February 25, 2012

Relays Lead the Way at MPSF Championships
Hasay, Theisen set school records.

SEATTLE, Wash. – Brianne Theisen, Amber Purvis and Johnathan Cabral all won individual titles, while the Ducks swept both 4x400 meter relays Saturday at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships.

The Ducks also saw school records from Theisen and Jordan Hasay, as well as an NCAA automatic qualifying mark in the men’s 3000 meters from Trevor Dunbar.

“The women accomplished everything we set out to accomplish,” said Associate Athletic Director Vin Lananna. “The 4x4 was a big highlight, and Hasay and the 800 meter runners did a great job.

“It was a very productive meet for our women.”

The Ducks closed out the running events in impressive fashion, setting a meet and stadium record in the 4x400 meter relay. The team of Amber Purvis, Laura Roesler, Chizoba Okodogbe and Phyllis Francis took charge from the outset and won going away in 3:33.70.

That time was a MPSF Championships and Dempsey Indoor Facility record. It was also an NCAA Championships automatic qualifier and the second-fastest indoor 4x400 relay in school history.

The women’s win came on the heels of a Duck victory in the men’s 4x400 meter relay. The team of Bryan Harper, Arthur Delaney, Jack Galpin and Mike Berry ran a season-best 3:09.00.

Earlier in the day, Theisen displayed her remarkable versatility by winning the 400 meters in 54.11, comfortably ahead of Arizona’s Echos Blevins, who ran 54.27. Theisen’s time was the third-fastest indoor 400 in school history.

Theisen began the day by breaking her own school record in the 60 meter hurdles. The senior from Humboldt, Sask., was the runner-up in 8.34 seconds. Kori Carter of Stanford won in 8.22.

Oregon also saw an impressive win from Amber Purvis in the 60 meters. Coming out of the lower section of the final, the senior from Hercules, Calif., powered to the line in 7.44, matching her seasonal best. That time beat the winner of the top heat, Shataya Hendricks of Stanford, who timed 7.47.

The Ducks were also keyed by a couple of runner-up performances from Hasay and Anne Kesselring.

Hasay broke her own school record in the 3,000 meters, finishing in 9:03.95. The junior from Arroyo Grande, Calif., and California’s Deborah Maier pulled away from the pack with 1,000 meters to go, and the two Pac-12 rivals traded turns out front until Maier pulled away to win in a meet record 9:02.35. Both marks were NCAA automatic qualifiers.

The women collected big points in the 800 meters by finishing 2-3-6-8. Nachelle Mackie of Brigham Young and Oregon’s Anne Kesselring fought to the line for the individual title, with Mackie taking the race in 2:04.22. Kesselring was next in an indoor personal-best 2:04.52 that was the second-fastest in school history. The junior from Nurmberg, Germany, also moved into the top 10 nationally in the 800.

Sophomore Laura Roseler was third in 2:05.13, while junior Becca Friday took sixth in an all-conditions personal best 2:05.78. Freshman Claudia Francis rounded out the scoring with an eighth-place finish in 2:09.54.

In the pole vault, a couple of freshmen posted indoor best clearances to tie for second. Anginae Monteverde and Sammie Clark both made it over the bar at 13-4.5/4.08m.

The Ducks also got points from Megan Patrignelli in the mile. The sophomore from Monroe, N.Y., finished fifth in 4:43.43.

For the men, Cabral got a fast start out of the blocks and was clean through all the barriers to win the 60 meter hurdles in 7.90. The freshman from Calabasas, Calif., was a half step ahead of Cal State Northridge’s Michael Woodham, who finished second in 7.99.

Dunbar led an impressive performance in the 3,000 meters. The sophomore transfer from the University of Portland hit the NCAA Championships automatic standard of 7:51.55 in a runner-up finish to Arizona’s Lawi Lalang, who won in 7:44.48.

Sophomore Parker Stinson ran a personal-best 7:55.08 to finish seventh, while freshman Brian Shrader took eighth in 7:59.62.

In a lengthy heptathlon competition, Dakotah Keys used personal bests in the 60 meter hurdles and the 1,000 meters to finish second with 5,660 points. That was a personal best by 200 points. Marcus Nilsson won the event with 5,700 points.

Keys opened the day by tying for first in the 60 hurdles in a personal-best 8.36. He then cleared 14-9/4.50m, which was fifth-best in the pole vault. He wrapped up the competition with a :05 PR in the 1,000 meters, 2:43.93.

Also in the heptathlon freshman Alec Fellows finished fourth with 5,333 points, nearly a 250-point PR. The Woodway, Wash., native had three event personal bests on the day. He opened the day going 8.46 in the hurdles and also had PRs in the pole vault at 14-5.25/4.40m and the 1,000 meters – 2:41.26.

“The guys in the 3,000 meters did a great job, and Dakotah Keys has really improved from last year,” said Lananna. “He’s healthy now and really starting to put things together.”

Sophomore Boru Guyota was third in the 800 meters in 1:49.77, while sophomore Mike Berry was fourth in the 400 meters in 46.74.

In the field, Oregon saw a fourth place finish in the triple jump from senior Brian Schaudt, who leapt 50-4/15.34m.

Travis Stanford and Daniel Winn both set PRs in the mile to score for the Ducks. Stanford, a senior from Peyton, Colo., was fifth in 4:04.19, while Winn, a freshman from Portland, Ore., took seventh in 4:05.18.

Football’s Dior Mathis also added a point with his eighth-place finish in the 60 meters in 6.93.

Stanford won a close women’s MPSF team race with 125 points. Arizona was second with 110, followed by Oregon with 108.33, Arizona State with 68 and Washington with 56.

In the men’s competition, Arizona State won with 131.5 points, followed by Stanford with 81.5, Oregon at 77, Arizona at 70 and BYU with 67.

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