There is not much more Oregon could ask of Jessica Hull.
The senior capped off a great indoor season in dramatic fashion. One day after anchoring the distance medley relay to back-to-back national titles, Hull held off Taylor Werner of Arkansas right at the finish line to win the 3,000-meter title. Hull finished in 9 minutes, 1.14 seconds, just six-tenths of a second ahead of Werner. It’s the program’s third 3,000-meter title and the first since Jordan Hasay won in 2011.
The women’s track and field team finished the indoor season with a third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, with 32 points. Arkansas won with 62 points. On the men’s wide, Florida won back-to-back titles with 55 points, in large part due to Grant Holloway, who won both the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles.
Cooper Teare, who missed out on qualifying for the indoor championships last season by one spot, finished fourth in the 3,000 meters in 7:55.50. His teammate, James West, could not keep the pace in the event, and finished in 15th place in 8:18.
In the sprints, Cravon Gillespie saved his best performance for his last, tying the Oregon all-time record by running 6.57 seconds in the finals of the 60-meter dash. He finished in fourth place, as he had to contend with Florida’s Grant Holloway, who also set a personal best and took home his second title of the meet, winning in 6.50 seconds.
Chaquin Cook bolstered her resume by breaking her own school record in the triple jump. She finished runner-up in the event by jumping 45 feet, 4 ½ inches, which gave 8 points towards the women’s team score. Florida’s Yanis David, who was the nation’s top qualifier, won event by going 46 feet, ½ inch.
The Ducks will have a few weeks of transition before the first outdoor track race. Their first meet will be in San Diego at the Aztec Invitational on March 23.
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