Road To Eugene Goes Through Austin
This Week:
The Oregon track and field team will send a record number of entries to the NCAA Preliminary Rounds in Austin, Texas this week, May 28-30. The three-day event will begin Thursday at 10 a.m. PT.
Coverage:
The meet will have live streaming which can be found at the meet headquarters page here. Live results can be found here.
Rankings:
In the latest USTFCCCA computer rankings, the Oregon men’s team remained at No. 4 while the women moved up to the No. 4 spot as well.
NCAA Preliminaries Format:
Athletes who rank among the top 48 in their respective event earn berths into the NCAA West Preliminary Round. The best 24 relay times also advanced to NCAA prelims. Athletes with the top 12 times/marks and the best 12 relay teams at both the East and West prelims will qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, June 10-13. There is no decathlon or heptathlon competition at the NCAA preliminary rounds. The top 24 decathlon and heptathlon marks in the nation earn an automatic berth to the NCAAs.
Regional Entries Record:
Oregon will have a collegiate record 75 entries into NCAA competition beginning with the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds this week. The Ducks have 42 entries on the men’s side, four more than Arkansas’ previous record of 38 in 2012. The women will have 33 entries, which also is the most of any team this season.
Seven Deep:
Seven entrants is the most by an school in a single event, and the Ducks have done that twice, with seven men entered in the 1,500 and the 5,000. The only other school to field seven athletes is BYU in the steeplechase.
Pac-12 Championships:
The Ducks swept the Pac-12 Championships meet once again, making it the seventh-straight season Oregon has won both the men’s and women’s championships. The women’s team has won seven-consecutive conference titles while the men have now won nine, a Pac-12 record.
The Men of Oregon won with a 31-point margin ahead of USC (152-121) while the women edged out USC by three points (185-182).
Todd Named Field Athlete of the Year:
Redshirt sophomore Jasmine Todd was named the Pac-12 Women’s Field Athlete of the Year after a tremendous performance at the Pac-12 Championships in Los Angeles. Todd, was the Pac-12 Championships Athlete of the Meet after accounting for 35 of Oregon’s 185 points, giving the Ducks a three-point win over second-place USC. She won the 100 meters and triple jump, also coming in second place in the long jump and fourth in the 200 meters. Todd also helped UO place second in the 4x100-meter relay.
Academic All-District:
In addition to their success in competition, Oregon track and field student-athletes Edward Cheserek and Jenna Prandini were named to the Academic All-District team. Cheserek holds a 3.34 GPA while pursuing a degree in pre-business administration while Prandini holds a 3.55 GPA on her track toward a degree in general social sciences.
National Leaders:
Jenna Prandini is setting the pace in the 100 after her time at the Mt. SAC Relays. Prandini ran 10.92 in the 100 which is tied with Elaine Thompson for the fastest in the world in 2015.
Prandini Back-to-Back Pac-12 Honors:
Jenna Prandini was named the Pac-12 Women’s Field Athlete of the Week, April 13, after winning the long jump at the Pepsi Invitational. Prandini, a redshirt junior, flew to a win in the long jump with a best mark of 21-0.5, beating out a strong field that contained Kentucky’s Kenyattia Hackworth and teammate Jasmine Todd. The mark ranks fourth in the NCAA this season.
The following week, April 20, she was named the conference’s women’s Track Athlete of the Week for her record-setting performances at the Mt. SAC Relays.
