NCAA CHAMPIONS: Oregon Men Are Dominant in Title Defense

NEW ORLEANS – For the second year – and fourth NCAA Division Track & Field Championship in a row including the indoor and outdoor seasons – the men of Oregon reign supreme over collegiate track & field.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS CENTRAL | USTFCCCA NOTES
FULL RESULTS

Anchored by the distance duo of two-time national champion Edward Cheserek and two-time runner-up Eric Jenkins, and boosted by a supporting cast that exceeded expectations in front of the home crowd, the Ducks scored 85 points to defeat Florida and Arkansas with 56 and 53 points, respectively.

The Ducks’ 29-point margin over Florida was the largest by a team champion over the runner-up since Arkansas won in 1994 by 38 over UTEP (83-45). Last year’s Oregon squad topped Florida by 18 points, 88-70.

LSU came through with the 4×400 relay to edge out Southern California for the fourth and final spot on the team podium, 45-40½.

Friday was the conclusion of the men’s competition; the meet’s first-ever women-only competition goes down tomorrow live on ESPN2 starting at 5pm ET and ESPN3.

After going 1-2 in the 10,000 meters on Wednesday, Cheserek (13:48.67) and Jenkins (13:48.92) again went 1-2 at 5000 meters, with teammate Will Geoghegan (13:49.35) finishing fourth for a total of 23 points to clinch the team title. Kemoy Campbell of Arkansas snuck in for third overall, preventing the 11th 1-2-3 sweep in meet history.

That result by the distance triumvirate wasn’t far off of projections, but the Ducks gained a lot of ground early on Friday by athletes who did exceed expectations.

Frosh Blake Haney took third at 1500 meters (3:55.12) to kick off the day for Oregon, followed by a runner-up finish by Jonathan Cabral (13.22w (+3.9m/s) – who was 22nd among DI athletes in 2015 coming into the meet – and a runner-up finish by Marcus Chambers (45.59) at 400 meters.

Florida settled for second for the second year in a row, holding off Arkansas for the No. 2 spot with a runner-up finish in the 4×400 relay.

The biggest story for the Gators was triple jumper Marquis Dendy, who crushed the field with a historic leap of 58-1¼w (17.71m, +2.4m/s) for the third-farthest jump in collegiate history under all-conditions. His opening wind-legal leap of 57-5 (17.50m) moved him to the official No. 3 spot on the collegiate list, which considers only wind-legal marks. He also went 57-6½w (17.54m, +3.6m/s) on his fourth jump.

Florida benefitted from a hard-charging Mark Parrish in the 3000-meter steeplechase, as he picked up three points in sixth-place. Najee Glass took fourth at 400 meters.

Arkansas moved up from fifth in the pre-meet projections all the way to third, largely behind the efforts of Omar McLeod. The sophomore won his first 110-meter hurdles title in a windy 13.01 (+3.9m/s) for the third-fastest time in collegiate history under all conditions, a title that was sandwiched around legs of the winning 4×100 relay and sixth-place 4×400 relay.

The Razorbacks also got a runner-up finish from Stanley Kebenei in the steeplechase, a third-place effort from Campbell at 5000 meters, and a third-place finish from Jarrion Lawson in the 100 – an event in which he was ranked No. 21 in Division I in 2015. Lawson also finished runner-up in the long jump on Wednesday and ran legs of those 4×100 and 4×400 relays.

LSU in fourth place got wins by Vernon Norwood both at 400 meters and in the 4×400 relay as the anchor, in addition to a third-place effort in the 4×100 relay. Sprints were significant in keeping LSU’s podium hopes alive as the duo of Tremayne Acy and Aaron Ernest went 4-5 at 200 meters for nine big points. Joshua Thompson also exceeded projections to finish fourth in the 110-meter hurdles,

However, collegiate discus leader Rodney Brown finished ninth for the Tigers to dash designs on placing higher on the podium.

Southern California had almost as good a day as they could have, particularly from Andre De Grasse. After helping Southern California to a fourth-place finish in the 4×100 relay, the junior blazed to a win at 100 meters in 9.75w (+2.7m/s) for the second-fastest time in collegiate history, and again torched the 200 meters for a win in 19.58w (+2.4m/s) – tied for the fifth-fastest time in the history of the world under all conditions.

Finishing a disappointing sixth in the team standings was Texas A&M with 27 points, just one ahead of in-state rival Texas at 26. The Aggies were hampered early by the loss of Deon Lendore at 400 meters, who dropped out of the race just over 100 meters in with an injury. Without the reigning Bowerman Trophy winner, A&M took seventh in the 4×400 relay.