After a rough day two virtually eliminated the Oregon women’s track and field from the NCAA title race, a few Ducks fought back for personal records and top prelim finishes to advance to the second half of the championships.
“A tough day for the Ducks,” head coach Robert Johnson said. “But a good job by Brittany Mann throwing a PR — I think that was one of the only points we have so far for the day.”
Mann threw 17.49 meters for a fifth place finish in the competition, scoring the women’s side’s sole points of day two.
“Brittany Mann has been a staple for that program,” Johnson added.
On the track though, the Ducks either struggled or bested the field; there was no in between. A prime example of this was the women’s 100 meter dash.
Hannah Cunliffe and Ariana Washington represented Oregon in the event, but only Washington made the next level. Cunliffe stayed with the field and even began to pull ahead before stopping at the halfway mark and walking the rest of the race.
It has not been released whether the stop was injury-related, but Cunliffe was seen crying as she walked through the media tent.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Hannah Cunliffe…they rushed her off,” Johnson said. “I haven’t talked to the doctors since then.”
Another flop came when just two of Oregon’s three competitors in the women’s 800 meters made the final. The event was supposed to be prime for the Ducks to take points, but only Raevyn Rogers advanced. Brooke Feldmeier missed the cut by one place while Annie Leblanc missed by three. Rogers, the defending champion, will be Oregon’s sole shot at points in the 800 final on Saturday.
What the Ducks lacked in the 800 they made up for in the 200. Both Deajah Stevens and Washington qualified in the event. The Ducks earned the fastest qualifying time in each the 100 and 200 meters.
In the last non-team event of the day, Oregon took another split. In the 100 hurdles Sasha Wallace ran the fastest time in the field to qualify while Alaysha Johnson ran the second-slowest time of the day, killing her chances of making the finals.
Oregon failed to make the final in both the 4×100 and 4×400. The Ducks were in contention in the long relay before dropping the baton, which Johnson described as a “tough break.”
Oregon will return for the final two days of the championships Friday and Saturday, although Johnson isn’t sure the team will be able to maintain its title.
“We’re gonna go out here and see what happens,” Johnson said. “That’s why they run the meet.”
Follow Madison Layton on Twitter @MadisonLayton01