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Day Of Firsts Under Way at Hayward Field PremierePublished by
Herrera, Mantz, Clinger Go Sub-13:25 In Fast 5,000 At Hayward Premiere By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor EUGENE, Ore. -- For the first time since June of 2018, a college track meet is happening at Hayward Field. It is a vastly different venue than the "old" Hayward Field, and yet, as I look out the window from the press area, the track and the infield actually look remarkably similar. The dormitories are still visible at the low-slung north end of the stadium. The new theater configuration and the exterior skeleton, and of course the tower, are striking new features. And there is a world of new stuff, workout spaces, barber shop, team meeting and locker room areas underneath that we haven't been privvy to outside of Oregon-produced videos. For all of its bells and whistles, of which there are many huge improvements (like the bathrooms), it remains to be seen what the place is like for spectators when it's 40 degrees and pouring down rain. At first glance, there are large concourse areas where people can stand under cover and many large screen TVs on the walls. On nice days like this one, the place is a track and field enthusiast's dream, combining the best elements of Europe's best-looking track venues with other pieces that are quintessentially Eugene and University of Oregon. It is unfortunate that, while the pandemic is not yet over, so few people in the TrackTown, U.S.A. community will get to see live track and field in person. At least not this weekend, and perhaps for the rest of the spring. The answer to the trivia question: Who was the first athlete to win an event at the 'new" Hayward Field has been answered. Michael Bryan of Wichita State won the hammer with a secon-round throw of 68.54m (224-10). It was a nearly 2-meter (6-foot) personal best. - Utah's Whitney Hessler won the first race on the new track, the third (slowest section) of the women's 1,500 meters, with a personal best time of 4:28.57. - Ashton Riner of BYU won the first field event inside the stadium, taking the women's javelin with 165-0 (50.30m). - Kaili Keefe of Washington State came along in the second section to take the lead in the women's 1,500 meters with a time of 4:25.00. - Oregon's Luis Peralta took the lead on the final lap and won the first men's race, the third section of the 1,500 meters, in 3:47.41. - Washington State's Emily Coombs tried out the new pole vault standards and won the women's event with a clearance at 3.90m (12-9.50). There were only three competitors. - Tori Sloan of Oregon won the women's long jump with a personal best mark of 5.92m (19-5.50). - Charlotte Prouse of New Mexico, the two-time NCAA runner-up in the NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase, raced in the event for the first time since the 2019 Canadian nationals and won in a time of 9:54.65. Oregon's Aneta Konieczek moved to No. 3 on the all-time Oregon list with her second-place finish in 9:59.42. BYU's Sara Musselman was third (10:01.88) and Wichita State's Rebekah Topham was fourth (10:04.38). Freshman Lexy Halladay of BYU made her collegiate debut in the steeplechase and took fifth in 10:12.36. - BYU's Clayson Shumway ran a 62-second last lap to overtake Iowa State's David Too and ran a collegiate-leading time of 8:47.48. Shumway was 10th at the NCAA Championships in 2019. - Portland's Veerle Bakker won the first section of the women's 5,000 meters in 16:23.14, surging past Oregon State's Audrey Lookner on the final backstretch. Lookner ran 16:26:02 for No. 5 on the all-time OSU list. - Lindsay McShane smashed her own Oregon State school record in the hammer, tossing a winning mark of 208-3 (63.48m). She broke her own record, from 2019, by nine feet. - BYU's Cameron Bates broke the school record in the javelin with his third-round throw of 77.17m (253-2). Soren Tallhem's BYU record of 75.44m (247-6) had stood since 1986. That throw held up for the win. Oregon's Dalton Rasmussen was second with 69.42m (227-9). "It was a PR by more than six meters and broke the school record by nearly two meters," BYU coach Ed Eyestone said. "I am super happy for him. To be able to do it where the trials will be held will give him a load of confidence for both the NCAA Championships and the Olympic Trials. Nik Arrhenius is doing some great things with our javelin crew right now, so we’re excited about that." - Oregon's Jack Yearian enjoyed a good moment, picking up his first track race win in a Ducks uniform and running a lifetime best 14:11.22 in the second section of the 5,000 meters. - Lauren Ellsworth of BYU sprinted away from the field in the final 450 of the top non-invitational section of the 1,500 meters. She split 60 seconds over the final 400 and finished in 4:20.64. DYESTAT DISCUSSION - BYU's Zach McWhorter, the runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships, won the men's pole vault with 5.65m (18-6.50). - Oregon's Matt Wisner won the fastest non-invite section of the 1,500 meters in a personal best time of 3:42.95. Zack