Oregon's Thornton-Bott and Pivec learn from first NCAA Champs experience

Oregon’s Izzy Thornton-Bott competes in the NCAA Championship 1500m semifinals on Thursday. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Cassie Cole

Day Two of the NCAA Championship was lined up with the first round of women’s events, including field finals and track semifinals. The University of Oregon had two women competing in distance races at home in Hayward Field.

Redshirt junior Izzy Thornton-Bott ran in the 1500m semifinal and finished with a time of 4:23.90. She talked strategy after the race, discussing the difficulty with the pace in her heat.

“I feel like I do best in the races where they’re a bit more honest from the start,” Thornton-Bott said. The race had started out slow, with the first lap taking runners 75 seconds. “We were just 100m back pace-wise the whole way through,” Thornton-Bott added.

Although she missed the qualifying time to continue on to the final on Saturday, Thornton-Bott already has plans for improvement.

 “I think I’m new to the style of championship racing which the NCAA offers so it’s something that I’m still figuring out,” said Thornton-Bott. The Australian athlete held a good position for much of the race but fell behind during the bell lap.

“That cutdown was harsh,” said Thornton-Bott about the push for positioning in the lap. “I really applaud the other girls for being able to respond to that as well as they did, but I just didn’t have the legs in me today.”

Oregon’s Malia Pivec also represented the Ducks, competing in the 3000m steeplechase Thursday evening. Pivec finished with a time of 10:23.96.

Pivec’s time did not qualify her for the finals, but the redshirt senior knew exactly what slowed her down: the first water jump. She reflected on the difficult mentality it takes to come back from a rough jump.

“After that first water jump I think I kind of let that become my race, and I can learn from that going forward,” said Pivec. She explained that although she was able to find her stride pattern again after a few steps, she “just had a lack of connection with the group” that had moved past her.

“It was kind of tough just bearing the whole thing through the wind by myself,” Pivec added.

Despite Thursday’s race, Pivec is already looking forward to next year’s NCAA Championship.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t my day, but it gives me experience to come back next year and to be able to contend with the ladies in the field,” said Pivec. She already has one of her coach’s recommendations in mind.

“My coach really hammered in trying to be a participant in today’s race,” Pivec said. “And unfortunately today I was more of a spectator.

Pivec credits the Hayward Field crowd for cheering her on and creating the Hayward energy as she ran after the group. The local crowd, which loves their Ducks, did not disappoint.

“Making it to the NCAA Championship—and to do it in my first year as a Duck—I mean the crowd was with me the whole way, even though I didn’t have my best day out there,” said Pivec. “I’m just thankful for the spirit that’s brought to Hayward.”

Although Thornton-Bott and Pivec will not be competing in Saturday’s finals, both should be returning to Oregon track and field next year for another go at the NCAA Championship. Their representation on the national stage alone is enough to prove that they’re fighting Ducks.