-On the heels of a sweep against the Washington schools, Oregon men’s basketball has leapt into the top 10 for the first time this season. The Ducks are ranked No. 9 in the latest AP Poll. This is the highest ranking under head coach Dana Altman.

-For the women’s basketball team, there is finally some good news to celebrate after suffering through the loss of star forward Jillian Alleyne. Alleyne was named all-Pac-12 for the third time in her career, while guard Maite Cazorla made the all-Freshman team.

-Another award for Oregon women’s basketball was the announcement that former forward and head coach Bev Smith was named to the Pac-12 women’s basketball all-century team. Smith ranks third in Oregon history with 2,063 points, is second with 1,362 rebounds and second with 443 assists. In addition, current Duck assistant coach and former Stanford standout Nicole Powell made the team.

-Oregon baseball’s redshirt sophomore A.J. Balta is coming into this year with something to prove. After missing the entire 2015 season with a knee injury, Balta says he feels 100 percent healthy and is ready to contribute. In the first series of the season, Balta backed up his statements, hitting two home runs and a triple to help lead the Ducks to a three-game sweep.

-Oregon track and field’s Sasha Wallace has enjoyed a record-shattering indoor season. The three-time All-American junior hurdler has been breaking her own school records and winning meets all season. Now, she looks ahead to the NCAA Indoor Championships and a chance to claim individual and team titles.

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Oregon track and field’s Sasha Wallace has always loved running indoors. Her junior and senior year of high school she competed in Fresno two hours away from her home of Castro Valley, California. It was a chance to shake off the rust and get back into the swing of things — something that she still feels as a collegiate athlete.

“It’s the first season we run and it’s a good segue to go back into outdoors,” Wallace said.

So far, the transition has been a good one for the junior hurdler, as Wallace has been dominant for the Ducks.

“She is really coming into her own,” Oregon head coach Robert Johnson said. “She has always been someone who was really talented.”

Every meet this year, the three-time All-American has continued to improve, shattering records while also thrusting herself onto the national stage. At five-foot-nine, Wallace has the length to easily stride over the hurdles and uses a good burst out of the blocks at the gun to pick up early leads.

It all started at the Washington Preview, where she opened her season by running a 7.24 in the 60-meter hurdles. That debuting mark was at the time the third fastest in the NCAA.

“I’ve always had a pretty good start,” Wallace said. “I’ve gotten a lot more confident with it over the years.”

She continued to impress against some of the toughest competition of the season. At the Razorback Invitational, Wallace surpassed her own school record in the hurdles. Her time of 8.05 in the finals topped her previous record of 8.08 that she set as a freshman. It also moved her up into the second-best time in the NCAA this season.

“I like the fact that if you are able to get your mark sooner rather than later, it takes the edge off things,” Wallace said.

Not content, Wallace set two more personal bests at the Don Kirby Invitational. She started by crushing her school record in the hurdles with a time of 7.96. Then she moved to the triple jump where her first attempt gave her a mark of 42-8, topping her record from 2014.

This past weekend, Wallace snagged her third straight win in the 60 hurdles at the MPSF Championships, crossing the line in first place with a relatively slow 8.07. Her performance helped the Duck women claim the championship with a total of 108 points.

Now, all the attention turns towards the Indoor National Championships.

“I am looking forward to Nationals,” Wallace said.

Last year, she finished fifth with a time of 8.23, but as her marks have been showing this season, she has been much faster.

Wallace has a real chance to win the event and pick up key team points for the Duck women who will be battling for the trophy.

The NCAA Indoor Championships will be held March 11-12 in Birmingham, Alabama.

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For the first time this season, Oregon lacrosse couldn’t pick up the win in a back-and-forth shootout against William & Mary. The Ducks lost 15-14 at Martin Family Stadium Sunday morning.

Oregon (2-1) had a two goal lead with under five minutes to play after senior Carly O’Connell found the back of the net for a man-up goal. But the tribe responded with a three-goal flurry including a game winner by Zoe Boger with 38 seconds left on the clock.

