T&F: UO Women send 14 qualifiers to Nationals, Men send four

As was the case during the Pac-12 track and field championships, it was the Oregon women who ended the West Preliminaries with the higher success rate.

That’s not to say the men came away empty-handed.

The No.3 women added nine of their 14 national qualifiers on the final day. This included Jadyn Mays in the 200 meters, Ella Nelson in the 800, Klaudia Kazimierska, Maddy Elmore, and Izzy Thorton-Bott in the 1500, Shana Grebo in the 400-meter hurdles, Jorinde Van Klinken in the discus, and both relay teams.

Van Klinken, already a two-time national champion, will be looking for the three-peat in Austin Texas, where the championships will be held June 7-10. Van Klinken earned the top overall qualifying spot, with all three of her discus attempts being over 60 meters.

The women’s 4x100 relay team compiled a time of 43.57, and the three qualifiers Oregon sent in the 1500 are the most since they sent four in 2015.

Prior to Saturday the women had already sent Shelby Moran to nationals in the hammer throw, Van Klinken and Jadia Ross in the shot put, and Alysha Hickey in the long jump.

Although it wasn’t nearly as big of a haul for the Oregon men, they were able to send four qualifiers to nationals with Micah Williams in the 100 meters, Matthew Erickson in the 800, Alex Slenning in the steeplechase, and their 4x100 relay team.

The relay team finished with a time of 39.13 to claim victory in heat two, only .05 off their season best. Slenning notched a career-best 8:34.29, as did Erickson with his time of 1:46.79. Williams time of 10.04 was a season-best, and good for fourth overall.