TRACK AND FIELD MEET UNDER NEW LIGHTS AT HAYWARD

SPORTS DUCKS SHINE UNDER NEW LIGHTS AT HAYWARD FIELD

Oregon athletes take pride in podiums as they enjoy the return of fans to the renovated stadium.

Hayward Field reopened its newly fashioned iron gates to fans as Oregon hosted one of its first outdoor meets of the season on Friday.

The $270 million renovations to the historic venue, including a 10 story tower and a museum, were built in preparation for the 2022 World Athletics Championships, which will take place in Eugene in July.

“This is a year that's going to showcase the state of Oregon, the University of Oregon and Hayward Field like no other,” Oregon head coach Robert Johnson said.

Kohana Natako had a strong outing, placing second in the javelin on a 47.65 meter throw.

“I was mainly focusing on just piecing the stuff I’ve been working on together,” Natako said.

Dominique Rotulo and heptathlete Colleen Uzoekwe went first and second in the women's long jump as Rotulo won the event, soaring 5.85 meters to

BY ERIC BERNIKER

Uzoekwe’s 5.84.

“It built my confidence,” Uzoewkwe said. “If I just keep pushing and doing the events and doing what I’ve been practicing, I’ll be good.”

Freshman and Oregon native Harrison Canfield took third in his home debut, clearing 4.85 meters.

Jonah Tacay set a meet record in the long jump at 7.21 meters, only to take second after being outdone by Jason Smith from Long Beach State with his 7.69 mark.

Matthew Erickson heated up the track for the Ducks. Taking first place in the men's 1500 at a blistering 3:48.58 before freshman EJ Holland enjoyed his home opener, taking first place in the men's 5000 meter race and crossing the finish line in 14:27.05.

“The atmosphere and charm of old Hayward is still here,” Holland said. “Going down the back straight, even with a few hundred people you can hear it.”

Luis Peralta and Aaron Bienenfield took second and third in the men’s 1500 invite, coming in at 3:46.97 and 3:48.36 respectively.

Malia Pivec held a wire-to-wire lead in the women’s 3000 steeplechase, taking first with a time of 10.19.06. Daina Holmburg took second in the women's 1500, coming in at 4:26.42.

To close out a dominant evening, Izzy Thornton Bolt cruised to a 4:16.56 second place finish in the invite women's 1500 behind non-collegiate winner Jenifer Randall.

“We're in these races to win them,” Thornton Bolt said. “Didn’t quite pull that off but the field was quality so anything can happen.”

Day two of the Hayward Premiere continues April 2 as many Ducks will make their home debuts in front of fans.

Runners compete in a distance race at Hayward Field. The University of Oregon hosted the first track and field meet of the season at Hayward Field on April 1, 2022. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

OREGON TRACK AND FIELD ENDS ITS FIRST HOME MEET WITH 7 FIRST PLACE FINISHES

BY GABRIEL MARVIN

The Oregon Ducks track and field team showed out on Saturday in their first meet at the newly renovated Hayward Field, taking home seven first place finishes.

The Oregon mens’ 4x100 meter relay team took first place in their home debut with a strong 39.53 performance.

Sophomore Micah Williams ran the second leg of the relay for the second meet in a row after leading all of last season. The 4x100 was his only event of the day after competing in the three at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego.

“We're loaded,” Williams said. “We're ready. Our team is good and talented. So we'll be ready when it matters.”

For the second meet in a row, the Ducks snagged first and second place in the women’s 4x100. Redshirt freshman Jadyn Mays celebrated her 20th birthday with the win and ran an impressive lead-off leg to give Iman Brown some breathing room.

In the women’s discus throw, redshirt Freshman Jaida Ross broke the meet record in her first place throw that traveled 52.74 meters. Freshman Mine de Clerk finished in second with a throw of 50.81 meters.

The pair took first and second in the shot put later on Saturday. This time de Clerk finished atop the field followed by Ross. De Clerk threw for 17.19 meters and Ross threw a personal best of 17.13 meters. This was the first throw of Ross’s career that went over 17 meters.

“It was a big throw. Very happy that I broke 17,” Ross said. “It got kind of close at the last meet so I'm very happy that I got it this time.”

Shaniya Hall, Ella Clayton and Jasmine Montgonery finished in that order and swept the women’s 200 meter podium. Hall took down the meet record when she crossed the finish line in 23.63 seconds.

Hall, who wasn’t able to compete last year due foot injuries noted how hard it was for her last year.

“Last year, I literally thought I was done,” Hall said. “I was ready to give up, but I knew I still had a long way to go.”

Montgomery got her second win of the day when she crossed the line in 11.52 seconds in the women’s 100 meter dash.

Izzy Thornton-Bot ran in the 800 meters, though she said post-race that she’ll primarily focus on the 1500 meters this season. Nonetheless, Thornton-Bot finished in first with a time of 2:04.98. She finished a hair ahead of Portland’s Laura Pellicoro, who made up vital ground in the final 50 meters.

“I did feel her coming up, and I knew that I really had to get a wriggle on. But, I finished with everything I had, and I would have done that regardless of if she was there or not,” Thornton-Bot said.

The Ducks look to continue their speedy start to the 2022 outdoor season on April 13, at the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, California.