— Sabrina Ionescu was named the Pac-12 freshman of the year on Tuesday. She is the first Duck since Shaquala Williams in 1998-99 to earn freshman of the year honors from the coaches vote. Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard were also named to the all-league and all-freshman teams. Lexi Bando earned honorable mention all-Pac-12.

— After losing 65-59 to No. 8-ranked Stanford on Sunday, the women’s basketball team is now on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament. The Register Guard’s Ryan Thorburn has the story.

— As the men’s tennis team took down Drake on Sunday, Thomas Laurent won his 15th consecutive match, tying the all-time Oregon record.

— While the rest of the men’s track and field team took home the MPSF Championships title for the 11th consecutive time, Edward Cheserek traveled to Boston to compete at the University of Boston Last Chance Meet, where he broke the two-year-old collegiate indoor mile record.

— Cheseresk was then named USTFCCCA athlete of the week on Tuesday.

— Men’s basketball stayed at No. 6 in the AP Top 25 rankings.

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Instead of traveling to Seattle for the MPSF Championships with the rest of the Oregon track and field team, senior Edward Cheserek headed to Boston to compete in the Boston University Last Chance meet, where he added another record to his impressive resume.

Cheserek completed the mile in 3 minutes, 52.01 seconds to take the two-year-old collegiate indoor record from Arizona’s Lawi Lalang.

He now holds the top times in the both 5,000-meter (13:32.59) and the mile, while holding the second-best time in the 3,000 (7:46.85).

Since he is qualified in all three events, he and the Oregon coaches will have to decided which races he will run in the NCAA Indoor Championships, coming up on Mar. 10-11.

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For the 11th straight year, the Oregon men have won the MPSF Championships, finishing with 89 points. Even though the women racked up more individual event wins, they placed second to USC with 105 points in the team competition.

The Ducks totaled seven event wins with many athletes jumping in NCAA rankings in an attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships on March 10-11. Since the performance list hasn’t been updated after the weekend’s meets, any improvements in rankings may not hold up.

Marcus Chambers was one such athlete who moved into qualifying position. He won the men’s 400-meter MPSF title with a personal record of 46.40 seconds and is currently ranked 14th.

To follow up his win in the 200-meter on Friday, Kyree King finished as the runner-up in the 60-meter.

Mitch Modin also had a successful weekend in the heptathlon, racking up three personal records to secure the win with a personal best total of 5,747 points. Before the meet, Modin was ranked 39th in the NCAA, but with the new season best, he could jump to 11th. Joe Delgado also achieved his personal record of 5,408 points and placed fifth.

For the women, both sprinters and distance runners found success.

After taking the meet record in the women’s 60-meter from former Duck Jenna Prandini during the prelims on Friday, Hannah Cunliffe finished the finals in 7.15 seconds to win the MPSF title. She also took the Dempsey facility record from another former Duck Jasmine Todd.

Previously ranked 15th in the NCAA and on the cusp of qualifying for the indoor championships, Ariana Washington topped her season best time by .03 seconds, good enough for second place and jumping her to 8th in the NCAA. Her time of 7.25 was also a personal record.

Sasha Wallace won the women’s 60-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 7.95 for a new meet record. Oregon sophomore Alaysha Johnson finished in 8.24 to place fourth, though after clocking a time of 8.03 at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, she was ranked a comfortable sixth prior to this weekend.

After winning the mile with a personal best time of 4 minutes and 35.60 seconds, Katie Rainsberger likely punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships. Her time ranks 14th in the NCAA. Three other Ducks rounded out the top 10, including Lilli Burdon (4th), Samantha Nadel (6th) and Jessica Hull (8th).

Alli Cash won the 3,000-meter MPSF title, finishing in 9 minutes and 9.18 seconds.

The men didn’t fare quite as well in their event. Matthew Maton was the top finisher in third with a time of 7:52.51, a personal record.

On Friday, Maggie Schmaedick placed second in the 5,000-meter with a personal record of 15 minutes and 52.28 seconds, besting her previous record by 18 seconds. Her time was good enough for 8th in the NCAA, putting her in a qualifying position for the championships, and for 5th in school indoor history.

Oregon now has two weeks to prepare for NCAA Indoor Championships. The Ducks will seek to defend last year’s title.

