Saturday, June 9
Eugene, OR
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NCAA Championships
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Hull's 1,500 Win Highlights Uneven Day For Oregon Women
06/09/18 | Track and Field, @GoDucksMoseley
Jessica Hull won the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor championships Saturday, when some mid-meet missteps cost the Ducks a shot at the team title.
EUGENE, Ore. — In his final message to the Oregon women's track and field team, on the eve of their attempt to repeat as NCAA Outdoor champions, UO head coach Robert Johnson laid out his key to victory.
The Ducks would need a fast start, Johnson told his team Saturday night. That message was received loud and clear.
Oregon's day Saturday began with a second-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay, with senior Ariana Washington edging USC's anchor at the line for an extra two points in the team race. Then, in the next race on the track, sophomore Jessica Hull waited patiently to make her move in the 1,500, finally kicking to the front over the final 200 to win in 4:08.75.
At that point, Johnson said, "I definitely felt like the talk we had last night was working. We hoped that would percolate for the rest of the day."
Alas, it was not to be. Soon after a torrential downpour dampened the proceedings, and ironically it was the hometown Ducks who didn't seem to react well. Alaysha Johnson took seventh in the 100 hurdles, Washington was eighth in the 100 and Makenzie Dunmore also took last in the 400 final after falling in the homestretch, 800-meter favorite Sabrina Southerland faded to seventh and Chaquinn Cook finished one spot shy of the triple jump final, all in the space of about an hour.
The UO women rallied late, with Lilli Burdon using a strong last lap to finish third in the 5,000, and the 4x400 relay squad also placing third. That left the Ducks with 39 points in the team race, and wondering what might have been had a few other races gone their way on a day USC won the team title with 53 points.
"We let one get away, for sure," Johnson said.
Along the way, there were bright spots, at least. Junior Briyahna DesRosiers was sixth in the open 400, and ran the opening leg on the third-place 4x400 relay squad. The 4x100 quartet recovered from a precarious exchange in the prelims Thursday to enjoy a clean trip Saturday, in taking second. And then there was Hull, a national champion in the 1,500.
Two days after posting a PR of 4:10.09 in the prelims, Hull used a similar race plan Saturday — sitting on the shoulder of New Hampshire senior Elinor Purrier for the first 1,200 meters. Hull pulled even with Purrier with about 300 to go, dropped back again, then surged into the lead in the final turn and crossed the finish line first.
"I did want to take it down the backstretch, but Elinor was very tough and very strong," Hull said. "That's inspiring, to hold your line and hold your spot like that, and lead from the fun and still be very firm. I was like, 'OK, just wait; it might present itself again. Stay composed.' "
Hull said she rode a wave of positive emotions from family and teammates sitting in the East Grandstand at the Bowerman Curve, just as she was considering when to make her last, desperate push.
"It started to get really loud, and that's exactly what I needed right then and there," she said. "And then I came off the turn, and had a little bit of breathing room; I heard the crowd and glanced at the screen, which (assistant coach Maurica Powell) tells me not to do. But I did take a quick glance. At that point I was like, 'Let this crowd bring you home.' That was something special. …
"It didn't hit me until I crossed the finish line. I kept waiting for someone to come up on the outside. I think with about 10 meters to go I was like, 'I'm going to take this.' I was shocked. I was so excited. To have it actually come true, I was blown away."
Hull's cross country teammate, Burdon, said she was close to tears watching the 1,500, and had to remind herself to stay composed for her own race a couple of hours later.
"That was so inspiring," Burdon said. "We've had such a great season working together, so I was inspired by that."
When it came time for the 5,000, Burdon demonstrated similarly admirable patience, reeling in the race leaders over the course of the bell lap and nearly threatening to pass them completely before crossing in third, in 15:43.22. Burdon said the moderate early pace helped her conserve energy for the late kick, unlike a scorching NCAA West Preliminary race that required her to run 15:34.44.
"Today was a lot more to my strength," Burdon said. "I was happy to feel comfortable for a lot longer than I did at regionals."
Unfortunately, not enough Ducks on Saturday enjoyed that level of comfort. In the 100 hurdles, the stormy weather required the race to be run on the east side of the track; the start line was close enough to that of the 1,500 meters to cause Johnson trouble getting settled into the blocks, and she never recovered from a slow start in taking seventh in 13.22.
Washington also started slow in the 100, taking eighth in 11.50. That capped a disappointing final collegiate season for the 2016 Olympian, who will graduate from the university next week.
"I'm excited," she said. "It's been a long four years — a quick four years. But I'm super happy with what I've done here. It's been a great career."
Southerland, the senior transfer, also ran her final race for Oregon on Saturday. The NCAA Indoor champ, Southerland never looked comfortable in the rain Saturday, then stumbled in the backstretch of the second lap before finishing seventh in 2:06.99.
