Women of Oregon Win Pac-12 Title

Sunday, May 14

Walnut, CA

University of Oregon

Pac-12 Championships

Photo by: Jimmy Su Photo

05/14/23 | Track and Field

The UO women won seven titles including five on Sunday to help clinch the win.

WALNUT, Calif. – For a second-consecutive year, the Oregon women's track and field team are the Pac-12 champions. The UO women won seven titles during the weekend at Hilmer Lodge Stadium including five Sunday afternoon to secure the 13^th conference title in program history.

The Women of Oregon started the day with a victory in the 4x100 relay and went on to collect titles in the 100 meters by Jadyn Mays, 400-meter hurdles by Shana Grebo, triple jump by Lexi Ellis and discus by Jorinde van Klinken. The UO women, ranked fourth in the NCAA, finish the Pac-12 Championships with 158.5 points.

Junior Micah Williams successfully defended his title in the 100 meters to lead the Men of Oregon. He was also part of the Ducks' bronze finish in the 4x100-meter relay while Matthew Erickson also posted a podium finish Sunday, grabbing third in the 800 meters. The UO men finished sixth in the team race with 75 points.

For a third-consecutive year, the Women of Oregon opened the final day of the Pac-12 meet with a win in the 4x100-meter relay. It's the longest winning streak in the conference since USC won four in a row from 2005-08. The Ducks—Lily Jones, Mays, Shaniya Hall and Ella Clayton—combined for a season best of 43.31 to secure a crucial 10 points in the team race.

In just his third 100 of the season, Williams held off Udodi Onwuzurike of Stanford to capture the 100-meter title for a second year in a row. Running into a 1.1 m/s headwind, the UO standout stopped the clock in 10.22, just .01 ahead of Onwuzurike who was the fastest qualifier (10.09) from Saturday's heats.

Williams becomes the second UO man to repeat as 100-meter champion in the conference, joining Cravon Gillespie who went back to back in 2018 and 2019.

Mays, back from her relays duties, completed the UO sprint sweep by winning the women's 100 for the first individual Pac-12 title of her career. Key in the team race, she finished ahead of three USC runners who went 2-3-4. Mays becomes the ninth UO woman to win a conference title in the 100 meters. The Women of Oregon have won 10 of the past 13 titles in the event.

Sunday marked a second-consecutive Oregon sweep of the Pac-12 titles in the 100 meters. Last year, it was Williams and Kemba Nelson.

Mays returned to the track less than an hour later to take second place in the 200 meters in a lifetime-best time of 22.42, good for another eight points as the women were closing in on the team victory. In her performance, Mays moved to No. 4 on the UO all-time list and replaced her previous best of 22.80 from last season.

The Glendale, Ariz., native finished the meet as the high-point scorer—20.5—in the women's field.

Showing up in the role of closer, Ellis and van Klinken helped clinch the women's team title.

Ellis repeated as Pac-12 champion in the triple jump. Sitting in second place after three attempts, she took over the top spot with an outdoor best of 13.68m/44-10.75 in the fourth round. The mark stood up through the remainder of the competition. With the measure, Ellis also moved to No. 2 on the program top-10 list.

The UO senior also became the second back-to-back triple jump champion in program history, joining Jamesha Youngblood who won consecutive titles in 2009 and 2010.

As was the case in Saturday's shot put, van Klinken led a collection of points in the discus. Now a three-time champion in the Pac-12 discus, she won the event with a best of 63.05m/206-10 with Jaida Ross in third at 54.52m/178-10 and Mine De Klerk just behind in fourth at 54.46m/178-8, a new lifetime best.

The Ducks combined for 21 points in the discus, the team's highest total in any one event during the weekend. The women's throws crew accounted for 54 of the team's total at the Pac-12 Championships

After the fireworks of the 100 sweep, Matthew Erickson ran to a season-best time of 1:48.98 to get third in the 800 meters. He equals his third-place finish from last year's Pac-12 Championships. He started the day with a season's best of 1:49.06 from the Bryan Clay Invitational last month.

The UO women followed their relay victory with seven points in the 1500 meters with third place from Izzy Thornton-Bott (4:11.99) and eighth from Maddy Elmore (4:15.15) in her Pac-12 weekend debut. It was the first race of the day for both with additional duties in the 5,000 meters later in the day.

Klaudia Kazimierska did not score in the 1500 meters but accounted for four points in the 800, using a kick to get into scoring position and surpassing runners down the final 100 meters. She was one of two Ducks in the race along with Ella Nelson who picked up a point in eighth place.

In addition to her victory, Grebo made history as the first UO woman to win the Pac-12 title in the 400-meter hurdles. Despite some issues with her stride pattern, Grebo used her speed off the final set of hurdles to get by Abby Glynn of Colorado for the win. The UO standout stopped the clock in 56.41, a top-15 time in the NCAA this season.

The freshman duo of Aaliyah McCormick and Anthony Trucks finished second and fourth in the 100 and 110 hurdles, respectively. McCormick crossed the line in 13.06 to collect eight points for the UO women while Trucks posted a time of 14.19 into a 1.3 m/s headwind in the men's final.