Penrod from Wichita State was chasing Wisner on the homestretch and finished second in 3:43.64. - John Baker of Arkansas won the men's long jump with 7.17m (23-6.25). INVITATIONAL SECTIONS - NCAA Indoor mile champion Courtney Wayment of BYU dipped at the line to take the 1,500 meters victory over Anna Camp by .02 seconds. Wayment ran the collegiate leading time of 4:16.10 to Camp's 4:16.12. It was a joining of forces for the Cougars women, who participated in different sports through the winter. Wayment was a standout on the indoor circuit and Camp helped lead BYU to the national cross country championship. They were side by side coming down the final 50 meters. Behind them, BYU also went 3-4 with Kate Hunter (4:18.10) and Olivia Hoj (4:18.43) pulling away from a trio of Arkansas women. Kennedy Thompson (4:19.09), Carina Viljoen (4:19.67) and Krissy Gear (4:21.21) placed fifth, sixth and seventh for the Razorbacks. - Cole Hocker made his outdoor debut a memorable one, racing for the first time on a track in Eugene. Hocker split 55.22 on the final lap and used his speed to ward off challenges from Washington State's Paul Ryan and BYU's Lucas Bons on the final lap. Hocker ran 3:38.99 for the win to grab an early collegiate-leading time in the 1,500 meters. He missed the Olympic Trials qualifying standard (3:37.50) but showed every bit of ability to get it down the road. “It was definitely different and even though it wasn’t a full stadium, there was something different about the energy especially with other teams being in there and in the mix. They definitely put on a good race, too. It was fun," Hocker said. “I’m really happy with (the race). I just went in with one goal to win and I executed that. I’m really happy about it because of where we are in training and completely training through this race and not really prepping specifically for this. I’m happy with the result.” - BYU star Whittni Orton ran the second-fastest 5,000 meters in school history and led from wire to wire to win in 15:42.33. Utah's Poppy Tank placed second with a lifetime best 15:45.07. Arkansas' Abby Gray was third in 15:48.53 and Colorado's Rachel McArthur was fourth in 15:53.06. Alessia Zarbo of Oregon, making her home debut, placed fifth in 15:54.05, trimming 25 seconds from her PR. Oregon State's Kaylee Mitchell, in ninth, broke the school record by running 16:00.52. - The race of the night, and perhaps the first rekindled instance of "Hayward Magic" came in the men's 5,000 meters. Colorado's Eduardo Herrera worked with BYU trio Conner Mantz, Casey Clinger and Brandon Garnica to keep the pace hot throughout, trading the lead back and forth over the final half of the race after pacer James West of Oregon took them through 2,000. In the end it was Herrera, the Pac-12 cross country champion, holding off Mantz and Clinger as all three attained U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying standards by going under 13:25. Herrera ran 13:24.46 for a collegiate leader and the No. 2 time in Colorado history. Mantz, the NCAA Cross Country champion, ran 13:24.78 to break Josh Rohatinksy's school record from 2007 (13:25.53). Clinger also went under the old BYU record and ran a lifetime best 13:24.89. Garnica moved up to fourth on the all-time school list with 13:26.62. "I thought it was a great performance by all of our 5000m crew on the men’s side, particularly Conner Mantz, Casey Clinger and Brandon Garnica was right there, too," Eyestone said. "Even though Garnica didn’t nail the Olympic qualifying standard, I think he’ll probably get in when they go down the list and fill out the field. "For Mantz to double back after winning the NCAA Cross Country Championships is not an easy thing. I thought it was a great performance for him and Clinger to run that fast and make it to the trials. That was our mission going in. Mantz had to do a lot of the work, but I was also happy to see Clinger share some of the lead with him. All in all, I thought it was a great performance. Our goal all along has been to get a solid qualifier for the NCAAs and put us in a position to run the 5000m at the trials." - Boise State senior Clare O'Brien, racing on the track for the first time in nearly two years, outdueled Weber State's Lexie Thompson to win the women's 10,000 meters in 32:43.70 in perfect racing conditions at Hayward Field (except for the lack of fans). Thompson ran 32:49.62 for second. Oregon's Carmela Cardama Baez worked her way up to third in the late stages of the race and finished third in 32:57.00. Aubrey Frentheway from BYU was fourth in 33:03.49 and Iowa State's Cailie Logue and Oklahoma State's Molly Born remained connecte throughout to go fifth and sixth. - Iowa State tandem Wesley Kiptoo and Edwin Kurgat closed down Friday's session with a 1-2 finish in the men's 10,000 meters. They shared the work and helped each other run NCAA-leading times. It was Kiptoo outkicking Kurgat to the finish line as they both dipped under 28 minutes. Kiptoo ran 27:58.10 and Kurgat was next in 27:58.33. Patrick Dever of Tulsa pulled away from the chase pack and finished third in 28:28.13. More news |
