April 17, 2011

 Photo Gallery

It was a back-and-forth battle on the track between the No. 23 UCLA Bruins and the No. 11 Oregon Ducks in a classic dual meet showdown, but in the end, it was a draw as both teams tallied 81.50 points on Sunday in Drake Stadium.

Today marked the 19th meeting between the two storied programs and the end result was the first tie on record in the series. The Bruins snapped Oregon's three meet win streak (all of which occurred in Eugene the past three years) and gave head coach Mike Maynard an undefeated home record in his second year at UCLA.

It was an exciting day for track and field fans and athletes as every point and place was crucial to the final outcome. The Bruins had a five point lead heading into the final event of the day, the 4x400m relay, and needed to finish first to capture the meet crown. An Oregon win would end the meet in a tie. The Bruin 4x400m relay of Brian Law, Karlton Rolle, Maxwell Dyce and David Klarer battled hard throughout the race, often taking leads over the Ducks, but Oregon proved too strong down the stretch as they would come away with the victory, sealing a draw for both teams.

The Bruins started off the meet with a slight upset in the hammer as freshman Alec Faldermeyerfinished first with a solid mark of 206-0, edging out All-American Duck Jordan Stray.

In the long jump, the Bruins took first and third as Taylor Hobson led the way with his jump of 24-4.50.Nelson Rosario, who has missed the past two meets due to spring football practice, was allowed to bypass Sunday's scrimmage to compete in the dual and he came away with a third-place finish (24-00.25).

Randall Carroll, who has also missed the last two meets because of spring football, took part in the first hour of today's football scrimmage before hustling over to the track to compete in the 100m and 200m. He helped the Bruins sweep the 100m as he placed second (10.72). Jamal Alston took first (10.67), while R.J. Frasier was third (10.76).

Cory Primm had a huge day in the 1500m as he battled one of Oregon's top runners (Matthew Centrowitz) for first-place. In the end, Primm placed second, but he crossed the finish line with a new lifetime-best of 3:46.74. Primm then had about half an hour to recover as he was slated to compete in the 800m. Primm again battled hard against the Ducks, but ended up third in a time of 1:51.69.

David McDonald picked up a point for the Bruins in the steeplechase as he finished third in a time of 9:14.62.

David Klarer led a 1-2 finish in the 400m hurdles as he was first in a time of 52.74 and Brian Law was second in a time of 54.38.

The 4x100m relay team of Rolle, Carroll, Dyce and Alston easily won (40.20), bettering the Ducks by nearly two seconds (42.00). Dyce also posted a win in the 200m as he ran 20.94. Rolle was third in a time of 21.10.

The pole vault saw a big performance from Greg Woepse as he cleared a lifetime-best of 17-6.50 to win the event. That mark is tied for seventh-best in the NCAA this season. His brother, Mike, cleared a season-best 16-7.25 to finish second overall, while a tie for third between Scott DiCesare and Oregon's Austin Ouderkirk (16-1.25) was the key factor in causing the meet to end in a tie.

Nigel Davies led a Bruin sweep in the shot put as he was first with a mark of 53-4.50. Mark Weber was second (52-9.50) and Bo Taylor was third (51-5.50). In the javelin, Matthew Kosecki threw a lifetime-best of 207-3 to finish second overall.

The meet came down to the final three events - discus, 5000m and 4x400m relay. The Bruins took 1-2 in the discus as Taylor led the way with his throw of 184-3. Nagengast was second with a mark of 176-0. In the 5000m, the Ducks took 1-2 as Alex Crabill finished third (14:16.79). Those events canceled each other out as the 4x400m relay would decide if their would be a victor or a draw.

The last time the Bruin men tied another team was in 1989 when LSU snapped UCLA's 39 meet win streak.

The Bruins will return to Eugene next outdoor season for the annual dual meet. Next year's meet will also feature the Bruin women who will be battling the women of Oregon.

Up next for the men's team is the UCSD Triton Invitational, held in La Jolla April 22-23.