In a pair of lifetime-best efforts, Clayton and Katriina Wright finished sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 400 meters. Clayton dipped below 52 seconds for the first time, crossing the line in 51.92 to take down her previous best of 52.04 from last year's Pac-12 final. She remains the eighth-fastest performer in UO history but strengthened her hold on the spot.

Wright lowered her best to 52.39 with Sunday's outing.

The Men of Oregon opened competition on the track with a bronze finish in the 4x100-meter relay. The quartet of Ryan Mulholland, Williams, Xavier Nairne and PJ Ize-Iyamu Jr. passed the baton around the track in 39.30, good for six points toward the team total. On the anchor, Ize-Iyamu got the baton in fifth but rallied the Ducks to third with a lean at the tape.

The freshman sprinter was also a finalist in the 100 and 200 meters. He was seventh in both events and registered a personal best in the 200, crossing the line in 20.83; Ize-Iyamu qualified for the final with a wind-aided 20.81 in Friday's preliminary.

Quincy Norman registered the final points of the weekend for the UO men with his fifth-place finish in the 5,000 meters. Making his second appearance at the Pac-12 meet, Norman (14:20.16) improved on his 15^th-place finish at last year's meet.

In the Ducks' first result of the day, Jonah Tactay finished fourth in the men's triple jump. He had a best of 15.03m/49-3.75 in the third round, a mark he tied on his fourth attempt. The finish added five points for the UO men and bettered his seventh-place showing at last year's Pac-12 meet.

Continuing the trend of getting points across the board, the UO women got 4.5 points in the high jump. Tori Sloan was fifth with a season-best clearance of 1.78m/5-10 and Taylor Chocek, who was fourth in the heptathlon earlier in the weekend, cleared 1.70m/5-7 to tie for eighth and split a point with Kaylee Sowle of Washington State.

Up Next: The NCAA West Preliminary will be contested May 24-27 in Sacramento, Calif., where the top 48 declared individuals and top 24 relays will compete for a spot at the national meet. The 2023 NCAA Championships are set for June 7-10 in Austin, Texas.

SUNDAY RESULTS
MEN
100 Meters
1. Micah Williams – 10.22 (-1.1) | +10 points
7. PJ Ize-Iyamu Jr. – 10.52 (-1.1) | +2 points

200 Meters
7. PJ Ize-Iyamu Jr. – 20.83 (PB) | +2 points

800 Meters
3. Matthew Erickson – 1:48.98 (SB) | +6 points

1500 Meters
9. James Gormley – 3:48.34

5,000 Meters
5. Quincy Norman – 14:20.16 | +4 points

110m Hurdles
4. Anthony Trucks – 14.19 (-1.3) | +5 points

4x100m Relay
3. Ryan Mulholland/Micah Williams/Xavier Nairne/PJ Ize-Iyamu Jr. – 39.30 | +6 points

Pole Vault
9. Harrison Canfield – 5.07m/16-7.5 (PB)
12. J Kai Yamafuji – 4.82m/15-9.75
13. Hunter Angove – 4.82m/15-9.75

Triple Jump
4. Jonah Tactay – 15.03m/49-3.75 | +5 points

WOMEN
100 Meters
1. Jadyn Mays – 11.20 (-0.7) | +10 points
8. Lily Jones – 11.64 (-0.7) | +1 point

200 Meters
2. Jadyn Mays – 22.42 (PB) [No. 4 UO] | +8 points
9. Shaniya Hall – 23.61

400 Meters
6. Ella Clayton – 51.92 (PB) [No. 8 UO] | +3 points
8. Katriina Wright – 52.39 (PB) | +1 point

800 Meters
5. Klaudia Kazimierska – 2:06.58 | +4 points
8. Ella Nelson – 2:07.20 | +1 point

1500 Meters
3. Izzy Thornton-Bott – 4:11.99 | +6 points
8. Maddy Elmore – 4:15.15 | +1 point
9. Klaudia Kazimierska – 4:19.80

5,000 Meters
14. Izzy Thornton-Bott – 16:42.69
18. Maddy Elmore – 16:49.29
19. Melissa Berry – 16:51.87
24. Malia Pivec – 17:23.56

100m Hurdles
2. Aaliyah McCormick – 13.06 (-0.1) | +8 points

400m Hurdles
1. Shana Grebo – 56.41 | +10 points

4x100m Relay
1. Lily Jones/Jadyn Mays/Shaniya Hall/Ella Clayton – 43.31 (SB) | +10 points

4x400m Relay
4. Shana Grebo/Ella Clayton/Katriina Wright/Gianna Bullock – 3:35.30 | +5 points

High Jump
5. Tori Sloan – 1.78m/5-10 (SB) | +4 points
t8. Taylor Chocek – 1.70m/5-7 | +0.5 point

Triple Jump
1. Lexi Ellis – 13.68m/44-10.75 (PB) [No. 2 UO] | +10 points

Discus
1. Jorinde van Klinken – 63.05m/206-10 | +10 points
3. Jaida Ross – 54.52m/178-10 | +6 points
4. Mine De Klerk – 54.46m/178-8 (PB) [No. 7 UO] | +5 points
10. Shelby Moran – 51.67m/169-6

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