Pac-10 Heptathlon/Decathlon: May 10 - Mathabane National HS 1,500 Leader after Oregon Twilight

High noon, Hayward Field: Ashton Eaton just ran 14.01 a lifetime best, 973 points to win the second heat of the 110-metre hurdles. Jeremy Taiwo, the University of Washington freshman from Newport High in Bellevue, WA, ran 14.88...Jack Pfeifer and Kim Spir will keep you updated as the second and final day of the Pac-10 heptathlon and decathlon championships progress.

Update from last night's Twilight Meet: Lincoln High (of Portland) senior Nathan Mathabane (pictured left) ran 3:50.58 in the second heat of the open 1,500. Lake Oswego, OR senior, Elijah Greer, who ran 1:48.97 in last night's Twilight 800, was the former national leader in the event in 3:50.70. Mathabane is going to Princeton. Elijah Greer ran the fastest 800 of the year by a prep at the Twilight Meet, finishing 4th in an open race in 1:48.97. Greer, an Oregon signee, was the country’s 800 leader a year ago, at 1:47.68. His previous best this season had been 1:51.47. This is the first outdoor sub-1:50 of the high school season, although Robby Andrews (Manalapan, N.J.) ran 1:49 indoors.

1:45 p.m.: Brianne Theisen jumped 19-4 3/4 to extend her lead over Nia Ali of USC.  After five events, Theisen (right) has 4406 and Ali has 4372 points going into the next event, the javelin.

2:15 p.m.: As the men start the pole vault competition, Aston Eaton leads with 5942 points and is on personal record pace about 100 points ahead of where he was during last year's U.S. Olympic Trials. Standing second the UW freshman Taiwo (5224) is followed by Oregon's Marshall Ackley (5117) and Aaron McVein (5005).

3:45 p.m.:  Brianne Theisen won the heptathlon for the host Ducks, scoring 5,986 points, a lifetime best and the highest score by a collegian this season. In all, seven women broke 5,400 in what may be the highest mass points finish ever in a conference championships.

When combined with teammate Kalindra McFadden’s 2nd-place finish, Theisen’s win gives Oregon 18 big points in the first event to be completed in this year’s Pac-10 meet. The remainder of the meet will be held next weekend. The host Ducks are contenders to win both team titles.

McFadden also had a big PR, of 5,780, and when the weekend is concluded, it is likely that the two Oregon women will rank 1-3 on the national college list, making the Oregon team an ever-looming contender in the race for the NCAA team championship. Oregon is already considered the favorite to win the men’s NCAA title.

There were PRs galore: Theisen (former best 5,765), McFadden (5,582), 3rd-place Nia Ali of USC (right) (5,681, former best 5,492), 4th-place Ryann Krais of UCLA (5,606 versus 5,520) and 6th-place Whitney Liehr of Stanford (5,459 versus 5,210). Shana Woods of USC (pictured below right with her record board from the Armory in NYC) was 5th (5,490), Shevell Quinley of Arizona 7th (5,401).
Theisen, a sophomore from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada, (in second place left) led for much of the two days with a big support group in the stands to help. She solidified her victory in Day 2 with 5.91 LJ, 40.74 JT and a PR 2:14.57 800. The 800 was set up by solid pacesetting from Erin Funkhouser of the Ducks, (leading left) who brought Theisen, McFadden and Krais (at left in blue) through a 66 first 400. All four ran 800 PRs, led by McFadden’s 2:13.82.
McFadden, (on the outside, far left, at left above)  a 5th-year senior from Bozeman, Mont., threw a lifetime-best 40.92 in the javelin in Event 6. She also had PRs on Day 1 in the 100 hurdles (13.95) and 200 (24.62).
(Funkhouser actually wound up 8th in the hep, with 4,881, giving the Ducks 19 points.)
Krais and Ali, both of whom grew up in the Philadelphia area, wound up in a close race for 3rd when Ali ran 2:33 and Krais a PR 2:14. Krais’s 5,606 was only 72 points off Ellannee Richardson’s 10-year-old American Junior record. Krais moved to 2nd all-time among U.S. Juniors.
Ali had lifetime bests on Day 2 in the LJ (5.87) and javelin (39.24).
/JP/
5:00 p.m.: The men's javelin has concluded. with a PR by Corey Dysick of Stanford: (183-09). Kyle Mills-Bunje  was second (177-11) with Jeremy Taiwo in a PR 176-02. Ashton Eaton placed 5th in 163-00. He is ahead of his PR, but needs a 4:32.00 1,500 to best his PR, and he needs to run 4:25.18 or faster to break Pedro daSilva's 1992 Oregon school record of 8167.
5:45 p.m.:  Ashton Eaton showed why he is America’s next bright hope in the decathlon, winning his 2nd straight Pac-10 championship, scoring 8,091 points. It set him up for next month’s NCAA championships in Fayetteville, Ark., where he is the overwhelming favorite to repeat as champion, and be a key element in what Oregon hopes will be its first outdoor team championship in 25 years.
Eaton, a 21-year-old junior from Mountain View High School in Bend, Ore., fell a bit short of the 8,122 he scored to finish 5th in last year’s Olympic Trials. He had a workmanlike second day that included a lifetime best in the high hurdles, 14.01.
The Ducks went 1-2 when Marshall Ackley, (left, leading) a junior from Nyssa, Ore., scored 7,337, just ahead of the Washington freshman Jeremy Taiwo (7,299). Along with 8th place, the Ducks scored 19 points in the opening Pac-10 event. The remainder of the meet will be contested here at Hayward Field next weekend.
Taiwo, a 19-year-old from Bellevue, Wash., and the son of a former Nigerian Olympian, moved to 10th on the all-time U.S. Junior list. On Day 2 he recorded what are believed to be lifetime bests in the highs (14.88), discus (125-8), javelin (176-2) and 1,500 (4:30.25). His father, Joseph Taiwo, was a triplejumper for Washington State and in two Olympics for his native country.
Kyle Mills-Bunje of Cal also broke 7,000, scoring 7,007 for 4th. He had a 25-foot PR in the javelin on his final throw.
Stories by: Jack Pfeifer
Pictures/text by: Kim Spir

Full results: www.goducks.com/fls/500/track/0809/pac10/index.htm