Blue and Orange Opener Results at: http://www.broncosports.com/fls/9900/stats/track/realtimeresults/index.htm
UW Indoor Preview Results at: http://www.gohuskies.com/livestats/c-track/011412/index.htm

January 14, 2012

Ducks Clear Season’s First Hurdle at Boise
Rhodes, Cabral, Monteverde lead a strong hurdles performance.

NAMPA, Idaho – Rebecca Rhodes, Phyllis Francis and Trevor Ferguson were double winners and newcomers Johnathan Cabral, Arthur Delaney and Joeal Hotchkins were victorious in their Oregon debuts as the Ducks’ track and field teams opened the 2012 indoor season Saturday at the Blue and Orange Opener.
Between the men’s and women’s teams, Oregon won 12 events at the Idaho Center, which will host the 2012 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March.
“Overall, it was a really good meet,” said Oregon associate head coach Robert Johnson. “Both the men and women definitely got what they wanted out of the meet.
“We had some solid competition against BYU and UTEP and we also needed to get some people out on a banked track and see the facility that will be hosting the NCAA Championships since we haven’t been here in a few years.”
Rhodes, a senior from Salem, Ore., established a big personal best of 8.62 seconds in winning the 60 meter hurdles for the top-ranked Women of Oregon. That easily beat her previous best of 8.78 and was also the third-fastest time in school history.
“That’s a huge PR for Becca,” said Johnson. “She put in a lot of effort in the fall and it paid off today.”
Rhodes then came back and won the long jump with a best leap of 18-8/5.69 meters.
In addition to Rhodes in the women’s 60 meter hurdles, freshman Alyssa Monteverde was second in 8.64, while Pearson was fourth in 8.68. Monteverde’s time ranked No. 4 at Oregon.
In the men’s 60 meter hurdles, Cabral was victorious in his Oregon debut. He won the final in 7.95 after capturing his preliminary heat in 7.89. The preliminary time tied the Calabasas, Calif., native for the third-best 60 hurdles in school history. Sophomore Dakotah Keys placed third in the final in 8.38 after running 8.36 in his preliminary race.
“The hurdles group could have been our MVP,” said Johnson. “With Becca’s huge PR and great opening times for the freshmen (Cabral and Monteverde), it was very good day.”
Meanwhile, Francis won both the 200 and 600 meters on Saturday. The sophomore from Queens, N.Y., entered the Oregon top-five in both events. She took the 200 in 24.03 – No. 3 all-time for the Ducks and a lifetime PR – and the 600 in 1:31.53. That was the fourth-fastest time in school history, in an infrequently run event.
Ferguson swept both the men’s long jump and triple jump. The redshirt freshman from Oregon City, Ore., captured the long jump with a mark of 23-0/7.01m and brought home the triple jump crown at 47-9.75/14.57m.
Delaney, from Gresham, Ore., had just enough in the tank to take the men’s 200 meters. He crossed the line in 21.75, a tenth of the second faster than Brigham Young’s Jason Hinds, who ran 21.85. Delany also took third in the 60 meters in 6.95 after running 6.91 in the preliminaries.
Hotchkins won the 60 meters in 6.94. The junior transfer from Las Vegas, Nev., recorded a personal best in the preliminaries of 6.82. Also in the 60 meters, sophomore Mike Berry ran a personal-best 6.94 in the preliminaries and finished fourth in the final (6.97).
English Gardner captured an exciting women’s 60 meter dash, finishing in 7.34 seconds to just edge Endurance Abinuwa of Texas-El Paso by .01 (7.35). Gardner, a freshman in eligibility indoors, was just off her personal best of 7.29.
The women also took the 4x400 meter relay. The team of Alexandria Davidson, Devin Gosberry, Pearson and Chizoba Okodogbe won in 3:43.57.
The Ducks also had success beyond Francis in the women’s 200. Okodogbe was second in 24.59, while senior Lauryn Newson was third in 25.28.
In the field, freshman Greg Skipper finished second in the men’s weight throw. The Oregon City, Ore., native had a best effort of 56-1/17.09m.
Freshman Russell Hornsby clocked the third-best men’s 600 meter time at Oregon, 1:19.88, in a third-place finish.
Gosberry was the runner-up in the 300 meters with the second-fastest time in school history, 40.30, while Bryan Harper won the men’s 300 in 34.80. That was the fifth-best 300 time at Oregon for the senior from Junction City, Ore.

SEATTLE, Wash. – Boru Guyota won his section of the 600 meters to lead the Oregon men’s track team at the UW Indoor Preview Saturday at the Dempsey Indoor Facility
Guyota, a sophomore from Portland, Ore., ran 1:19.95 to place to place second overall. His time was the third-fastest in school history. Senior Travis Stanford was third in the same heat and fourth overall in 1:21.05, which ranks No. 5 on the Oregon list.
In the men’s 3,000 meters, freshman Daniel Winn won his section in 8:14.52. His time was second overall. Sophomore Cole Watson finished second in the same section in 8:14.55 with the third-fastest time overall.

-goducks.com-