"I tried to hold it together after that, and I gave it all I could," she said. "… I shouldn't have let it get to me. It's a lesson learned."
The Ducks would need a fast start, Johnson told his team Saturday night. That message was received loud and clear.
Oregon's day Saturday began with a second-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay, with senior Ariana Washington edging USC's anchor at the line for an extra two points in the team race. Then, in the next race on the track, sophomore Jessica Hull waited patiently to make her move in the 1,500, finally kicking to the front over the final 200 to win in 4:08.75.
At that point, Johnson said, "I definitely felt like the talk we had last night was working. We hoped that would percolate for the rest of the day."
Alas, it was not to be. Soon after a torrential downpour dampened the proceedings, and ironically it was the hometown Ducks who didn't seem to react well. Alaysha Johnson took seventh in the 100 hurdles, Washington was eighth in the 100 and Makenzie Dunmore also took last in the 400 final after falling in the homestretch, 800-meter favorite Sabrina Southerland faded to seventh and Chaquinn Cook finished one spot shy of the triple jump final, all in the space of about an hour.
The UO women rallied late, with Lilli Burdon using a strong last lap to finish third in the 5,000, and the 4x400 relay squad also placing third. That left the Ducks with 39 points in the team race, and wondering what might have been had a few other races gone their way on a day USC won the team title with 53 points.
"We let one get away, for sure," Johnson said.
Along the way, there were bright spots, at least. Junior Briyahna DesRosiers was sixth in the open 400, and ran the opening leg on the third-place 4x400 relay squad. The 4x100 quartet recovered from a precarious exchange in the prelims Thursday to enjoy a clean trip Saturday, in taking second. And then there was Hull, a national champion in the 1,500.
Two days after posting a PR of 4:10.09 in the prelims, Hull used a similar race plan Saturday — sitting on the shoulder of New Hampshire senior Elinor Purrier for the first 1,200 meters. Hull pulled even with Purrier with about 300 to go, dropped back again, then surged into the lead in the final turn and crossed the finish line first.
"I did want to take it down the backstretch, but Elinor was very tough and very strong," Hull said. "That's inspiring, to hold your line and hold your spot like that, and lead from the fun and still be very firm. I was like, 'OK, just wait; it might present itself again. Stay composed.' "
Hull said she rode a wave of positive emotions from family and teammates sitting in the East Grandstand at the Bowerman Curve, just as she was considering when to make her last, desperate push.
"It started to get really loud, and that's exactly what I needed right then and there," she said. "And then I came off the turn, and had a little bit of breathing room; I heard the crowd and glanced at the screen, which (assistant coach Maurica Powell) tells me not to do. But I did take a quick glance. At that point I was like, 'Let this crowd bring you home.' That was something special. …
"It didn't hit me until I crossed the finish line. I kept waiting for someone to come up on the outside. I think with about 10 meters to go I was like, 'I'm going to take this.' I was shocked. I was so excited. To have it actually come true, I was blown away."
Hull's cross country teammate, Burdon, said she was close to tears watching the 1,500, and had to remind herself to stay composed for her own race a couple of hours later.
"That was so inspiring," Burdon said. "We've had such a great season working together, so I was inspired by that."
When it came time for the 5,000, Burdon demonstrated similarly admirable patience, reeling in the race leaders over the course of the bell lap and nearly threatening to pass them completely before crossing in third, in 15:43.22. Burdon said the moderate early pace helped her conserve energy for the late kick, unlike a scorching NCAA West Preliminary race that required her to run 15:34.44.
"Today was a lot more to my strength," Burdon said. "I was happy to feel comfortable for a lot longer than I did at regionals."
Unfortunately, not enough Ducks on Saturday enjoyed that level of comfort. In the 100 hurdles, the stormy weather required the race to be run on the east side of the track; the start line was close enough to that of the 1,500 meters to cause Johnson trouble getting settled into the blocks, and she never recovered from a slow start in taking seventh in 13.22.
Washington also started slow in the 100, taking eighth in 11.50. That capped a disappointing final collegiate season for the 2016 Olympian, who will graduate from the university next week.
"I'm excited," she said. "It's been a long four years — a quick four years. But I'm super happy with what I've done here. It's been a great career."
Southerland, the senior transfer, also ran her final race for Oregon on Saturday. The NCAA Indoor champ, Southerland never looked comfortable in the rain Saturday, then stumbled in the backstretch of the second lap before finishing seventh in 2:06.99.
"I tried to hold it together after that, and I gave it all I could," she said. "… I shouldn't have let it get to me. It's a lesson learned."
Players Mentioned
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/ Track and Field
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/ Track and Field
Sprints
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/ Track and Field
MD
/ Track and Field
S/H
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MDIS
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SP
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