The Oregon men’s distance squad flexed its muscles on Friday during the first day of the University of Washington Invitational, as the distance medley relay teams churned out two separate sub-9:32 performances.
The “white” team of Mac Fleet, Jack Galpin, Boru Guyota and Edward Cheserek posted the second-fastest NCAA time this season, winning the relay event in 9:28.91. Stopping the clock shortly after was the “yellow” team of Brett Johnson, Arthur Delaney, Russell Hornsby and Trevor Dunbar, whose time of 9:31.64 is the fourth-fastest in the country.
The two teams ran in close proximity for the majority of the race, with Cheserek receiving the baton with a slight edge over Dunbar heading into the mile-long anchor leg. Dunbar passed Cheserek a little over halfway through the race, but the freshman phenom kicked past Dunbar to finish with a three-second edge.
The race showcased the depth that Oregon features on its distance and middle-distance squads. Cheserek was impressive in his collegiate track and field debut, and Dunbar was equally as poised in his first race running for the Ducks in over a year. Both runners were in good spirits after the race.
“Ed got out, I tried to match and once I felt the pace, I tried to go,” Dunbar told Flotrack during post-race interviews. “It was age before beauty for a little bit but then the future of American distance running here took the reins. It was a good battle. It was fun.”
Also picking up a win for the Ducks on the first day was Jillian Weir, who threw a season-best 64-8 (19.78m) to win the women’s weight throw.
After leading through four events of the heptathalon at the end of day one, Dakotah Keys secured the third Oregon win of the weekend on Saturday.
The redshirt junior led the field in the 60 meter dash and shot put, while finishing runner-up in the long jump and high jump. On day two, he captured top marks in the 60 meter hurdles and pole vault before running 2:44.79 in the 1,000 meter run. Keys set personal bests in four of the seven events and finished with 5,730 points, which is the third-best score in the country this season.
The entire Oregon heptathalon squad had an impressive showing, as Mitch Modin, Alec Fellows and Blake Kemp followed Keys by finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
“Dakotah had a solid weekend, getting the win and nearly setting a PR,” head coach Robert Johnson told GoDucks.com. “Coach Cook did a great job preparing him and the rest of the group for the competition. Whenever you finish with four guys in the top five you have to be pleased.”
The Ducks will take a week off from competition before sending runners to the Don Kirby Elite and the Husky Classic on Feb. 14-15.
Follow Chris Mosch on Twitter @chris_mosch