For the 11th straight year, the Oregon men have won the MPSF Championships, finishing with 89 points. Even though the women racked up more individual event wins, they placed second to USC with 105 points in the team competition.
The Ducks totaled seven event wins with many athletes jumping in NCAA rankings in an attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships on March 10-11. Since the performance list hasn’t been updated after the weekend’s meets, any improvements in rankings may not hold up.
Marcus Chambers was one such athlete who moved into qualifying position. He won the men’s 400-meter MPSF title with a personal record of 46.40 seconds and is currently ranked 14th.
To follow up his win in the 200-meter on Friday, Kyree King finished as the runner-up in the 60-meter.
Mitch Modin also had a successful weekend in the heptathlon, racking up three personal records to secure the win with a personal best total of 5,747 points. Before the meet, Modin was ranked 39th in the NCAA, but with the new season best, he could jump to 11th. Joe Delgado also achieved his personal record of 5,408 points and placed fifth.
For the women, both sprinters and distance runners found success.
After taking the meet record in the women’s 60-meter from former Duck Jenna Prandini during the prelims on Friday, Hannah Cunliffe finished the finals in 7.15 seconds to win the MPSF title. She also took the Dempsey facility record from another former Duck Jasmine Todd.
Previously ranked 15th in the NCAA and on the cusp of qualifying for the indoor championships, Ariana Washington topped her season best time by .03 seconds, good enough for second place and jumping her to 8th in the NCAA. Her time of 7.25 was also a personal record.
Sasha Wallace won the women’s 60-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 7.95 for a new meet record. Oregon sophomore Alaysha Johnson finished in 8.24 to place fourth, though after clocking a time of 8.03 at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, she was ranked a comfortable sixth prior to this weekend.
After winning the mile with a personal best time of 4 minutes and 35.60 seconds, Katie Rainsberger likely punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships. Her time ranks 14th in the NCAA. Three other Ducks rounded out the top 10, including Lilli Burdon (4th), Samantha Nadel (6th) and Jessica Hull (8th).
Alli Cash won the 3,000-meter MPSF title, finishing in 9 minutes and 9.18 seconds.
The men didn’t fare quite as well in their event. Matthew Maton was the top finisher in third with a time of 7:52.51, a personal record.
On Friday, Maggie Schmaedick placed second in the 5,000-meter with a personal record of 15 minutes and 52.28 seconds, besting her previous record by 18 seconds. Her time was good enough for 8th in the NCAA, putting her in a qualifying position for the championships, and for 5th in school indoor history.
Oregon now has two weeks to prepare for NCAA Indoor Championships. The Ducks will seek to defend last year’s title.
Follow Hannah Bonnie on Twitter @hbonnie03