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With one last meet remaining for the Ducks to solidify their qualifying times before the NCAA Indoor Championships, Oregon heads back up to Seattle for the MPSF Championships on Friday and Saturday.

In hopes of sending the largest team possible to the championships, hosted at Texas A&M on March 10-11, Oregon’s goal this weekend is for athletes currently on the cusp of qualifying for the championships to boost their marks.

Only the top 16 athletes in the nation will be accepted into each individual event. Even though many Ducks have strong qualifying marks, anything can happen during conference championships. In addition, the top 12 relay teams will be accepted.

The women’s 60-meter will be highly-anticipated as usual with Hannah Cunliffe, Deajah Stevens and Makenzie Dunmore coming off a sweep in the event at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational. However, all eyes will be on Ariana Washington, who finds herself one spot away from a qualifying mark.

On the men’s side, Kyree King will attempt to build on his No. 7 ranking, while Damarcus Simpson, currently ranked 24th, will try to sneak his way into the championships. King will also compete in the 200-meter.

“I’m trying to sneak in for the 60 and get us more points on the big stage,” said Simpson, who has already secured his spot in the long jump with the third-best ranking. “We’re all trying to get a big team at nationals, so that’s the big goal.”

Three Ducks will compete in the women’s 400, including Ashante Horsley, Hannah Waller, and Elexis Guster. Guster is looking to improve her No. 13 ranking.

Marcus Chambers is another athlete on the cusp of a top qualifying mark, ranked No. 21st in the men’s 400-meter.

After taking a weekend hiatus during the meet two weeks ago, Raevyn Rogers is back running the 800-meter with Brooke Feldmeier. Currently ranked 23rd, Feldmeier must hope for a quick time to improve her season best of 2 minutes, 5.49 seconds.

The majority of the women’s cross country team will be racing in the mile. After taking over the NCAA-leading mark in the 3,000-meter two weeks ago, freshman Katie Rainsberger will lead a pack of seven Ducks, including Lilli Burdon, who finds herself on the border of qualifying with a No. 21-ranking.

The men will also be well-represented in the mile with Tim Gorman leading three other Ducks. After breaking 4 minutes in the event at the Husky Classic, Gorman moved himself to the final qualifying spot.

Matthew Maton also ran a sub-four minute mile in the Husky Classic. But for MPSF, he will be running in the 3,000-meter alongside Gorman and redshirt freshman Tanner Anderson.

Alli Cash and Maggie Schmaedick will represent Oregon in the women’s 3,000. Schmaedick will also double in the 5,000.

“Personally, I think MPSF is a good opportunity to put yourself in the championship mindset,” Cash said. “I  have a good mark so far in the 3k, but I’m really looking to go out there and just get a good competitive opportunity.”

In the jumps, Chaquinn Cook will look to improve her No. 27- ranking in the triple jump. Ranked at No. 26, Ben Milligan is in a similar situation in the high jump, while Cole Walsh, ranked 15th, barely clings on to his qualifying spot.

Three Oregon throwers, Sebastian Barajas, Ryan Hunter-Simms and T.J. Brassil will participate in the shot put, while Cullen Prena competes in the weight throw. On the women’s side, Ronna Stone will double in the shot put and weight throw, joining Madeline Middlebrooks for the latter.

Both Mitch Modin and Joe Delgado will participate in the heptathlon.

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Hannah Cunliffe has been dominating indoor track and field this season.

Less than two weeks ago, she won her third 60-meter win of the season and set a new collegiate record at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational. But her toughest competition comes from the two athletes she faces every day: her teammates.

2016 Olympians Deajah Stevens and Ariana Washington are always close behind Cunliffe. The three have already swept the Columbia East-West Challenge, with Cunliffe coming out on top. It was reminiscent of the last time they swept the podium at last year’s outdoor Pac-12 Championships.

In track and field, individual success is as, if not more, important than team-wide success. Athletes constantly strive for faster times, which in turns forces their teammates to try and keep up. Particularly during practice, Cunliffe makes it a point to “outwork” her teammates.

“They’re the best of the best,” Cunliffe said. “You’ve just got to come in every day with a positive attitude. Doesn’t matter how hard the workout is.”

This is particularly beneficial to Washington, who believes that without training partners, she wouldn’t work as hard as she does.

“Part of the reason I came here is because I was going to have training partners like Jenna [Prandini] and Jasmine [Todd],” Washington said. “I didn’t want to go anywhere where I felt like I was going to be by myself.”

