University of Oregon
Pac-12 Championships
Simpson Repeats as Pac-12 Long Jump Champion
05/12/18 | Track and Field
Damarcus Simpson defended his Pac-12 long jump title on Saturday to headline a productive first day at the Pac-12 Championships for the Ducks, who are pursuing their 10th straight sweep of the conference team titles
STANFORD, Calif. - Senior Damarcus Simpson defended his Pac-12 title in the long jump on Saturday to lead the Oregon track and field teams to a productive first day in the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships at Cobb Track and Angell Field.
Simpson was one of 12 athletes to score points for the team on Saturday, and the Ducks enjoyed a terrific day of preliminary rounds on the track to give themselves plenty of scoring opportunities on Sunday as they go for their 10th consecutive sweep of the Pac-12 team titles.
The feat will not come easy, as a number of other conference foes performed well on the opening day of competition. Oregon currently sits second in the men's team race with 43 points, while the women are tied for seventh with 22. Stanford leads both races with 71 points on the women's side and 48 for the men, while USC, widely considered the top challenger to the Ducks in both races, is second (44) in the women's standings and seventh (16) in the men's.
"I think we're right about where we thought we would be, and probably a litter better on the men's side," said head coach Robert Johnson. "We have to get after it and set the tone early tomorrow in the first event. We have to get off on a good foot and hope that ball continues and synergy continues the rest of the meet."
How it Happened - Men: Simpson came out strong from the get-go, essentially wrapping up his second straight long jump title with an opening jump of 26 feet, five-and-three-quarter inches. That mark would have been good enough for the championship, but the senior outdid himself on his third jump with a huge wind-aided leap of 27-4, to put the exclamation point on his title defense. Simpson would be the new school record-holder if not for the wind-reading of 3.0 mph.
"I had confidence that I'd be able to do it," said Simpson. "My body felt perfect, so I new I could repeat … that third jump was huge."
The men's long jump was the biggest scoring event of the day for the Ducks, as Tristan James leapt 25-7.25 to finish as the runner-up to Simpson, and Spenser Schmidt reached 24-5 to place fourth and give the Men of Oregon 23 total points. James passed on his final three attempts, saving himself for the triple jump on Sunday.
"The tone was set before we even stepped on the track today," said James. "We knew what we had to do, we knew what we wanted to do and we knew what we were capable of."
Tanner Anderson added eight points to the UO men's total in the final event of the night, finishing as the runner-up in the 10,000 meters in 29:39.64. Jackson Mestler placed fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and the duo of John Nizich and Jackson VanVuren posted a 6-7 finish in the javelin to round out the day one scoring.
The Men of Oregon, who are going for their 12th straight conference championship, appear to be set up for a big day of scoring on Sunday, as 15 Ducks advanced to finals in six different events on the track. UO will also have six athletes in four field events, as well as the 110-meter hurdles, 5,000 meters and both the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays, which did not have preliminary rounds.
Sam Prakel, James West and Reed Brown all advanced to the finals of the 1,500 meters, and Prakel came back later to reach the 800 meter finals along with Mick Stanovsek. Cameron Stone and Orwin Emilien both moved on in the 400 meters, and Jonathan Harvey recovered from a late stumble to advance in the 400-meter hurdles.
Four Ducks - Cravon Gillespie, Simpson, Myles Webb and Rieker Daniel - reached the finals of the 100 meters, and Gillespie came back later to advance in the 200 meters along with the freshmen Webb and Daniel. Gillespie owned the fastest time of the 100 meter trials with a wind-aided 10.15, and Daniel led the Ducks in the 200 with mark of 20.87, second only to USC star Michael Norman.
How it Happened - Women: The Women of Oregon saw five student-athletes score in three events Saturday, and 22 Ducks advanced to the finals in seven events. The Ducks will also have the 5,000 meters, both relays and two more field events, the discus and triple jump, on the schedule for Sunday.
Maddie Rabing opened the day's scoring with a sixth-place finish in the hammer, throwing a lifetime-best 200-8 to become just the fourth Duck to break the 200-foot mark. Rhesa Foster and Chaquinn Cook added seven points in the women's long jump with fourth and seventh-place showings, respectively, and the women's 10,000 meters produced nine points as Carmela Cardama Baez placed fourth in a PR 33:24.39 and Alli Cash finished fifth in 33:30.50.
Sophomore Makenzie Dunmore looked strong all day while leading the women's sprinters to a huge first day. Dunmore ran a lifetime-best 50.99 to win the 400 meter trials and move to No. 3 all-time at Oregon, and she will be joined by Briyahna DesRosiers, Shae Anderson and Hannah Waller in the final. Dunmore led the way again later on in the 200 meters in 22.53, and Lauren Rain Williams, Ariana Washington, Jasmin Reed and Venessa D'Arpino also advanced in the most productive preliminary race of the day for the Ducks.
"I just went out there and focused on myself, and I executed and ran my race," said Dunmore.
The UO women also had success in the 100 meters, where Washington, D'Arpino, Williams and Reed all ran times fast enough to qualify for the final. If the women's race does in fact come down to Oregon and USC, the women's sprints will play a huge role in the outcome. The 100 and 200 meters consist of only Ducks and Trojans, and the two teams will occupy seven of the nine spots in the 400 meter final.
Oregon will also have defending champion Alaysha Johnson and freshman Kaylah Robinson, who went 1-2 in their heat, in the 100-meter hurdle final, which will also feature five Trojans.
"It's been projected that we're not supposed to win," said Dunmore, "but you know that's just giving us more motivation to go out there and get the title."
Oregon received a huge race in the 400-meter hurdles from senior Kylee O'Connor, who opened the scoring last week with a sixth-place finish in the heptathlon. O'Connor ran an enormous lifetime-best of 58.27, the second-fastest time in the field and the No. 2 mark in UO history.
The Ducks got off to a good start in the first preliminary event on the track, as four Ducks advanced in the 1,500 meters. Jessica Hull won her heat to automatically qualify, and the trio of Lilli Burdon, Amanda Gehrich and Katie Rainsberger finished 1-2-4 to join her in the final. In the 800 meters, NCAA Indoor champion Sabrina Southerland and junior Susan Ejore both won their preliminary heats to give the Ducks a formidable 1-2 punch in Sunday's final.
Sophomore Judy Pendergast ran a PR 10:35.84 to place ninth in a hard-fought 3,000-meter steeplechase, and Rabing capped her busy day with a ninth-place showing in the shot put.
Up Next: The final day of the Pac-12 Championships begins at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday with the men's hammer, and concludes with the 4x400 meter relays, with an awards presentation scheduled for 6:25 p.m.
Players Mentioned
