Photo by: GoDucks.com
Mays, Ross Qualify For Event Finals
06/28/24 | Track and Field
Jadyn Mays and Jaida Ross will compete to make the U.S. Olympic team Saturday after posting qualifying marks Friday at Hayward Field.
As afternoon evolved to evening Friday at Hayward Field, two members of the hallowed venue's royal court encountered each other at the adjacent warm-up track.
Sprinter Jadyn Mays and thrower Jaida Ross, who were instrumental in Oregon's top-four finishes in the NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor championship meets this past season, were loosening up for their respective events in Friday's session of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. As they passed each other on the warm-up track, they exchanged a fist bump and wishes of good luck.
"There's that team chemistry that we have here at Oregon," Ross said later. "We just support each other; you see someone with an 'O' on, you say good luck. You call them out, cheer them on."
Over the ensuing couple of hours, Mays and Ross gave each other — and their fans at Hayward Field — plenty to cheer about. Each will participate in an event final Saturday after advancing through qualifying Friday, Mays in the 200 meters and Ross in the shot put.
First up Friday was Mays, the three-time all-American outdoors this spring, who followed up her semifinal appearance in the 100 meters last week by claiming the final spot in the 200-meter final. Then, Ross posted the third-best mark in qualifying for the shot put, the event in which she set an NCAA Outdoor record this spring — three different times — on the way to being named National Field Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.
"It's really big for me," Mays said. "Obviously it's my senior year, I'm wrapping up with college and then going on to what's next. So it was really special to make this final. I really wanted to — after not making the 'one,' I wanted to make sure I tried to squeeze in there at least one of these events — and like I've said, the 'two' is my favorite. So it's gonna be fun going out there running this last time on my track."
Mays advanced to the 200 final in the same heat as UO alum Jenna Prandini, and Kyree King made the final in the men's 200. Alaysha Johnson had the No. 2 time in qualifying for the 100 hurdles semis, while fellow alums Matt Wisner (800) and Isaiah Griffith (triple jump) did not advance Friday.
Ross, throwing at her home track and the venue where she won an NCAA title three weeks earlier, said she was nervous to open her series of three throws Friday. Still, she opened with a put of 61-4.25 — which ended up the fifth-best mark of the day — and improved to 63-10.25 on her next attempt, third in the field. That gave her coach, Brian Bluetreich, the confidence to have Ross conserve some energy and pass on her final attempt of the day.
"I think it just speaks to my consistency and training and my confidence in how I perform, and how I can perform," Ross said. "… I trust my coach. He says pass, we pass. I'm really competitive; I wanted that third throw. I had a big warm-up, I wanted to chase that. So, save that for tomorrow."
Mays experienced a bit more stress. Running in the first of three semis for the 200, she crossed third in 22.33 seconds; Prandini ran 22.26 to take second and claim the final automatic qualifying spot from the heat.
So Mays had to watch the next two heats, and hope her time held up as one of three to advance to the final along with the top two finishers from each heat. One runner from each of the last two heats dipped under Mays' time, getting her into the final as the last qualifier on time.
"It was a nail-biter," Mays said. "I knew the rest of the heats were going to be super-fast as well. So I was like, hopefully gonna squeeze in there. The times, I knew they were going to be fast. So yeah, I was glad that my time held on."
On the men's side, King knew the heartache hoping to qualify on time could cause. In the 100 semis Sunday, King was third in his heat and was the fastest runner not to qualify for the final. He avoided a similar fate Friday, taking second in his 200 semi in 20.25 seconds.
"I couldn't put it in their hands no more; I had to go get it done myself," King said. "So it feels good."
Prandini enjoyed a similar fate, taking second in the same women's 200 heat as Mays. She'll run in her second final of this Trials, after doing so in the 100.
"I feel like everything's coming together," Prandini said. "My legs are under me and I was happy to come away with that today."
On the other end of the emotional spectrum was Wisner. He raced in his second semifinal of this Trials, after doing so in the 1,500 as well. But Friday's 800 semi was different — Wisner decided recently to retire, making Friday's race his last.
He'll go out on top in one sense, having run a personal-best time of 1:46.09 on Friday. But the finality of the moment led to mixed emotions following the race.
"It can go on for eternity, just because you know that you can always do better," Wisner said. "And I've gotten a little bit better every single year, learned how to race more and more every time I do it. … I feel like I'm breaking up with a version of myself. And it's really painful."
