UO Women Add Four National Qualifiers

Thursday, May 25

Sacramento, CA

University of Oregon

NCAA West Preliminary

Photo by: Bob Solorio

05/25/23 | Track and Field

The Ducks also advanced 10 runners to Saturday's quarterfinal round.

EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 3 Women of Oregon secured four national qualifiers on day two of the NCAA West Preliminary in Sacramento, Calif. The Ducks will be represented at the national meet by Shelby Moran in the hammer, Jorinde van Klinken and Jaida Ross in the shot put and Alysah Hickey in the long jump.

With Taylor Chocek already qualified in the heptathlon, the UO women are up to five entries at the upcoming NCAA Championships (June 7-10) in Austin, Texas. Additionally, the Ducks advanced 10 entries into Saturday's quarterfinal round.

Moran secured the Ducks' first NCAA qualifier of the meet, finishing with a best of 66.93m/219-7 from her opening-round attempt. She was third overall to guarantee a third-consecutive trip to NCAAs, and first at Oregon. Moran started the postseason as Pac-12 champion with a measure of 68.96m/226-3 to break the school record.

The Sherwood, Ore., native is the first UO woman to qualify for the national meet in the hammer since Jillian Weir in 2015.

The throws crew added two more national qualifiers with van Klinken and Ross finishing first and third, respectively, in the shot put. With her day's best of 19.02m/62-5, van Klinken extended her own school record and became the No. 6 all-time performer in collegiate history. She took down her previous best of 18.94m/62-1.75 from last year's European Championships.

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Ross secured a second-consecutive NCAA appearance with a measure of 18.26m/59-11 in the opening round of Thursday's competition. Both Ducks, along with Mine De Klerk, return to action Saturday for the discus. De Klerk was 16^th overall in the shot put with a toss of 16.63m/54-6.75, a season's best.

Already in position to qualifying to the national meet, Hickey saved the best for her final attempt with a mark of 6.63m/21-9 to finish second overall in the race for 12 spots. The Coronado, Calif., native did not compete at the West Preliminary last season and with Thursday's result, makes a return to the national meet after finishing fifth in 2021.

The trio of Klaudia Kazimierska, Maddy Elmore and Izzy Thornton-Bott advanced to the next round of the 1500 meters, all securing automatic qualifiers with top-five finishes in their respective heats. Heat one featured a pair of top-10 program performances from Kazimierska (4:10.21) and Elmore (4:11.02) who become the No. 6 and 8 performers in UO history with their times.

In the next heat, Thornton-Bott controlled the pace from the front on her way to a time of 4:15.73 with a guaranteed spot into the Saturday's quarterfinals at 5:15 p.m.

Jadyn Mays was 2-for-2 in her qualifying efforts Thursday evening, posting times of 11.32 (-0.1) in the 100 meters and 22.94 (+2.1) in the 200 meters. In the latter, she took the lead off the curve and eased across the finish line to earn a second big 'Q' of the night. In addition to the individual races, Mays will open Saturday's schedule with the Ducks' 4x100-meter relay.

The Ducks advanced their two entries in the 400 meters with Katriina Wright and Ella Clayton. Wright was the faster of the two, clocking a time of 52.52 which was good for an at-large qualifier. Running in heat five of six, Clayton (52.69) clinched automatic placement with a third-place finish in the heat. The quarterfinal is set for Saturday at 6:50 p.m.

The UO women collected two more quarterfinalists with the efforts of Ella Nelson and Mia Moerck in the 800 meters. Nelson saw her lifetime best drop to 2:04.77 with Thursday's performance, finishing second overall in the qualifying heats. Moerck used a hard-charging finish for third in heat five and a spot into the next round. She crossed in 2:06.24 to tie her personal best.

The quarterfinal round of the two-lap event begins Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

In the 400-meter hurdles, Shana Greabo clocked in at 57.24 to finish second in her heat and eighth overall. The Pac-12 champion is making her debut at the regional meet. The next round will go off Saturday at 7:25 p.m. It would be the first of two races for the UO sophomore who could also appear with the Ducks' 4x400-meter relay in the weekend finale.

Up next: Day three of the NCAA West Preliminary will feature six chances in five events—4x100 relay, steeplechase, triple jump, 100 meters and 800 meters—to secure national qualifiers. Competition for the Ducks begins at 5 p.m. The top 12 in each event will advance to the NCAA Championships (June 7-10) in Austin, Texas.

Thursday Results
Q – advances to NCAA Championships | q – advances to Saturday quarterfinals
WOMEN
100 Meters – first round
10. Jadyn Mays – 11.32q (-0.1)
29. Lily Jones – 11.54

200 Meters – first round
9. Jadyn Mays – 22.94wq (+2.1)

400 Meters – first round
19. Katriina Wright – 52.52q
22. Ella Clayton – 52.69q

800 Meters – first round
2. Ella Nelson – 2:04.77q (PB)
14. Mia Moerck – 2:06.24q (=PB)

1500 Meters – first round
2. Klaudia Kazimierska – 4:10.21q (SB) [No. 6 UO]
4. Maddy Elmore – 4:11.02q (PB) [No. 8 UO]
12. Izzy Thornton-Bott – 4:15.73q
35. Emilie Girard – 4:22.62

10,000 Meters
44. Anika Thompson – 34:43.72
46. Melissa Berry – 35:53.63

100m Hurdles – first round
--. Aaliyah McCormick – DNS

400m Hurdles – first round
8. Shana Grebo – 57.24q

Pole Vault
--. Emily Fitzsimmons – NH

Long Jump
2. Alysah Hickey – 6.63m/21-9Q

Shot Put
1. Jorinde van Klinken – 19.02m/62-5Q (PB) [No. 1 UO, No. 6 NCAA]
3. Jaida Ross – 18.26m/59-11Q
16. Mine De Klerk – 16.63m/54-6.75 (SB)

Hammer
3. Shelby Moran - 66.93m/219-7Q

Javelin
27. Kohana Nakato – 46.52m/152-7

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