Oregon Runner Breaks Steve Prefontaine's Indoor Mile Mark

Acosta becomes the fourth Oregon athlete to earn an automatic berth in the national collegiate meet.

A.J. Acosta earned his second trip to the NCAA indoor championships with Saturday's school record in the mile run. Photo courtesy: goducks.com

SEATTLE - University of Oregon sophomore A.J. Acosta eclipsed the school indoor record in the mile run while dipping under the automatic qualifying standard for next week’s NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships by posting a winning time of 3-minutes, 58.52 seconds in the UW Last Chance Qualifier Saturday afternoon in Washington’s Dempsey Indoor Facility.

Acosta’s time broke the previous indoor school record of 3:59.2 set by Steve Prefontaine in 1973.

"It was a great experience to go out and compete like that," Acosta said. "Obviously I’m excited I won but even better was the fact my teammates also were able to run great times. It was good to see Michael (McGrath) running right behind me and I think all the guys competed really well this weekend. I think it’s a testament to Vin’s (Lananna) training and that all the guys have really bought into what he has us doing right now.

"I certainly don’t consider myself in Pre’s class right now," said Acosta when informed that he had broken Prefontaine’s school record. "It just bodes well for what we’re capable of at next week’s NCAA championships, as well as the rest of the season."

The Oceanside, Calif., standout finished ahead of Nebraska’s Peter van der Westhuizen, who placed second in 3:59.05, while Oregon senior Michael McGrath was third with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:00.16.

Ducks’ freshman Matthew Centrowicz finished fourth in the 800 meters in 1:51.57.

Acosta, who finished 13th in last year's NCAA indoor mile championships, becomes the fourth Oregon athlete to earn an automatic berth in the national collegiate meet March 14-15 in Fayetteville, Ark., joining Ashton Eaton (men’s heptathlon), Alexandria Kosinski (women’s mile) and Nicole Blood (women’s 3,000). An additional 12 athletes and four relays (totaling 20 entries) will await word Monday night in regards to whether their provisional qualifying times will be good enough to get them into the national championship meet.

"I’m thrilled with all of our performances this weekend, particularly with A.J. and Michael in the mile," Director of Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Vin Lananna said. "We’re very excited about the number of our qualifiers for the NCAA indoor championships, and I credit Dan Steele and the staff for doing a great job of positioning our athletes to do well next weekend."

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