It was a good day for the Oregon Ducks in the 800-meter events. Minutes after Laura Roesler finished second in the women’s 800, senior Elijah Greer took first  in front of a raucous Hayward field. Greer’s time of 1:46:58 put him just paces ahead of the second place finisher.

Greer was in second place after the first lap, but in the final 200 meters he jetted out to a lead and kept adding space from the field until the race was done.

“About 300 meters into it I was like ‘wow, is this it, is this the championship,’” Greer said. “I felt pretty strong and comfortable.”

Earlier in the year, Greer won the 800 at the indoor nationals.

“It’s certainly a delight,” said Greer. “I came to Oregon with big expectations. To look back at four years ago and to say I could accomplish those things and do that, it’s a joy and there’s a lot of pride.”

Greer was in second for most of the race, behind Leoman Momoh. With about 300 meters left, Greer made his move.

“I felt someone trying to pass me so I knew my spot wasn’t safe,” said Greer. “I threw a little bit of surge and kind of excelled. At that point I started to pass Momoh from Arkansas. Once I knew I was passing him, I had to commit to it.”

Earlier in the year Greer raced against Penn State’s Casimir Loxsom. He said Loxsom was on his heels and he knew going into Friday that he would be his stiffest competition. The Nittany Lion didn’t disappoint.

“When I raced him at Penn, I was reminded of how strong he ran,” said Greer. “I felt him touch the back of my shoes at about 250 [meters], so I knew he was there. With 100 meters to go, I looked at the jumbo tron and I saw him right on my tail. That made me work my hardest and give it my all.”