Holly Johnson was the standout for the Ducks, besting her career-high-tying four goals against Michigan with five. Cambi Cukar also shined through her distribution, dishing off five assists. Cukar now averages four per game, which is third in the country.

The first half featured multiple runs by both teams. William & Mary collected the opening goal, but Bella Pyne helped spur Oregon with a free position goal to tie it 1-1. The Ducks rattled off three more and held the Tribe to a seven and a half minute scoreless drought.

William & Mary recovered, outscoring the Ducks 4-2 over the final 13 minutes to go into the break tied 7-7.

Pyne spread her stats across the board, picking up two goals, two ground balls, one draw control and three forced turnovers. Senior Ali Scharkey was the anchor on defense, though they couldn’t find the stops late in the game.

Up next for Oregon is the first home game of the season, as they will return to defend Papé Field against LIU Brooklyn this Saturday. The game is scheduled to begin at noon.

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Oregon women’s track and field had plenty of reason to celebrate Saturday after winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championship.

“Overall it was a success,” Duck head coach Robert Johnson said in a release. “Like most championship meets, you have the good and the bad. We had some specific agendas going into the meet, in terms of what we wanted to get done, and we were able to achieve most of those this weekend.”

The women won with 108 points, ahead of Stanford (73.75) and USC (59). The men took fourth with 72 points.

The meet served as the last tune up before the NCAA Indoor Championships and a chance for Duck athletes to pick up qualifying marks.

Brittany Mann threw a season-best of 56-0.50 in the shot put on her first attempt to win the event.

Mitch Modin was able to finish with a personal best of 5713 points in the heptathlon — fourth best in Oregon school history and enough to put him in position to qualify. The junior put it all on the line in the 1000, collapsing at the finish line in 2:45.72.

“It was great for Mitch to gut it out in the 1,000,” Johnson said. “Not enough can be said about his teammates there – Joe Delgado and Blake Kemp who helped him along. I’m proud of all three of our heptathlon guys and very excited for Mitch.”

This is the first time Modin will be going to the NCAA Indoor Championships after he failed to make it last season by three points.

Devon Allen set a personal record in the 60 hurdles by crossing the line in 7.60. In the process he broke Johnathan Cabral’s school record, the MPSF meet record, Ashton Eaton’s Dempsey Indoor record and made him the NCAA co-leader.

The Oregon women picked up wins across the board. Sasha Wallace and Alaysha Johnson finished first and second in the 60 hurdles, with Wallace finishing in 8.07.

Ashley Maton (4:38.32) and Lilli Burdon (4:39.42) also finished first and second in the mile.

The Ducks scored big in the women’s 60, led by sophomore Hannah Cunliffe who won in a time of 7.21. Jasmine Todd took third, Ariana Washington fifth and Deajah Stevens seventh.

Click here for a complete list of results.

An official announcement will be made on Tuesday, March 1, on the final NCAA Championship field.

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For Oregon track and field the focus at the 2016 MPSF Championships is to use the meet as a last chance to qualify athletes for the NCAAs. Thus many of the usual Duck competitors who have already punched their tickets were sitting out. Despite that, Oregon was able to get off to a hot start on day one at the Dempsey Indoor in Seattle Friday night.

The Duck women have 32 points and are in first place with six events scored, while the men have 23 points and are in third place with five events scored.

BYU (33 points) leads the men’s competition while California (25) is second. Arizona State (23) and USC (23) trail the Duck women.

The most impressive showing for Oregon was in the women’s 200. Freshman Deajah Stevens led the way by finishing in 23.14 for first place. That time beat the MPSF meet record of 23.40 set in 2002 by Brianna Glenn as well as the Dempsey Indoor record. Teammates Hannah Cunliffe took second (23.24) and Ariana Washington placed fourth (23.43).

