Pac-10 Track and Field Championships: Day Two
Day two of the Pac-10 Track and Field Championships came down to the very end and it was all about Oregon and Arizona. The Oregon men were slight underdogs going into this weekend’s meet and the Oregon women were favorites for the top spot. In the end Oregon came out on top and swept the last ever Pac-10 conference championships since Colorado and Utah will be added to the conference this fall. Let’s recap the day’s events…
Oregon women’s team:
As with any great meet it all came down to the 1600m relay. Oregon’s women took the relay, and with it the championship title, scoring 154.5 points. Chizoba Okodogbe, Amber Purvis, Phillis Francis and Laura Roesler finished in the top spot, clocking in at 3 minutes and 29.63 seconds. Amber Purvis and English Gardner also went head-to-head in the 100m and 200m finals today; Gardner took the victory in the 100m dash in 11.03 seconds over Purvis who finished 3rd in 11.21 seconds. Oregon senior Mandy White also scored for the Ducks in the event with a 4th place finish. In the 200m dash it was Purvis who beat out Gardner with a second place finish in 22.97 seconds over Gardner’s 3rd place finish in 23.02 seconds. White also placed in the 200m dash for the Ducks.
The women’s distance showing was impressive today as well. Oregon sophomore Jordan Hasay was the champion in both the 1500m and the 5000m runs. Anne Kesselring (sophomore), Becca Friday (sophomore) and Megan Patrignelli (freshman) all placed in the 1500m run as well, scoring a total of 24 points for the team in that event alone.
Oregon men’s team:
The Oregon men put away the competition finishing with 129 points; 17 points over 2nd place Arizona. Matthew Centrowits, an Oregon junior, won his third consecutive conference title in the 1500m run clocking in at 3 minutes and 41.73 seconds. A.J. Acosta also added points to Oregon’s score in that event coming in 7th.
Also scoring top honors in yesterday’s events was Mike Berry, an Oregon freshman, coming in 1st in the 400m dash with a time of 44.91 seconds.
In the end the final Pac-10 championship ended with the Duck men winning their 5th consecutive title and the women winning their 3rd. It was a great day for Track Town USA.