 2004)

Lauryn Jordan, RSr. (1) - Long Jump (21st, 19-10.75, 2006)

Britney Henry, RSr. (1) – Hammer (6th*, 208-7, 2006)

Lauryn Jordan, RSr. (1) – Heptathlon (7th*, 5,499, 2006; 14th, 5,367, 2005

Men’s NCAA Outdoor Returnees (Prior NCAA appearance (*=All-American))

Galen Rupp, Jr. (2) - 5,000m (20th, 14:14.02, 2006), 10,000m (2nd, 28:23.75, 2005)

Tommy Skipper, Sr. (2) - Pole Vault (1st*, 18-8.25, 2004; 1st*, 18-8.25, 2006)

Recent NCAA Indoor History

The Ducks have put an increased emphasis on the indoor season starting with the 1998 campaign, and laid the foundation for the recent success at the national indoor level.

On the women’s side, the Ducks finished 23rd with 10 points in ’06 – its second highest ever tallies in each category – courtesy of Rebekah Noble’s runner-up 800m finish and the distance medley’s seventh-place effort.

UO’s highest finish came three years before in 2003 with their 15th-place finish and 13 points from Becky Holliday’s and Niki McEwen’s second and fourth-place pole vault finishes.

In recent NCAA Indoor Championships, the Duck men finished a best-ever sixth place in both 2005 (29 points) and ’06 (23), and also finished top-20 in 2004 (18th, 13 points) and ’01 (ninth, 15).

UO’s first meet that they scored in was 1998 when they finished 34th and tallied six points.

Oregon’s NCAA Indoor Titles / All-America Breakdown

The Oregon men won their first NCAA indoor titles the past two years, courtesy of pole vaulter Tommy Skipper, among their 23 honors since 1998.

Honors by events follow – 60m (2), 400m (2), 800m (1), 3,000m (3), 5,000m (2), 60m hurdles (3), 4x400m relay (1), high jump (1), long jump (2), pole vault (5), heptathlon (1).

The Duck women claimed their first NCAA title in 1996 and also scored a runner-up finish that season thanks to a 1-2 finish by Melody Fairchild and Milena Glusac in the 3,000m.

Pole vaulter Becky Holiday added an indoor pole vault runner-up finish of her own in 2003 among the team’s 12 All-America honors, and the breakdown follows: 800m (1), mile (2), 3,00m (3), pole vault (5) and distance medley (1).

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