University of Oregon
NCAA West Regionals
Ducks Punch 11 More Tickets On Friday
05/26/17 | Track and Field
THE MEN AND WOMEN OF OREGON SECURED 11 MORE SPOTS IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ON FRIDAY. THE NCAA WEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS CONCLUDE ON SATURDAY.
AUSTIN - The Oregon track and field team continued to add to its NCAA Championships roster on the second day of the NCAA West Regional Championships, as 11 student-athletes qualified in six events on Friday at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
The Men and Women of Oregon have now secured 15 spots in 10 events through the first two days in Austin, and are set up for many more on Saturday. The top 12 finishers in each event earn a spot at the NCAAs in Eugene, which will kick off on June 7 at Hayward Field.
"Another good day for the Ducks here in Austin," said head coach Robert Johnson. "Cody Danielson, Cullen Prena, Rhesa Foster and Tanner Anderson got us started yesterday by punching their tickets back to Eugene, and we kept it going today with quite a few more qualifiers. We said that if we carried over what we did from the Pac-12 meet that we would be happy with the results here, and that's mostly been the case for us so far. Now we need to finish with strength in numbers tomorrow."
NCAA Qualifiers: The Men of Oregon picked up where they left off on Thursday, when Danielson, Prena and Anderson all earned NCAA bids, as Cole Walsh punched his ticket in the pole vault. The redshirt junior was one of 11 men in the field to clear 17-6 1/2 (5.35m) to reach the NCAAs, with the 12th qualifier clearing 17-2 3/4.
The Women of Oregon, who saw Rhesa Foster advance in the long jump on Thursday, enjoyed a tremendous day in the 400 meters with a trio of qualifiers. Freshman Makenzie Dunmore (51.75) and senior Elexis Guster (51.78) finished 1-2 in the quarterfinal heat to automatically advance, and senior Ashante Horsley (52.84) joined them based on time.
Senior Marcus Chambers (45.03) kept things going for the men in the men's 400 meters, running the third fastest time of the quarterfinals to move on to Eugene. Chambers has now reached the NCAA Championships in each of his four seasons, and he will look to finish his career with his first individual NCAA title.
The Women of Oregon still put a pair of elite sprinters into the NCAA 100 meters as Deajah Stevens (10.89w) and Ariana Washington (11.08) ran the first and fourth fastest times of the quarterfinals, respectively, to automatically advance. Stevens is the reigning Pac-12 champion in both the 100 and 200 meters, while Washington swept the NCAA titles in both last season.
The Men of Oregon joined in on the fun in the 100 meters with a pair of bids. Senior Kyree King ran 9.98 and Damarcus Simpson ran 10.04, both wind-aided, to advance to Eugene.
The final tickets of the day to be punched for the Ducks were in the women's 800 meters, where two-time defending NCAA champion Raevyn Rogers (2:05.72) advanced along with Brooke Feldmeier (2:04.82). Rogers will aim for her fifth straight NCAA title in the 800, indoors and outdoors, while Feldmeier reaches the Championships for the third straight year.
Oregon Men: Freshman Braxton Canady advanced to the quarterfinals of the men's 110 hurdles on time, finishing in a wind-aided 14.03. King, in addition to qualifying in the 100, ran a wind-aided 20.49 to reach the quarterfinals of the 200 meters. King is the Pac-12 champion in both the 100 and 200 meters.
Oregon Women: Both Alaysha Johnson (12.68w) and Sasha Wallace (13.14w) won their first-round heats to move into tomorrow's quarterfinals of the 110 hurdles, and Stevens and Washington both qualified for the quarterfinals in the 200 meters. Stevens had the fastest time in a wind-aided 22.31, and Washington was second in a legal 22.55.
Freshman Kiana Phelps threw a PR in the discus at 168-4 (51.31m), but was unable to advance.
Up Next: The NCAA West Regional Championships conclude on Saturday in Austin. Action will begin at 11 a.m PT with the men's discus, and will conclude with the 4x400 relays at 7:25 and 7:45.
Players Mentioned
