NCAA Indoor Track
UO release – ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Senior Lexi Ellis broke the school record in the triple jump and Jadyn Mays had two top-five national finishes in the sprints Saturday as the Ducks put a cap on the 2023 indoor season. The Women of Oregon finished the weekend tied for 11th in the team race with 22 points, one tally shy of a top-10 national finish. With her showing Saturday, Mays became the first UO woman to score in the 60 and 200 meters at the NCAA indoor meet since Hannah Cunliffe and Ariana (Washington) Murphy did so in 2017. Mays began the day with a time of 7.13 in the final of the 60 meters, and roughly 40 minutes later, followed that up with a 22.63 in the 200. She finished in fifth place in both events, collecting eight points for the Ducks. After a foul in the first round, Ellis responded with a then-lifetime best of 13.82m/45-4.25 on her second attempt to secure a spot in the final. The measure put her within one centimeter of the school record of 13.83 meter set by Chaquinn Cook in 2019. Then, on the final jump of her indoor career, Ellis moved her name to the top of the UO all-time list with a 13.97m/45-10 effort. All three of Ellis’ legal jumps were beyond her previous best of 13.56m/44-6 from two seasons ago. She finished in eighth overall, collecting the first top-eight national finish of her UO career. The Ducks’ first points of the afternoon came from Klaudia Kazimierska in the mile. As the only freshman to advance to the final, she registered a time of 4:37.82 to come away with sixth place and three points. Teammate Izzy Thornton-Bott (4:44.34) just missed a scoring position in ninth place. On the men’s side of the mile, sophomore Elliott Cook finished seventh in his NCAA indoor debut. The Dublin, Ohio, native crossed the finish line in 4:04.27 in a race where the top seven were separated by less than a second. Cook came into the meet as the No. 11 overall qualifier with his time of 3:55.34 at the BU Valentine Invitational in early February. Having never competed indoors during her prep career, freshman Aaliyah McCormick finished in sixth place in the 60-meter hurdles. She matched her lifetime best of 8.01 in the race, a time that she’s now run four times during the 2023 indoor campaign. Like Kazimierska earlier in the afternoon, McCormick was the top-finishing freshman in the event. The final points of the weekend for the UO women came from Jorinde Van Klinken and Jaida Ross in the shot put, finishing in sixth and eighth place, respectively. Van Klinken (17.77m/58-3.75) posted her day’s best in the opening round while Ross got out to 17.56m/57-7.5 on her final attempt of the competition. With Saturday’s indoor finale, the Ducks turn their attention to the 2023 outdoor campaign which starts next weekend with the Oregon Preview (March 17-18) at Hayward Field.
OSU Indoor Track
OSU release – ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Kaylee Mitchell and Grace Fetherstonhaugh combined for three more All-America honors on Friday and Saturday at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships. Mitchell earned second-team All-American honors in both the mile and 3,000 meters while Fetherstonhaugh also made the second team in the 3,000. The duo became the first two four-time indoor All-Americans in school history and own eight of Oregon State’s 11 indoor All-American honors. Fetherstonhaugh is the Beaver to earn indoor All-America honors in three consecutive years. “I’m proud of Grace and Kaylee. We are at a point now where our expectations are very high. You have to be at your very best at this meet – it’s the greatest meet in the world and they are part of it. Unfortunately, both got a cold this week and had to battle under less than ideal circumstances. They are fit, just unfortunate timing. But they didn’t let that interrupt their approach and focus. They raced with integrity and tenacity. That’s what we want in this program. Some days you are not going to feel your best, but you always have to bet on yourself to have a great day. They never gave up and for that they are champions in my book,” head coach Louie Quintana said. Mitchell led off the weekend with the mile prelims on Friday. Her 4:42.36 effort was just .26 seconds off qualifying for the finals behind Virginia’s Margot Appleton, who finished fourth in the first heat. The time placed 12th overall. On Saturday, Fetherstonhaugh and Mitchell competed together in the 3.000 meters, placing 12th and 10th, respectively. Fetherstonhaugh had two fast splits in the race, leading all runners between 800 and 1,000 meters as well as 1,800 and 2,000 meters. UP NEXT – Outdoor season begins next week with the Beavs headed to Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. for the Oregon Preview on March 17-18.