EUGENE, Ore. – Andrew Wheating’s thrilling sprint to the finish to win the mile in 3:58.16 to follow a season-best finish from the men’s 4-by-400 relay team capped a full day of track and field at the Oregon Relays, presented by Oregon Community Credit Union, run before a season-high crowd of 6,875 at Historic Hayward Field.

Running in fifth place after three laps, Wheating made his move with 300 yards left, passing a trio of runners from the Oregon Track Club. The OTC’s Will Lear broke after Wheating, but the sophomore from Norwich, Vt., held on to win by half a second.

Not only did Wheating run the 11th fastest time in school history, but he also became the first native of Vermont to run a sub-4:00 mile.

Senior Joaquin Chapa also had a PR in the mile, finishing fourth in 4:02.44. Both Chapa and Wheating registered NCAA regional qualifying times.

The mile also featured the Hayward Field return of Galen Rupp, the Oregon senior who is redshirting in track this season in order to train for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Running in a race shorter than his normal distances, Rupp finished the mile sixth in 4:03.16.

Just before Wheating’s win, Oregon’s 4-by-400 relay team held off Washington in a season-best time of 3:09.24, which was also an NCAA regional qualifying time. Anchorman Chad Barlow took the lead on the Bowerman Curve and made sure he got to the tape before Washington’s Jordan Boase. The Huskies also posted a season-best and regional qualifying mark of 3:09.41.

Barlow and Marcus Dillon led a 1-2 finish in the men’s 400 meters. Barlow won the race in a collegiate best time of 47.19 to earn an NCAA regional qualifying mark. The sophomore from Ft. Collins, Colo., edged Dillon by 0.02 for the victory. Dillon’s time of 47.21 was a season best and 0.01 off an NCAA regional time.

Freshman Brianne Theisen earned an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the women’s high jump with a season-best 5-8.75. She matched Jane Doolittle of UC Santa Barbara for the best clearance of the day, but finished second based on misses.

Three Ducks notched strong performances in the women’s 200 meters. Freshman Mandy White won section one in a time of 24.32, which was the fastest overall mark of the day and 0.01 shy of her personal best set in high school. Junior Leah Worthen was victorious in the second heat in a time of 24.50, her first career sub-25.00 time. Worthen’s mark was second overall. Freshman Jamesha Youngblood ran her first 200 as a Duck, taking second heat two and fifth overall in a time of 24.96.

Worthen, a junior from Coos Bay, Ore., also ran a personal best in the 400 meter dash, 55.83, on Friday.

The men’s long jump also provided spirited competition with Norris Frederick of Washington winning with a leap of 24-8.5 to beat Oregon’s Vernell Warren, who recorded a personal-best mark of 24-0.25. Vernell was just three-quarters of an inch off an NCAA regional qualifying mark.

Other highlights from day two of the Oregon Relays, presented by Oregon Community Credit Union:

*The Oregon women winning the 4-by-100 and 4-by-400 relays. The Ducks took the 4-by-100 in a time of 46.43 that was 0.04 off the Ducks’ season best. The winning 4-by-400 time was 3:49.19.

*Rita Santibanez, competing unattached, winning the women’s shot put with a throw of 47-10.5. The junior from Springfield, Ore., and transfer from Colgate who is redshirting this season, would have had ranked ninth all-time on Oregon’s women’s shot put list with that PR throw, and also would have notched an NCAA regional qualifying mark.

*Ryan Bailey winning the 100 and 200 meters. The first-year student at Chemeketa Community College breezed to easy wins in both events, taking the 100 in 10.29 and the 200 in 20.77. Bailey’s 200 time was just off the qualifying standard for the U.S. Olympic trials.

*Ryan Crouser (Barlow) winning the boy’s shot put with a throw of 57-9.75. Crouser is the son of Mitch Crouser, who is the brother of both four-time Oregon All-American thrower Dean Crouser and three time All-American Brian Crouser.

*Washington winning the men’s 4-by-100 meter relay in 39.80, the fastest time in the Pac-10 this season.

*Former Duck All-American Matt Scherer winning the men’s 800 meters in a seasonal best of 1:48.48.

*Casey Malone of Nike going over 200 feet in the discus with a winning throw of 201-2.

*Sunset won the high school combined boy’s and girl’s team competition with 138.83 points. Barlow finished second at 124.83, followed by Southridge at 106 and Bellarmine Prep of Washington at 98.5.

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