In the second heat of 100-meter dash on Saturday, Oregon sophomore Micah Williams took to the line in the face of worthy competition. Legendary Nike sprinter Justin Gatlin and New Balance’s Trayvon Bromwell were clear favorites out of the first and eighth lanes, but even so, Williams appeared stoic.
The 19-year-old exploded off the blocks in the fifth lane, taking a brief lead in the first 20 meters before Gatlin and Bromwell caught his tail. But Williams held on, finishing in third place at 9.95 — a feat that qualifies him for the semifinals on Sunday.
Day two of the long-awaited United States Track and Field Olympic Trials in Eugene featured a plethora of Oregon athletes, both of the past and present, looking to advance to the Tokyo Olympic Games in July.
Joe Delgado, who logged three seasons with Oregon between 2015 and 2017, was the first athlete to represent the Ducks on Saturday. Second and fifth place finishes in the 400 and 100-meter races followed by middle-of-the-pack finishes in his other three events led the Ontario, Oregon native to seventh place heading into the remaining five events.
Nike pole vaulter and former Duck Cole Walsh was second to represent the home program on Saturday, but the 26-year-old fell short, placing 13th, just one spot away from qualifying for Monday’s final event.
Oregon’s Isaiah Griffith worked his way to an eighth place finish in the triple jump, qualifying for Monday’s final. Puma’s Will Claye finished first in the event with 53—3 ½ on his first attempt.
Nike runners Cravon Gillespie and Kyree King joined Williams in representing the Ducks in the 100-meter. The two blazed into third place in their heats at 10.20 and 10.05, respectively, to accompany Williams in Sunday’s semifinal.
The women’s 100-meter race added even more excitement from former Oregon runners, as Jenna Prandini and English Gardner qualified for the final round. Prandini led off in the first heat, finishing in third as Gardner, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, rounded out the top three in the second heat.
The women’s 400-meter featured yet another former Duck in Phyllis Francis, who ran with the Oregon program until 2014. But the former world gold medalist fell short, finishing seventh and missing qualification for the final round.
The final event of the evening — the women’s 100-meter championship — went to LSU’s Sha’Cari Richardson despite a well-rounded group of new-pro and veteran runners alike. Prandini and Gardner placed fourth and sixth, respectively, missing the flight to Tokyo by a hair.
