University of Oregon
Columbia East-West Challenge
Ducks in Good Position After Dominant Showing in New York
01/28/17 | Track and Field
OREGON CLAIMS 14 EVENT WINS AND SET TWO NCAA TOP TIMES TO WRAP UP COLUMBIA EAST-WEST CHALLENGE
NEW YORK - Oregon track and field wrapped up a highly-productive weekend in the Columbia East-West Challenge on Saturday night with 14 event wins at the Armory Track and Field Center.
How it Happened - Women: 2016 U.S. Olympian Deajah Stevens made her first appearance in the 200 meters since running in Rio, and the junior raced to the top of the 2017 NCAA list and broke the Armory Track record by winning in a personal-best 22.65 seconds. Junior Hannah Cunliffe finished second in an even 23.00 seconds and 2016 Olympian and 200 meter outdoor champion Ariana Washington took fourth in 23.16 seconds.
Freshman Makenzie Dunmore added to the impressive sprinting display for the top-ranked women, winning the 400 meters in 53.10 seconds and finishing fifth in the 200 meters in 23.59 seconds. The women finished 1-2 in the 4x400 relay, with relay team A winning in 3:33.79, just ahead of team B (3:33.87).
Defending indoor and outdoor NCAA 800-meter champion Raevyn Rogers was stellar in her first 800 meters of 2017, taking over the collegiate lead in 2:01.75 a day after helping the Women of Oregon set a collegiate record in the women's distance medley relay. Rogers won the event while junior Brooke Feldmeier finished third in 2:06.62. Samantha Nadel won the women's mile in 4:37.48 with a strong finish, and senior Maggie Schmaedick picked up another win on the track for the Ducks in the 3,000 meters, setting a PR of 9:16.59.
Multiple newcomers were on display for the Women of Oregon in the field events. In the triple jump, sophomore transfer ChaQuinn Cook set a PR and won the triple jump for the second time in two events as a Duck with a mark of 12.82m/42-0.75 on her first jump. Freshman Rhesa Foster got her Oregon long jump career off to a great start, winning with an indoor PR of 6.33m/20-9.25.
How it Happened - Men: Fifteen-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek did not disappoint in his first 3,000-meter race of 2017, winning in 7:46.85, No. 2 in the NCAA, after anchoring the men's DMR team to a win on Friday.
The No. 2-ranked Men of Oregon finished 1-2 in the 200 meters, with senior Marcus Chambers breaking the UO indoor record in 20.78 seconds followed by senior transfer Kyree King (21.02) in his 200-meter debut as a Duck. Chambers' win in the 200 was his second of the day after winning the 400 meters in 46.62 seconds. Chambers helped the Ducks to their final win of the night in the 4x400 (3:15.08), running the third leg of the relay with Joshua Rambert, Jonathan Harvey and Cameron Stone.
Junior transfer Damarcus Simpson shined in his first outing in the long jump with the Ducks after taking second in the 60 meters on Friday. Simpson won the long jump and broke the UO indoor record with a PR jump of 8.01m/26-3.5.
In the throwing events, senior Ryan Hunter-Simms took second in the shot put with a long toss of 17.63m/57-10.25, and Cullen Prena threw a PR 18.61m/61-0.75 to come away with a second-place finish in the weight throw.
UW Invitational: Three Ducks traveled to Seattle this weekend to compete in the UW Invitational at the Dempsey Indoor Facility. Senior Mitch Modin wrapped a solid performance in the heptathlon, winning the event with 5,374 points after winning the pole vault (4.45m/14-7.25) and taking second in the 60-meter hurdles (8.35). Ben Milligan took third in the high jump with a PR mark of 2.15m/7-0.5, and senior Cole Walsh took fifth in the pole vault (5.26m/17-3).
What it Means: Entering the weekend seeking qualifying marks for the NCAA Indoor Championships specifically in the DMR's, the Ducks came away with impressive showings in a myriad of events and have to feel good about their standing after the first serious indoor meet of 2017.
Notable: Both the women (213 points) and the men (158 points) led in the scored team standings in the six-team field … Rogers' time of 2:01.75 is only .03 seconds off of the 2017 world-leading mark … Senior transfer Elexis Guster finished second in the 400 meters in 53.64 … Senior Tim Gorman (4:01.93) led a 3-4-5 finish for the Ducks in the men's mile with Austin Tamagno (4:02.41) and Jack Yearian (4:04.63) … Team A of the women's 4x400 relay consisted of Hannah Waller, Rogers, Alaysha Johnson and Feldmeier, and team B featured Dunmore, Stevens, Ashante Horsley and Guster … Redshirt freshmen Max Lydum (17.40m/57-1.0) and Ronna Stone (13.83m/45-4.50) each set PRs in the weight throw.
Quotable: Head Coach Robert Johnson
"Another good day overall. Things got going early with good competition in the 200 meters, those guys and girls ran really well, and our quarter-milers with Marcus and Makenzie did very well. Samantha Nadel had a big push there at the end in the mile and Edward started well in the 3k. In the field, Damarcus Simpson impressed with a big indoor PR, Rhesa Foster with a lifetime PR and Chaquinn Cook PR's for the second week in a row. Good team atmosphere once again; we're always excited to get those PRs. Our goals this weekend were to try and get those DMRs qualified and then whatever came along with that was great, and it's always nice to get those school records and nation leaders. And in Seattle, good indoor PR for Ben Milligan and a good start in the heptathlon for Mitch Modin."
Players Mentioned