The men’s distance medley relay was able to win the event despite running without star junior Edward Cheserek. Blake Haney, Ben Thiel, Grant Grosvenor and Sam Prakel finished in 9:29.89, beating out second place California and third place BYU.

The men are four events into the heptathlon. Junior Mitch Modin finished the day as the high-scoring Duck with 3225 points — second place. Teammates Joe Delgado and Blake Kemp are in 11th and 12th respectively.

Oregon junior Brittany Mann took second in the women’s weight throw after her third toss of the event went for 64-08.00. Maggie Ewen, an Arizona State sophomore, won the event with a throw of 66-07.75.

In the men’s weight throw Oregon senior Greg Skipper was able to win. His best throw was his first of the night, which went 72-06.50.

Duck sophomore Travonn White placed sixth in the men’s long jump with a mark of 23-08.75.

Oregon’s Maggie Schmaedick finished just outside of scoring position at ninth in the women’s 5000 after crossing the line in 16:43.87.

Click here for a complete list of results.

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Oregon women’s lacrosse is coming off a strong opening weekend to the 2016 season. The Ducks picked up wins on the road against Michigan and Detroit.

Last season, Oregon finished 10-8. The team returns 21 players, including Carly O’Connell, Cambi Cukar, Ali Scharkey and Jenna Morris.

O’Connell finished her junior campaign with a team-high 48 points (33 goals, 15 assists) and will look to build on that success in her final year.

Oregon head coach Jen Beck, entering her 12th year at the helm, took the time to talk about the team’s start, the players who have stood out and what the goal is for the season.

It was a good start. What happened in those two games?

I’d say a lot of resilience and confidence against Michigan. They played as a team, which I thought was an absolute strength of ours in the course of the 60 minutes … being able to make adjustments, communicating through timeouts and halftime, I was really impressed in those scenarios with this team.

Does being able to play as a team have to do with so many returnees?

I think it has a lot to do with the senior leadership. They’re determined — taking responsibility and holding themselves accountable.

One of those leaders is Carly O’Connell. What has she been able to do so far, and what do you expect?

She is just a baller. She wants to play lacrosse all the time; she wants everyone to play lacrosse all the time. She is excited to play other people and wants the team to play a really high, excellent pace. She is one of those leaders people are behind, and I am just trying to guide and direct us towards playing in May.

How have the new freshman been able to fit in?

Well, Shannon Williams is starting and she has done a tremendous job. You just can’t tell she is a freshman on the field with her confidence. I’ve been impressed by what she is bringing. We are getting more time from other freshman as well. I’ve been impressed by that class as a whole.

Can Williams step up and be a player like O’Connell has for this program?

Carly has recognized that she can mold someone and really connect well with her. I think Shannon will blaze her own path, two totally different types of players, but working really well together.

How has the defense looked?

We have a couple of strategic defenses that we are playing, just trying to get confident. We have a very veteran defense with Allison Scharkey, Jackie Moccia, Jenna Morris and Katie Marlatt. Having that leadership and accountability, when they make errors they really want to fix them and get better.

What are the goals for this team?

Playing in May. We are scheduled through April, but our conference tournament then takes us into May, so the goal is always to win the MPSF Championship — to go on and use our automatic bid or qualify for NCAAs on our own.

It would be special for these seniors to be able to do that in their final year.

Yeah, they are really driven to do that. They have gotten tastes, but never able to fully grasp it. Our conference is phenomenal and competitive, so we just have to stay on task.

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Oregon commit Andrew Hunter was named the 2015-16 Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year in a surprise ceremony held at his high school Wednesday morning.

Hunter was taken to the assistant principal’s office, and then told he had an interview in the weight room. When the Louden Valley High School senior arrived, he was surprised by a room full of 50 cheering people.

“I thought I was going to win the award, but I didn’t know when or what they were going to surprise me,” Hunter said.

