A lackluster crowd showed up for the rain soaked Oregon Twilight at Hayward Field last Friday.. Blame it on the weather, post pandemic weirdness or a World Championships hangover, but there seems to be a bit of magic missing in Track Town, USA. Seniors and Officials were honored as the Ducks had their first home competition since the Oregon Previews 48 days ago. 

In her first race as a Duck in over a year, Shana Grebo was the Ducks’ first victor in the evening’s running events. The French international competitor seemed to have first place in the women’s 400 meter locked up while launching off the block, completing her lap in 52.95 seconds.

“I could barely sleep,” Grebo said. “I was super happy to just wear the gear again and have fun with my friends and teammates. I was really excited about this weekend. The time is not great, but I’ll take it as an original mark. I’m just waiting for a better race, better conditions and stuff.”

Oregon’s Elliott Cook won the men’s 1500 meter McChesney mile as a redshirted unattached runner. Cook was less than a second off his collegiate best, finishing in 3:39.52.

“We were a little slow for the majority of the race,” Cook said. “The race kind of changed in a sense than what I was mentally preparing for. Wasn’t too much of an issue, though. [Coach] Jerry [Schumacher] told me, ‘Don’t worry about the time. It’s more about winning the race. Time will come.’”

Sophomores Mason Strunk and Josephine Krohn got things started early for Oregon by placing second in the men’s hammer throw and women’s javelin with personal bests of 66.43 meters and 46.09 respectively.

Shelby Moran outthrew her nest nearest competitor by 13.35 meters in the women’s hammer. The junior and Arizona State transfer improved her season’s best to 66.6 meters. 

In the women’s 800 meter, Ella Nelson and Mia Moerck took first and second. The sophomore and senior finished less than half a second apart. Matthew Erickson utilized a strong kick to extend his lead on the homestretch of the men’s 800 meter. Pumping his arms and breathing through his teeth, the sophomore finished in 1:49.72.

Although fouling three times, Mine de Klerk’s third throw of 51.96 meters was more than enough to place her atop the leaderboard in women’s discus. Continuing the season trend of dominant women throwers, the sophomore’s fifth attempt of 50.7 meters would have still been 2 meters farther than the nearest competition. 

“I was feeling pretty good. My warm up throws weren’t that great so I was a little stressed out about it,” de Klerk said. The fouls didn’t bother her too much –– except for one that felt really good coming off her hand. She just reset, forgot about it and moved on to the next throw.

“Even though today didn’t go as well as I had hoped, maybe with a little bit more pressure and competition, I’ll finally get the big one I’ve been training and waiting for,” de Klerk said about the Pac-12 championships.