One team, two meets, two different states.
One weekend of success.
Oregon’s track and field team concluded its final competition before the postseason championships, taking home multiple records, wins and NCAA qualifying positions. The team competed in both the Husky Classic in Seattle, Washington, and the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Don Kirby Elite Invitational
In Seattle, the Oregon sprint women did what they do best: dominate.
On Saturday, Makenzie Dunmore and Hannah Waller ran personal-records (PR). Both sophomores ran NCAA qualifying times. Dunmore took first place with a time of 7.18 seconds in the 60-meters for the sixth-best time at Oregon. Waller won the 400-meters in 52.44 seconds, for Oregon’s third all-time best 400m time.
In Friday’s 200-meters, seven Ducks set PR’s in the event, with freshman Lauren Rain Williams finishing first overall with a PR of 23.26 seconds. Williams’ time is tied for 11th in the NCAA and ranks 15th in the world.
Junior transfer Briyahana DesRosiers finished second overall in 23.49, the ninth-best time in UO indoor history.
The five other women who ran personal-best in the 200m include Shae Anderson (23.70), Waller (23.86), Venessa D’Arpino (23.98), Rachel Vinjamuri (25.54) and Kaylah Robinson (24.59).
The defending NCAA Champion, Ariana Washington, finished fifth overall with a time of 23.73.
The Oregon women would finish the weekend in Seattle by winning the 4×400 meter relay. In a team of DesRosiers, Dunmore, Waller and Anderson, the Ducks completed the relay in 3 minutes and 30.18 seconds, the second-best time in the nation this season and the third-best all-time for Oregon.
The men of Oregon sprint team also took home the victory in the 60m and set PRs in the 400m on Saturday.
Junior Cravon Gillespie won the 60m in 6.68 seconds. In the 400m, Cameron Stone (46.37) and Orwin Emilien (47.08) ran PRs, with Stone’s time ranking third in Oregon indoor history.
In the men’s 200-meters on Friday, Gillespie finished second overall with a time of 21.08. Gillespie’s time moved him from seventh to fourth on Oregon’s all-time indoor list.
Representing Oregon in the jumps, Tristan James, a junior transfer from Lane Community College, won the men’s long jump with a top-jump of 25 feet and 6.25 inches (7.78 meters) Friday afternoon. His jump is not only a PR, but also the third-best mark in Oregon indoor history.
In the women’s triple jump, junior ChaQuinn Cook won with a jump of 43-0 (13.11m), improving her recently set school record.
Husky Classic
For the second consecutive meet, the men of Oregon placed four runners under the 4-minute mile mark. The Ducks finished 1-2, with senior Sam Prakel (3:56.89) taking the victory and freshman Reed Brown (3:57.23) finishing second. Senior Blake Haney broke the 4-minute barrier for the first time this season with a time of 3:59.01. Redshirt sophomore Mick Stanovsek placed sixth in 3:58.23
Prakel and Brown both ran NCAA qualifying times and PRs. The two moved into third and fourth on Oregon’s indoor mile list.
Known for a wide array of distance-running talent, Oregon set six personal bests over the two days.
In the 3,000-meters four Ducks ran PRs, each qualifying for the NCAAs.
In the women’s, Jessica Hull and Lilli Burdon joined former Duck Jordan Hasay, as the only three Ducks to ever break nine minutes. Hull (8:58.50) finished second overall on Saturday, with Burdon finishing third in 8:59.18.
On the men’s side, junior James West ran a PR of 7:51.23 and freshman Cooper Teare ran a PR of more than 20 seconds for a time of 7:53.66.
The Ducks also earned two NCAA Indoor Championship qualifying times in Friday’s 5,000-meters — both from redshirt sophomores and both personal best times.
Florida State transfer, Carmela Cardama Baez–finished eighth overall in 15:55.45, the ninth fastest time in UO indoor history. While Tanner Anderson finished fifth in a time of 13:43.43, the 10th best mark at Oregon.
King Ches reigns on
On the opposite side of the country, former Duck and seventeen-time NCAA champion, Edward Cheserek joined in on the triumph.
On Friday, running for Skechers Performance, Cheserek made history running the indoor mile in 3:49.44 at the David Hemery Invitational in Boston, Mass.
His wildly-impressive time is the second fastest in world history, a Kenyan record and the fastest time ran in the event since 1997. Cheserek is now just the fourth man ever to run a sub-3:50 indoor mile.
The Oregon track and field team will have one more chance to qualify for NCAA’s at the MPSF Indoor Championships on Feb. 23-24 in Seattle.
Follow Maggie Vanoni on Twitter: @maggie_vanoni