Ducks Leaving the Desert with Seven Wins

Friday, April 28

Corvallis, OR

University of Oregon

OSU High Performance

Aaliyah McCormick, 4x100 at Mt. SAC Relays

04/29/23 | Track and Field

The Ducks close out the regular season next Friday, May 5, with the Oregon Twilight at Hayward Field.

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon track and field team racked up seven wins and four top-10 program efforts Saturday at the Desert Heat Classic in Tucson, Ariz. Coupled with their marks at the High Performance in Corvallis, the Ducks finished the penultimate weekend of the regular season with 19 top-three finishes and more than 30 lifetime and season bests.

Up Next: The Ducks close out the regular season next Friday, May 5, by hosting the Oregon Twilight. The meet will double as Senior Day with a ceremony scheduled for approximately 6:15 p.m. to celebrate and honor this year's class.

Shelby Moran secured the first win of the meet with a day's best of 65.32m/214-3 in the hammer throw. She finished ahead of two unattached entries in second and third, and out-distanced the closes collegian by nearly 20 feet.

To complete the sweep in the UO sweep in the hammer, Mason Strunk registered a season-best mark of 65.27m/214-1 to close out the men's competition. The Salem, Ore., native went from fourth to first with his third-round attempt of 65.04m/213-4 which would have stood up for the win. Strunk went on to add another measure of beyond 65 feet in the fifth round.

Strunk began the day with a season best of 64.42m/211-4 from the Mt. SAC Relays (April 15) and ended just off his lifetime best of 65.43m/214-8 from last year's Oregon Twilight.

The throws crew continued its winning ways with Jorinde van Klinken leading a quartet of UO women in the top nine of the discus. She got the implement out to a day's best of 59.76m/196-0 in round four and finished 1-2 with teammate Jaida Ross (53.64m/176-0) who saved her best throw for the final round. In fifth place, Mine De Klerk posted a measure of 51.68m/169-6 for a season best.

Oregon's first win on the track came in the 4x100-meter relay. The quartet of Aaliyah McCormick, Jadyn Mays, Shaniya Hall and Ella Clayton combined for a time of 43.85, the only team of the day to dip below 44 seconds.

The Men of Oregon got a top-10 program mark from their 4x100-meter relay team of Ryan Mulholland, Micah Williams, Xavier Nairne and PJ Ize-Iyamu. The team passed the baton around the track in 39.08 to establish a season best and become the eighth-fastest relay in UO history. The Ducks came into the day with a best of 39.72 from the Aztec Invitational in late March.

Williams was back on the track to post a time of 10.13 in his season opener over 100 meters. He finished as the top collegian in the field, and second overall behind Mouhamadou Fall (10.12) of France. Williams was one of three Ducks to place in the top nine along with Ize-Iyamu (10.28) and Nairne (10.33) who ran lifetime and season bests, respectively.

Mulholland, lead-off leg on the Ducks' 4x100 relay, added a season-best time (10.55) of his own.

In another top-10 program effort, freshman Emily Fitzsimmons became the No. 9 performer in the pole vault with a 4.05m/13-3.5 final clearance. She finished fifth overall and is the first addition to the UO all-time list over 13 feet since 2014.

Alysah Hickey picked up her second victory in as many competitions, measuring in at 6.58m/21-7.25 to hold off professional Jessica Barreira (6.56m). In other UO results, Hannah Ganashamoorthy produced a lifetime best of 6.01m/19-8.75 and just missed advancing to the final by two centimeters.

Completing a sweep of the horizontal jumps for the women, Lexi Ellis added a centimeter to her all-time best with a measure of 13.61m/44-8 in the second round. She remains the No. 3 performer in the triple jump in UO history with the outing and won Saturday's competition by nearly four feet. Based on marks entering the day, Ellis is set to move into the top 10 of the NCAA season rankings.

In a reverse of the 1-2 finish in the discus earlier in the day, Ross took the top spot in the women's shot put with van Klinken in the runner-up spot. With van Klinken (18.02m/59-1.5) leading after four rounds, Ross responded with a day's best of 18.13m/59-5.75 to take over first and go on to victory. De Klerk, for the second time in as many events, posted a season's best of 16.35m/53-7.75 on her final attempt.

With her measure, van Klinken moved to No. 2 on the program's top-10 list behind Ross who extended her own school record to 18.49m/60-8 earlier this month at the Triton Invitational. Already the national leader in the discus, van Klinken will now move into the top 10 for the shot put.

In the Ducks' final individual event on the track, Ize-Iyamu dipped below 21 seconds for the first time in a 20.90 performance in the 200 meters. The UO freshman was second in his section and seventh overall. Mulholland followed his performance in the 100 with another season's best with a time of 21.21 in the opening section.

The Women of Oregon put three inside the top six of the 400 meters with Clayton leading the way with a time of 52.57, ahead of teammates Katriina Wright and Shaniya Hall who both ran personal bests with times of 52.59 and 53.09, respectively.

The same trio led the team's efforts in the 200 meters with Hall coming through as the top performer in third place. She finished in 23.23—another PB—and was followed by Clayton (23.57) in third and Wright (23.82) in 11^th overall. Wright's time doubled as a lifetime best and the first sub-24 outing of her career.

