With Oregon coming up big in the first day of the NCAA Indoor Championships, it is time to make a final prediction on who will win the team title.
The Ducks closed the first day going 1-3-7 in the 5k scoring 18 points, and won the Distance Medley Relay scoring another 10 points. Greg Skipper placed 5th in the men’s weight throw, contributing 4 points. 32 points to start off the first day is not too shabby, especially if you think about how many more points Oregon has the potential to score tomorrow. Three qualifiers in the 1600m, and another five who are qualified to run the 3k. With all the possible points that the Ducks still on the table, the 32 points scored so far puts them in a strong position for another indoor title win.
A helping factor for the Ducks was Andres Arroyo from Florida, who was projected to score 5 points, not qualifying in the 800m. Florida was ranked #1 going into this meet, but with a loss of those projected points and with many Oregon runners stepping up, the turn of events has put the Ducks in position as the favorite to win the men’s team title.
Edward Cheserek making his move to win in the DMR.
On the women’s side it’s a similar situation. Jenna Prandini shocked the crowd by posting the 6th fastest 200m all-time in the NCAA and also the fastest time in the world for this year. Not only that, she won the long jump and took 2nd place in the 60m prelims. Jasmine Todd also qualified in the 60m, Sasha Wallace qualified in the 60m hurdles, Lauren Crockett placed 5th in the high jump, and Nikki Hiltz qualified in the 1600m. While Texas is still the favorite, last year the women proved anything can happen in a championship meet when they beat the Longhorns in last year’s championships.
Good luck to the Ducks today; show everyone what it means to run in Tracktown, USA.
Top Photo Credit: from Video
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Isaac Gibson was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas when he decided to make his way up north to be a Duck. A former track and field athlete, he decided he wanted to live in Tracktown USA and attend school at The University of Oregon. He has always had a passion for sports and is looking to get more involved as well as refining his craft in writing.
His main focus is to bring the exciting sport of track and field further into the public eye, and what better team to cover than one of the current best in the nation and one so rich in history as the Ducks.
Isaac is a freshman in the school of journalism with as well as in the Pre-Law program at the U of O.