University of Oregon
UW Indoor Preview
Ducks Open Indoors With Seven Event Wins
01/14/17 | Track and Field
OREGON HITS THREE NCAA-LEADING MARKS WHILE CLAIMING SEVEN WINS IN OPENING MEET OF 2017 INDOOR SEASON
SEATTLE - Oregon track and field opened the 2017 indoor season by claiming seven event wins and hitting three new NCAA-leading marks at the UW Indoor Preview at the Dempsey Indoor Facility.
How it Happened - Women: The Women of Oregon set two new NCAA leading times to start the 2017 season while winning five events. Junior Hannah Cunliffe won the 60 meters in a NCAA-best time of 7.19 seconds, fifth-fastest in school history, in her first competition since suffering an injury at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Senior Sasha Wallace shot to the top of the NCAA leaderboard with a 7.96 showing to win the 60 meter hurdles, a meet record and just .05 seconds off her own school record.Cunliffe takes the 60m final in a new NCAA-leading time 7.19...Dunmore 7.29, Stevens 7.31 #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/ZKEGH60eT8
— Robert Johnson (@Run4Ducks) January 14, 2017
Junior Raevyn Rogers won the 600 meters in a blistering 1:26.97, just off the collegiate record she set at last year's UW Preview (1:26.34), while teammate Brooke Feldmeier finished third (1:28.23). Redshirt sophomore Alaysha Johnson claimed yet another win for the Women of Oregon in the 200 meters, winning with a personal-best time of 24.09 after finishing second to Wallace in the 60 meter hurdles (8.09). Sophomore transfer Chaquinn Cook wrapped the day with a win in the triple jump in her first event as a Duck, finishing with a top jump of 41-8.5 (12.71m). Cook's mark is the second-best in UO indoor history.Sasha Wallace breaks 60H meet record and hits another NCAA-leading time 7.96...teammate Johnson 2nd 8.09 #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/Gj0wXL7Xzr
— Robert Johnson (@Run4Ducks) January 14, 2017
2016 U.S. Olympian Deajah Stevens finished fourth in the 60 meters in a personal-best 7.31 seconds to kick off her junior season, and redshirt senior Ashante Horsley took third in the 200 meters (24.46).
How it Happened - Men: The Oregon debut of redshirt senior Kyree King highlighted the opening meet for the Men of Oregon, as the transfer from Western Kentucky won the 60 meters in 6.65 seconds, the fastest NCAA time this season at the time and second-fastest in UO history. Two others around the nation ran the 60 meters faster than King later in the day, so his winning time currently sits at No. 3 in the country.
Senior Cole Walsh claimed the sixth win of the day for the Ducks in the pole vault, smashing his previous indoor PR of 17-3.75 (5.27m) by clearing 17-8.5 (5.40m) to win with the fifth-best mark all-time in UO indoors.Kyree King wins 60m in new NCAA-leading 6.65...teammates Simpson 6.76, Shellmire 6.82, Chambers 6.83 #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/hQXErPm3bR
— Robert Johnson (@Run4Ducks) January 14, 2017
Senior Ryan Hunter-Simms placed second in the shot put at 58-4.75 (17.80m), and sophomore Ben Milligan took third in the high jump with an indoor career-best mark of 6-10.75 (2.10m).
Newcomers Start Strong: The opening meet featured multiple Oregon debuts in addition to King and Cook. Junior transfer Damarcus Simpson joined King in the 60 meters with a third-place finish (6.77), and sophomore transfer Julius Shellmire took fifth (6.82). Freshman Austin Tamagno showed his ability on the track after a strong cross country season by running 2:25.63 for third in the 1,000 meters, and then placed fifth in the 800 meters (1:54.84) while redshirt freshman Mick Stanovsek took second in 1:50.98, just .04 seconds off the lead. Freshman Braxton Canady made his collegiate debut with a third-place finish in the 60 meter hurdles (8.02), and Jackson Mestler impressed in his debut with a sixth-place showing in the 3,000 meters (8:13.01). In the throws, highly-regarded freshman Sebastian Barajas finished seventh in the shot put 51-4.75 (15.65m).
For the Women of Oregon, redshirt freshman Ronna Stone made her indoor collegiate debut with a fourth-place finish in the weight throw (53-2.25/16.21m), one spot ahead of teammate Madeline Middlebrooks (53-1.5/16.19m). Freshman Rhesa Foster kicked off her Oregon career with a sixth-place showing in the 60 hurdles (8.57).
Quotable:
Head Coach Robert Johnson
"Good performances all around today; I think we got a lot of things accomplished in our season-opener. We have a lot of newcomers, and I saw great things from them today. Veterans Raevyn Rogers, Sasha Wallace, Hannah Cunliffe and Cole Walsh impressed today with their opening performances. A lot of overall wins and personal bests which is always great, and it sets us up well when we go back to work on Monday."
What it Means: An opening meet referred to as a "rust buster" by head coach Robert Johnson, the Ducks took a good first step with a strong showing in the first meet. The Men and Women of Oregon will continue to use these early-season meets to determine roles as the indoor season goes on.
Notable: Former Duck and Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz won the 3,000 meters by cruising to a meet record in 7:49.89, and fellow alum Eric Jenkins won the 1,000 meters and the mile ... Four-time all-American Marcus Chambers took sixth in the 60 meters in a new personal best 6.83 seconds as a "rust busting" event ... Both the men's and women's 4x400 meter relay teams finished fourth in their respective races.
Up Next: The Ducks continue the start of the indoor season on Jan. 27-28 with the Columbia East-West Challenge in New York, N.Y., and the UW Invitational in Seattle.
Players Mentioned