Jonah Tactay was the final Duck in competition Saturday night, wrapping up a runner-up finish in the triple jump. On his second attempt, he got out to 15.27m/50-1.25 to post a new wind-legal personal best. He was the top collegiate entry in the field. The triple jump result was Tactay's second personal best of the day on the heels of his 7.44m/24-5 in the long jump.

Notable: Kwabena Lynn dropped his collegiate best from 10.74 to 10.58 with a third-place performance in the 100 meters at the OSU High Performance…also in Corvallis, Camden Wheeler (48.08) was third in the 400 meters…freshman Anthony Trucks clocked a PB of 14.21 (-0.4) in the 110-meter hurdles; placed fourth among collegians and seventh overall…Gianna Bullock was 2-of-2 in personal bests: 14.21 in the 100-meter hurdles, 5.68m/18-7.75 in the long jump…Tori Sloan tied for fifth in the high jump, clearing a season-high setting of 1.73m/5-8.

SATURDAY RESULTS
Desert Heat Classic – Tucson, Ariz.
MEN
100 Meters
2. Micah Williams – 10.13
6. PJ Ize-Iyamu Jr. – 10.28 (PB)
9. Xavier Nairne – 10.33 (SB)
18. Ryan Mulholland – 10.55 (SB)

200 Meters
7. PJ Ize-Iyamu Jr. – 20.90 (PB)
17. Ryan Mulholland – 21.21 (SB)
21. Xavier Nairne – 21.45

110m Hurdles
7. Anthony Trucks – 14.21 (-0.4 m/s) (PB)
17. Arthur Katahdin – 15.42 (PB)
18. Jett Kinder – 15.82 (PB)
19. Nathan Poff – 16.34

400m Hurdles
20. Anthony Trucks – 55.87

4x100m Relay
2. Mulholland/Williams/Nairne/Ize-Iyamu – 39.08 (SB) [No. 8 UO]

High Jump
--. Jett Kinder – NH

Pole Vault
T4. Harrison Canfield – 4.82m/15-9.75
T4. Hunter Angove – 4.82m/15-9.75
11. J Kai Yamafuji – 4.67m/15-3.75

Long Jump
6. Jonah Tactay – 7.44m/24-5 (PB)
14. Nathan Poff – 6.81m/22-4.25 (SB)
22. Arthur Katahdin – 6.04m/19-9.75

Triple Jump
2. Jonah Tactay – 15.27m/50-1.25 (PB)

Shot Put
17. Jett Kinder – 13.31m/43-8

Discus
17. Rafael Raap – 47.94m/157-3

Hammer
1. Mason Strunk – 65.27m/214-1 (SB)

WOMEN
100 Meters
3. Lily Jones – 11.46
22. Hannah Ganashamoorthy – 12.10 (PB)

200 Meters
3. Shaniya Hall – 23.23 (PB)
7. Ella Clayton – 23.57
11. Katriina Wright – 23.82 (PB)
17. Lily Jones – 24.09
24. Aaliyah McCormick – 24.38
36. Hannah Ganashamoorthy – 25.07 (PB)

400 Meters
3. Ella Clayton – 52.57 (SB)
4. Katriina Wright – 52.59 (PB)
6. Shaniya Hall – 53.09 (PB)
21. Jordyn Blake – 57.07 (PB)

800 Meters
22. Taylor Chocek – 2:29.84

100m Hurdles
2. Aaliyah McCormick – 13.25 (-1.5 m/s)
12. Colleen Uzoekwe – 13.87 (PB)
13. Taylor Chocek – 13.89
25. Gianna Bullock – 14.21 (PB)

4x100m Relay
1. McCormick/Mays/Hall/Clayton – 43.85

High Jump
T5. Tori Sloan – 1.73m/5-8 (SB)

Pole Vault
5. Emily Fitzsimmons – 4.05m/13-3.5 (SB) [No. 9 UO]

Long Jump
1. Alysah Hickey – 6.58m/21-7.25
11. Hannah Ganashamoorthy – 6.01m/19-8.75 (PB)
21. Gianna Bullock – 5.68m/18-7.75 (PB)
24. Colleen Uzoekwe – 5.60m/18-4.5

Triple Jump
1. Lexi Ellis – 13.61m/44-8 [No. 3 UO]

Shot Put
1. Jaida Ross – 18.13m/59-5.75
2. Jorinde van Klinken – 18.02m/59-1.5 [No. 2 UO]
5. Mine De Klerk – 16.35m/53-7.75 (SB)

Discus
1. Jorinde van Klinken – 59.76m/196-0
2. Jaida Ross – 53.64m/176-0
5. Mine De Klerk – 51.68m/169-6 (SB)
9. Shelby Moran – 49.01m/160-9

Hammer
1. Shelby Moran – 65.32m/214-3

Javelin
14. Kohana Nakato – 45.40m/148-11
21. Josephine Krohn – 39.32m/129-0

OSU High Performance – Corvallis, Ore.
MEN
100 Meters
3. Kwabena Lynn – 10.58 (SB)

200 Meters*
8. Camden Wheeler – 22.16

400 Meters
3. Camden Wheeler – 48.09
7. Matthew Erickson – 48.89 (PB)

1500 Meters Invitational*
2. James Gormley – 3:47.13
13. Luke Affolder – 3:56.93

WOMEN
400m Hurdles*
5. Madyson Kannon – 1:03.20 (SB)

Javelin
24. Riley Traeger – 35.18m/115-5

* – from Friday

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