2004 U.S. Olympian and American Mile record holder Alan Webb handed him the award.

“It was a meaningful and poetic moment,” Webb said. “To give Drew something physical to hold onto and a way for me to hand off the responsibility of being a great runner.”

“He is the person I look up to,” Hunter said, “so it was special to have him give me the award.”

The Gatorade Company established the award in 1985 to honor the country’s top high school athletes. Since the recipients have included athletes like Peyton Manning, Maya Moore, Kerri Walsh and Andrew Wiggins.

Hunter fits in nicely with the group, as his own list of accolades is impressive. The returning Virginia Runner of the Year claimed the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships national title this season with a time of 14:55.7 — finishing 12 second ahead of the closest competition. He won the Group 4A state title while leading his team to the state championship. Hunter also made it through 2015 undefeated while setting a course record at the South Regional championships.

“I see the competitive spark inside him,” Webb said. “He has a lot of maturity, sees some of the mistakes that others make and does a good job of not making them.”

In addition to his athletic accomplishments, Hunter has been able to maintain a 4.01 GPA and volunteer as a youth basketball coach and as a mentor at his church.

Hunter is excited to join Oregon next year, looking forward to running with new training partners and being a part of a strong cross country team.

“I like coach Andy Powell and I think Eugene is the best place for me to chase my goals,” Hunter said.

Hunter is the second 2016 recruit to win Gatorade Player of the Year, following in the footsteps of fellow commit Katie Rainsberger, who won the girl’s award back in January.

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On Jan. 20, a year and a half after he last ran on a track, Oregon dual-sport athlete Devon Allen competed at the Razorback Invitational.

“I was really nervous,” admitted Allen, who missed the entire 2015 track season after tearing his ACL playing football in the 2015 Rose Bowl.

Running in the 60-meter hurdles Allen took second place against a loaded field, crossing with a personal record of 7.74. That time is third fastest in school history.

Two weeks later, Allen was back at it, this time running in New Mexico at the Don Kirby Invitational. He again took second in the 60-meter hurdles (7.80).

So far it’s been a strong return to action.

“He has a mark now that is going to get him into that top 16,” Oregon head coach Robert Johnson said. “It’s just a matter of continuing to clean up and sharpen come middle of March.”

Allen hasn’t been alone during his recovery. A support system has emerged from his fellow dual-sport athletes. The other football players — Tony Brooks-James, Kirk Merritt and Charles Nelson — have been there for him throughout the entire process.

“Charles had the same injury in high school and Tony dealt with injuries throughout the football season,” Allen said. “It’s just nice to have those guys.”

All four like to push each other in meets and during practice.

“It’s cool to have competition with some guys that I’m used to being around all year,” Allen said. “Kirk is definitely a fast guy.

The other football players have also turned to Allen for advice on how to balance the workload between football, track and school. Right now, the only football training they miss is heavy lifting. The scheduling doesn’t work because the weight room sessions happen on Fridays when the track team travels.

“I know Kirk is a little upset about it because he is a big guy out there, so he is trying to keep his form,” Allen said. “But I think it will work out in the end.”

They are still able to join in on the player held seven-on-seven scrimmages. The football obligations are still relatively low. In the spring, when things pick up, Allen’s advice on balance will become more important.

Right now, Allen is still trying to shake off the rust. He is working on his flexibility and his starting speed out of the blocks. Every week his form has been better, and his ultimate goal is to be competing in the Olympics in August.

“That’s the goal,” Allen said. “Of course I want to win the NCAA indoor and outdoor and run fast, but my goal is to make that team.”

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Oregon lacrosse closed its season-opening road trip with a second win Sunday morning by topping Detroit 17-13.

Cambi Cukar was the standout for the Ducks, as the sophomore tied a career-high with six assists. She assisted on four of the Ducks’ first-half goals.

Oregon (2-0) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first 20 minutes of the game. Bella Pyne found the back of the net first, much like in the win against Michigan, on a free position strike. Scores from freshman Shannon Williams (twice), junior Rachel Steinberg and sophomores Mariah Gatti (twice) and Evan Murphy followed.

