University of Oregon
Mt. SAC Relays
Cook Breaks UO Outdoor Triple Jump Record
04/21/18 | Track and Field
TORRANCE, Calif. - Chaquinn Cook broke the Oregon outdoor record in the triple jump on Saturday to headline a productive final day for the Oregon track and field teams at the Mt. SAC Relays and wrap up the Ducks' three-meet weekend in Southern California.Â
Cook's record was one of nine new UO all-time top-10 marks for the Ducks on Saturday, and one of 14 total top-10 marks throughout the Ducks' impressive weekend.Â
"Good weekend for the Ducks," said head coach Robert Johnson. "Any time you get to enter into the top 10 at Oregon, that's really saying something. Really proud of those guys and gals for getting that done, and of the coaches for getting them ready to go out and do some big things. I was pleased with a lot of the stuff we were able to do this weekend, and now we'll head home and try to sharpen some things up."
How it Happened: Oregon faced stiff competition throughout the day on Saturday, as the Ducks were in action in 16 elite invitational events at El Camino College's Murdock Stadium.Â
Cook, who broke the UO indoor record in the triple jump earlier this season, soared to a huge personal-best of 45 feet, seven inches to take third and vault her name to the top of the Oregon outdoor list. The junior and Portland native bested Lauryn Newson's record of 44-4.25 from 2012. She now owns the indoor and outdoor triple jump school records, and is top-10 all-time in the outdoor long jump as well.Â
"She's continuing to work and get better," said Johnson. I know she wasn't pleased with her performance at the Pepsi a couple weeks ago, and she worked hard and cleaned up some things. That's good accomplishment for her and she will continue to grow and progress."
Oregon performed well throughout the day on the track, coming away with a flurry of personal-bests as well as marks that will hold for NCAA West Regional qualifying. In the 800 meters, reigning NCAA Indoor champion Sabrina Southerland ran a big two-second PR to finish second overall in 2:01.44 and place fifth on the UO outdoor all-time list. Junior Susan Ejore also beat her previous career-best by two seconds, taking sixth in 2:04.53.
Redshirt junior Cravon Gillespie moved into a tie for fourth all-time at UO in the 100 meters with a lifetime-best 10.18, and Damarcus Simpson ran 10.23 in a solid season opener. Simpson also performed well in the long jump, finishing second at 26-0. Three-time NCAA champion Ariana Washington ran a season-best 11.17 to lead UO in the women's 100, while freshman Lauren Rain Williams finished in 11.46.Â
Williams led the Ducks later on her first 200 meters of the season, crossing in 23.14 with Washington (23.31) and Briyahna DesRosiers (23.89) close behind. Sophomore Braxton Canady matched his PR in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing seventh in 13.93, and Orwin Emilien ran a season-best 46.66 in the 400 meters. Makenzie Dunmore led a flock of Ducks in the women's 400 with a season-best 52.05, followed by Hannah Waller (PR 52.49), Shae Anderson (52.71), DesRosiers (53.31) and Venessa D'Arpino (PR 53.61).Â
The quartet of Alaysha Johnson, Williams, Jasmin Reed and Washington placed second in the elite 4x100 relay in a season-best 42.93, and the men's team of Simpson, Gillespie, Julius Shellmire and Rieker Daniel took fourth in 39.54. D'Arpino, Waller, Anderson and Dunmore won the women's 4x400 relay in 3:31.93, and Jonathan Harvey, Emilien, Daniel and Cameron Stone were fourth in the men's 4x400 in a season-best 3:06.90.Â
Sophomore Kiana Phelps came away with a big throw to take sixth in the women's discus, reaching a career-best 171-5.5 for the eighth-best mark all-time at Oregon. In the high jump, Ben Milligan matched his outdoor PR of 7-2.25, and the junior made great attempts but just missed clearing 7-4.Â
What it Means: Oregon entered its busy weekend in Southern California with a focus on securing qualifying marks for the NCAA West Regional meet, and the Ducks did so in style by picking up wins, career-bests and UO all-time top-10 marks in the process. After an indoor season that didn't meet UO's expectations, the Ducks appear to be hitting their stride as they get deeper into the outdoor campaign.Â
Quotable: Robert Johnson, Head Coach
On the four middle-distance runners who ran UO all-time top-10 times last night at the Bryan Clay Invitational…
"Those girls ran lights out last night. Really happy and proud of Jessica Hull and Lilli Burdon for what they were able to do; they are continuing their training from indoors and keep getting better. Great job by those girls as well as some others who ran season-bests. And for the guys, great job by Sam Prakel, James West, Reed Brown and Mick Stanovsek for running some really fast times in some really fast-paced races."
Up Next: The Ducks will split their squad once again next weekend between the Desert Heat Classic in Tucson, Ariz., and the OSU High Performance meet in Corvallis, Ore.Â
Players Mentioned
