When Jasmin Reed crossed the finish line first in the 60-meter dash at the UW Preview two weeks ago, she set a new personal best of 7.39 seconds and took the first win on the track of 2019 for the Ducks. It was a promising start for Oregon and Reed, who earned three All-American awards as a freshman last season.
If the preview was any indication for the 2019 season, the Oregon sprints and hurdles teams have a lot of potential. Both squads feature a mix of accomplished veterans and promising newcomers. But for the first time ever, the Ducks are not practicing at Hayward Field and will not have a home meet due to construction for the 2020 Olympic Trials.
When the weather allows, the teams practice at Lane Community College and Hamlin Middle School. When it rains, they use the Moshofsky Center.
“We’re so lucky to have had the Hayward we had, and for what’s to come,” Jessica Hull said, who was part of the distance-medley relay team that took home the indoor title last season.
The women’s sprints are returning all five of its All-Americans, including junior Makenzie Dunmore, who is the only woman in Oregon history to have top-10 time in the 60-meter, 100-meter, 200-meter and the 400-meter both indoor and outdoor.
Kaylah Robinson, a sophomore from Richmond, California, is the top returning women’s hurdler. In the preview meet, she won the 60-meter hurdle event in 8.34 seconds, just .01 away from a personal best. Freshman Emily Sloan was not far behind her, placing third in 8.43, good for sixth on Oregon’s all-time list.
“Last year we were a very different team, and we ran to our strength,” Hull said. “This year we’re a different team and we have a lot of strengths, we just have to find out the best way to put them together.”
On the men’s side, Crayvon Gillespie and Braxton Canady are the team’s best returning upperclassmen. Gillespie is the reigning Pac-12 champion in the 100 meters, while Canady took home the 110-meter hurdles conference title last season. But the two of them were outdueled at the preview meet.
Oraine Palmer placed runner up in the 60-meter dash, ahead of Gillespie and Canady. Palmer is a redshirt junior transfer from Wiley College, hails from Kingstown, Jamaica. He was the 2018 NAIA National Track Athlete of the Year, when he won the 100 and 200 meters.
Not to be outdone, the men’s hurdles showed great potential at the preview, sweeping the top spots in the 60-meter hurdles, with freshman Eric Edwards Jr. leading the way. He was followed by junior Jonathan Harvey, who tied his personal best of 8.02 and sophomore Joseph Anderson. Edwards was the 2017 U.S. Junior champion in the 110-meter hurdles.
“They’ve been training well, and I expect more of the same of them,” head coach Robert Johnson said. “And for Anderson to add him name to the mix of sub-8 second guys there. It’s just a matter of time before they run something really hot.”
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