Detroit (0-2) finally broke through with a goal from Kylie Birney. The Titans went on to end the half with three straight goals to cut it to 9-4 at the half.

Oregon was able to outshoot Detroit 39-22 and was plus six in draw controls. Pyne tied a career best with four goals, while Gatti topped her previous high with four as well. Steinberg finished with three goals and Williams added one assist to her two scores.

Oregon goalie Jenna Morris saved four Titan attempts in over 55 minutes in front of the net.

Out of the locker room Detroit was able to trim the Duck lead to 9-8 by scoring four unanswered. Oregon pulled out ahead until the Titans were again able to cut it to a single point (10-9) with 23:21 left to play.

That was the closest they got as the Ducks went on a run of six unanswered to close the game.

Next on the schedule for Oregon is a road trip out to Williamsburg, Virginia where they will face William & Mary on Sunday.

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With all the attention on senior night, Oregon women’s basketball was able bolster its NCAA Tournament resume by defeating USC 69-60 Sunday afternoon in Matthew Knight Arena.

“We need to win games down the stretch, it had the feel of a postseason game,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said.

After controlling the proceedings for most of the night, the Ducks (20-7, 9-7 Pac-12) found themselves with their backs up against the wall in the closing minutes. The Trojans (18-10, 6-10) cut the lead to just a single possession with under two minutes left to play, making it 60-58 Oregon.

The home team rallied with a Jillian Alleyne layup and a missed three on the other end to close the game with a win.

“This is the first time since I’ve been here that we got 20 wins,” Allyene said. “Its amazing, I’m at a loss for words.”

It was a slow start for Oregon out of the pregame festivities as the team looked flustered, struggling to move the ball in a stagnant offense. They over-dribbled and were sluggish closing out shooters. As a result the Trojans were able to close the first with a 16-9 lead.

The second quarter is when Oregon finally found its footing. Alleyne scored an easy basket at the rim to open things up and a Lexi Petersen three tied the game 18-18 at the 7:49 mark. The defense tightened up and the Ducks outscored USC 23-10 in the second.

“Our defense just kind of spurred us,” Graves said.

At halftime Oregon led 32-26.

The star of the game for the Ducks was freshman Maite Cazorla. The Spaniard controlled things running the point, finding open teammates and slowing the pace to allow plays to develop. Most impressively was her ability to dial her own number and penetrate through the Trojan defense for easy layups at the rim.

“Coach told me to be aggressive and they couldn’t stop me,” Cazorla said.

She finished with a game-high 26 points, which is a new career high.

“Maite is great, she has become one of my best friends,” Alleyne said. “I wish her the best and I’m sad I wont get to play with her the next three years.”

For her part Alleyne also dominated. She posted a double-double with 23 points and 18 rebounds, including several crucial plays down the stretch.

“She had another Jillian Alleyne night,” Graves said. “I hope the fans appreciate the last four years what they’ve seen with her, its incredible what she does night in and night out.”

In the second half the game became more physical as the Duck and Trojan posts battled. Bodies crashed to the floor as both teams attacked the paint and fought over rebounds. USC’s Kristen Simon did a good job using her size to fill the void down low and force Alleyne to fight for her looks.

On the other side Liz Brenner was strong off the bench. She scored five points and pulled down two rebounds. Brenner did well boxing out and setting screens for her teammates.

“We needed her, she played a great game,” Graves said. “I thought defensively she was terrific tonight and just gave us a lift.”

At the end of the third Oregon looked to be in control of the game with a 52-37 lead, and was able to survive the late Trojan push to win the game.

The Ducks finished shooting 53.2 percent from the field and scored 42 points in the paint. They also were able to hold USC to just 37.7 percent from the field.

Oregon will finish the regular season with two games next weekend. The first is against California on Friday, February 26 and the second is against Stanford that Sunday.

Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur