Ducks Complete Indoor Track & Field Season, Look to Promise of Spring

Oregon’s Track & Field program completed its winter-time indoor season over the weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Men’s team scored just 2 points and finished 48th, while the Women did much better, tying for 11th overall with 22 points. Arkansas won both the Men’s and Women’s Championships with 64 and 63 points respectively.

Sophomore Miler Elliott Cook was the only Oregon athlete to score for the Men’s team. His time of 4:04.27 was good for 7th place overall. Former Oregon athlete Cooper Teare holds the Meet record in a blazing 3:50.39.

On the Women’s side, Oregon had several excellent performances, although the team did not perform at its highest level. Lexi Ellis set an Oregon program record in the Women’s Triple Jump with a leap of 45’ 10” which was good for 8th place overall and a point for Oregon. The only other Personal Best in the Finals was set by Aaliyah McCormick in the 60 meter hurdles with her time of 8.01 seconds. McCormick finished 6th and scored 3 points for the Ducks.

Probably the most unpleasant surprise of the Meet was in the Women’s Shot Put. Oregon’s Jorinde VanKlinken, who earlier this year set a collegiate indoor record with a put of 64’ 2.5” could muster only a 6th-place finish. Her first throw of 58’ 3.75” - almost 6 feet short of her record - stood up as her best of the Meet. VanKlinken earned 3 points for the Ducks, while Jaida Ross threw 57’ 7.5” for 8th place and 1 point. Women’s Shot Put was the only event in which more than one Oregon athlete scored points.

Oregon sprinter Jaydn Mays scored points for the Ducks in two different events. In the Women’s 60 meter dash, Mays ran a time of 7.13 seconds, good for 5th place and 4 points. She returned for the 200 meters and ran 22.63 for another 5th place finish and another 4 points. Mays had better performances in the prelims on Friday, running Personal Bests in both her events and setting UO program records that reached #2 in the 60 meters (7.07 seconds) and #4 in the 200 (22.58).

Klaudia Kazmierska also scored for Oregon, placing 6th in the Mile Run (4:37.82) for 3 points. In Friday’s action, Oregon’s Alysah Hickey scored Oregon’s first 3 points with a 6th place finish in the Long Jump. She went 21’ 3.25”.

There’s no real break between “seasons” for Oregon, as the Ducks will host the Oregon Preview Meet at Hayward Field March 17 and 18.

Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK