CRAIG PADGETT
GoSycamores.com
EUGENE, Ore. – Senior Greggmar Swift advanced to the finals of the 110 meter hurdles to highlight day two of the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field.
“It was a good in that Greggmar advanced to finals,” said Men's Head Coach John McNichols. “It's tough to get in the final here, as there are about 10 obstacles that can hinder an athletes chances to advancing to the next round. Greggmar looked great up until the tenth hurdle and had a little trouble with that last one. Adarius had a great learning experience at his first NCAA championship and ran 14.14. That would've been a personal best for him a year ago, but he moved his way up to fourth in school history and he was one of the best in the nation this year.”
Swift placed second in his heat of the 110 meter hurdles in a time of 13.57 seconds to secure his spot in Saturday's final. He will rank fifth overall going into the final, which will go off at 6:12 p.m. (ET). Sophomore Adarius Washington placed fifth in his heat in a time of 14.14 seconds to wrap up his great sophomore season with an 18th place finish.
“Everything went according to the plan today,” said Swift. “I was supposed to come out here and qualify and I did that. I didn't have the race today that I had in mind, but I qualified and I can't complain because I'll live to run the next day. We'll see how it goes in the final and I know I can win after that race. I just have to go out there and do it.”
Senior Mary Theisen took 16th place overall in the discus throw with a toss of 161'8” to earn second team All-American honors.
“I'm disappointed that I let my nerves get the best of me,” said Theisen. “No one wants to have a bad meet at nationals. I was upset for a while, but now I have prepare to throw the shot put on Saturday, so it's time to focus on doing well for that.”
Sophomore Katie Wise wrapped up a great 2014 season in the sprints with a 15th place finish in the 200 meter dash in a time of 23.64 seconds. She will earn second team All-American honors with that performance.
“It was a tough weekend for me competing,” said Wise. “I earned two second team All-American honors and competed in three events at nationals. It's not how I wanted my season to end, but it is motivation for next year. I felt great for 100 meters of the 200, but then my quads tightened up. I have one more meet this season, which will be the US Championships in Sacramento. I will be running the 100 meter dash and I'm looking forward to the competition.”
“Mary competed tough today,” said Women's Head Coach Angela Martin. “It was a really tough field and I think she will be ready to compete hard in tomorrow's shot put final. Katie had a great start and got around the curve tough, but couldn't get through the line strong enough to advance. There will be much more to come from her.”
The Sycamores will not compete Friday, but will continue competition on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (ET) with the women's shot put.
