Arizona's track squad routs state rivals

The men's victory margin was 50 points while the women won by 30. Plus, Arizona earned many new provisional and automatic marks for both the Pacific 10 Conference Championships and the NCAAs in June.

"It was nice to beat our state rival, but the fact that we were able to score some qualifying marks was more important. We are right on schedule with our season planning toward the NCAAs and the group of athletes we have is outstanding," UA head coach Dave Murray said.

Freshman Esko Mikkola blasted the javelin to a new school record and a personal lifetime-best of 250-1 feet. After dominating most of the javelin events this season with five victories, he finally earned himself an automatic berth for the NCAAs, surpassing the required mark by 11 feet.

"I didn't expect that I would throw that far in my first attempt, because I just wanted to get off to a good start with a solid mark. I was very relaxed and felt no pressure, so I could just concentrate on my technique," Mikkola said.

Mikkola's teammates in the javelin, freshmen Ola Larsen (230-4) and Christian Banken (226-2), completed a perfect showing in the event by placing in the second and third spots respectively. Both earned strong provisional marks as well.

The Wildcats' dominance in the track disciplines, especially the middle distance competitions, continued during the clash with the in-state rivals. Junior Amy Skieresz participated in the 1500 and 3000-meter, usually not her primary events, but she still won both in convincing manners. In the 3000, she left a gap of 21 seconds between her and second-place Priscilla Hein of ASU.

"The chance to compete against ASU gave us additional motivation to go out and give our best and I think we had a great team performance. I think I did my job with the two victories to help our team scoring. That is what counts for me today," Skieresz said.

On the men's side freshman Patrick Nduwimana (400 and 800) and junior Abdi Abdirahman (1500 and 3000) each came away with two wins.

Nduwimana, handicapped by health problems, was surprising in the 400. His 46.51 finish gained him a personal best and Pac-10 Championship qualifying mark.

"I wanted to perform as best as I can for the team, but throughout the meet I felt really bad because of an allergy," he said. "At the end of the 800 I thought I was jogging, because my legs were so heavy. Therefore, I'm satisfied with my results, especially over the 400."