Sprinter Jadyn Mays and thrower Jaida Ross, who were instrumental in Oregon's top-four finishes in the NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor championship meets this past season, were loosening up for their respective events in Friday's session of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. As they passed each other on the warm-up track, they exchanged a fist bump and wishes of good luck.
"There's that team chemistry that we have here at Oregon," Ross said later. "We just support each other; you see someone with an 'O' on, you say good luck. You call them out, cheer them on."
Over the ensuing couple of hours, Mays and Ross gave each other — and their fans at Hayward Field — plenty to cheer about. Each will participate in an event final Saturday after advancing through qualifying Friday, Mays in the 200 meters and Ross in the shot put.
First up Friday was Mays, the three-time all-American outdoors this spring, who followed up her semifinal appearance in the 100 meters last week by claiming the final spot in the 200-meter final. Then, Ross posted the third-best mark in qualifying for the shot put, the event in which she set an NCAA Outdoor record this spring — three different times — on the way to being named National Field Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.
"It's really big for me," Mays said. "Obviously it's my senior year, I'm wrapping up with college and then going on to what's next. So it was really special to make this final. I really wanted to — after not making the 'one,' I wanted to make sure I tried to squeeze in there at least one of these events — and like I've said, the 'two' is my favorite. So it's gonna be fun going out there running this last time on my track."
Mays advanced to the 200 final in the same heat as UO alum Jenna Prandini, and Kyree King made the final in the men's 200. Alaysha Johnson had the No. 2 time in qualifying for the 100 hurdles semis, while fellow alums Matt Wisner (800) and Isaiah Griffith (triple jump) did not advance Friday.
Ross, throwing at her home track and the venue where she won an NCAA title three weeks earlier, said she was nervous to open her series of three throws Friday. Still, she opened with a put of 61-4.25 — which ended up the fifth-best mark of the day — and improved to 63-10.25 on her next attempt, third in the field. That gave her coach, Brian Bluetreich, the confidence to have Ross conserve some energy and pass on her final attempt of the day.
"I think it just speaks to my consistency and training and my confidence in how I perform, and how I can perform," Ross said. "… I trust my coach. He says pass, we pass. I'm really competitive; I wanted that third throw. I had a big warm-up, I wanted to chase that. So, save that for tomorrow."
Mays experienced a bit more stress. Running in the first of three semis for the 200, she crossed third in 22.33 seconds; Prandini ran 22.26 to take second and claim the final automatic qualifying spot from the heat.
So Mays had to watch the next two heats, and hope her time held up as one of three to advance to the final along with the top two finishers from each heat. One runner from each of the last two heats dipped under Mays' time, getting her into the final as the last qualifier on time.
"It was a nail-biter," Mays said. "I knew the rest of the heats were going to be super-fast as well. So I was like, hopefully gonna squeeze in there. The times, I knew they were going to be fast. So yeah, I was glad that my time held on."
On the men's side, King knew the heartache hoping to qualify on time could cause. In the 100 semis Sunday, King was third in his heat and was the fastest runner not to qualify for the final. He avoided a similar fate Friday, taking second in his 200 semi in 20.25 seconds.
"I couldn't put it in their hands no more; I had to go get it done myself," King said. "So it feels good."
Prandini enjoyed a similar fate, taking second in the same women's 200 heat as Mays. She'll run in her second final of this Trials, after doing so in the 100.
"I feel like everything's coming together," Prandini said. "My legs are under me and I was happy to come away with that today."
On the other end of the emotional spectrum was Wisner. He raced in his second semifinal of this Trials, after doing so in the 1,500 as well. But Friday's 800 semi was different — Wisner decided recently to retire, making Friday's race his last.
He'll go out on top in one sense, having run a personal-best time of 1:46.09 on Friday. But the finality of the moment led to mixed emotions following the race.
"It can go on for eternity, just because you know that you can always do better," Wisner said. "And I've gotten a little bit better every single year, learned how to race more and more every time I do it. … I feel like I'm breaking up with a version of myself. And it's really painful."
Players Mentioned
B1G Sweep: Oregon Cross Country Conference Champions Cinematic Recap
Wednesday, November 12
Aaliyah McCormick | NCAA 100M Hurdles National Champion
Thursday, June 19
Matti Erickson | NCAA 800M Runner Up
Saturday, June 14
Hayward Field History
Thursday, June 12
