Williams Wins USATF Junior 200 Meter Title

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Oregon track and field's Lauren Rain Williams won the USATF Junior title in the 200 meters on Sunday at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships and finished as one of five Oregon freshmen to make Team USA for next month's IAAF World U20 Championships.

The IAAF World U20 Championships are set for July 10-15 in Tampere, Finland. The top two finishers in each event at the USATF Junior Championships earned a spot to represent the U.S. on the global stage.

After posting the fastest time of the preliminary round on Saturday in 22.82, Williams ran a windy 22.84 on Sunday to claim the 200 meter title and secure her spot next month in Finland. She also reached the final of the 100 meters on Friday, finishing seventh.

Cooper Teare enjoyed a big weekend in Bloomington, qualifying for the World U20 Championships in both the 5,000 and 1,500 meters. The freshman from Alameda, Calif., placed second in the 5,000 on Friday in 14:33.54, less than a second off the lead and more than 20 seconds ahead of third place, to punch his first ticket to Finland. He then doubled back on Sunday to run 3:49.88 and finish second in a tight 1,500 meter final for the second straight year.

Joseph Anderson was the first Team USA qualifier for the Ducks, earning his spot in the 110-meter hurdles on Friday afternoon. Anderson ran the fastest time (13.71) in the field during the first round, and then improved on that with a 13.58 in the final to place second. Like Teare, Anderson will represent the U.S. for the second year in a row; he was second in the 110 hurdles last year before winning the bronze medal at the Pan American Championships in Peru.

Jasmin Reed and Shae Anderson will also don the red, white and blue next month, with Reed a part of Team USA's 4x100-meter relay pool and Anderson included in the 4x400-meter relay pool. Reed placed fourth in the 200 and sixth in the 100, while Anderson finished sixth in the 400.

A sixth UO freshman, Keira McCarrell, will head to Finland as well for the World U20 Championships. McCarrell will represent Canada in the javelin, earning a spot on the team with her huge lifetime-best throw of 171-1 (52.15m) at the NCAA West Preliminary meet (May 24).

Oregon also saw a future Duck, Josh Hoey, win a USATF Junior title over the weekend. Hoey, a highly-touted middle-distance runner who is signed on to join the Ducks in the fall, won the 800 meters in 1:49.48 on Saturday and will run for the U.S. next month in Finland.

The 2018 U.S. Outdoor Championships are scheduled for next weekend, June 21-24, at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.