Cunliffe, Washington and Stevens have made it a goal to not only win the NCAA 4×100 title but sweep the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter and possibly the 200. Last year, Oregon’s women were expecting to win the 4×100 after commanding in the sprints the entire season. But a hamstring injury to Cunliffe and academic issues with Jasmine Todd forced Oregon to run two alternates, resulting in a third-place finish. Washington and Stevens went 1-2 in the 200-meter, but Cunliffe’s injury prevented the sweep.

No one can attest to the need for talented teammates more than senior Sasha Wallace. As a hurdler, Wallace spent her first two seasons with the Ducks training on her own. Even though she found success throughout those years by breaking the school record in the 60-meter hurdles, Wallace’s best times and finishes have come after the arrival of Alaysha Johnson.

After redshirting her freshman year, Johnson took the school record from Wallace by running 12.97 seconds at the NCAA West Preliminary. Soon after, Wallace took it back by finishing the semi-finals of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 12.95.

“With Lay [Alaysha Johnson], I tell her that I don’t allow her to beat me, and she shouldn’t allow me to beat her,” Wallace said. “I think that’s really something that helps and motivates us to be as good as we are right now.”

Oregon had added another hurdler to the women’s roster this season, giving Johnson a teammate after Wallace departs later this year. Freshman Rhesa Foster has found early success, placing third behind her teammates to sweep the 60-meter hurdles at the Columbia East-West Challenge.

“It’s hard to do anything alone,” Wallace said. “The fact that we have each other is what really pushes us to be the best that we can be.”

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Marcus Chambers’ 2016 season began and ended in disappointment.

After failing to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, Chambers managed to defend his Pac-12 title in the 400 meter dash, but dropped to fourth place at the NCAA outdoor championships.

The performance was a step back from his second place finish in 2015 and left him wondering what could have been.

“Coming off of last year — seeing how I was injured and then I had struggles all indoor season and all fall, and then I still was able to take fourth outdoor — it made me really realize if I had a whole, successful year this year with no injuries, what could I do?” Chambers said. “I feel like I could do something great this year.”

With this in mind and entering his final season as a Duck, Chambers is working to avoid the same disappointment he experienced last season, and is starting by attacking the indoor season with hopes that it will lead to success during his outdoor campaign.

Oregon’s Marcus Chambers focuses before the start of the 400 meters. The NCAA Track & Field National Championship is held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on June 10, 2016. (Kaylee Domzalski/Emerald)

Though the Ducks don’t begin championship competition until Feb. 24, Chambers is on track the best indoor season of his career. He is currently ranked 11th nationally in the 200 and 20th in the 400.

“This is his last indoor season,” head coach Robert Johnson. “You can definitely see the maturity there having been through this for three years and knowing what it takes to qualify and get to these meets.”

Earlier this winter, Chambers broke Oregon’s school record in the indoor 200 meter, which was previously held by Mike Berry, a former Duck whom Chambers cited as his mentor his freshman year.

While at Oregon, Berry and Chambers each ran legs of the 4×100 relay that placed second in the Pac-12 Championships in 2014, the year Berry graduated. Every day, the two trained together with Berry acting as a coach to Chambers.

Not only were Chambers’ own skills nurtured through their relationship, but Berry’s own times improved.

“It was nice to have someone there to push me,” said Berry.

Berry also had a hand in recruiting Chambers to Oregon in the first place. The two grew up in the same area of Tacoma, Washington, with the same high school coach.

“I knew coming in he had a lot of talent and just wanted him to be a part of the Ducks,” said Berry. “If anyone was to break my record, I would definitely want it to be Marcus.”

Mike Berry runs the anchor leg of 4 by 400 meter relay at the Pepsi Invitational April 11, 2011. (Rachelle Hacmac/Oregon Daily Emerald)

After the race, Chambers told reporters that it was nice to hit a personal record; his sophomore year was the last time he achieved a lifetime best for indoors.

“I’m just trying use what I did today as momentum going forward,” he said.

He also said the record showed him that his fall training had gone well, but this was not the first time he referenced his fall training as a factor of his success.

After admitting that he has never had a great indoor season in a media session prior to the UW Indoor Preview, Chambers told reporters that this fall was the best fall he had ever had.

In the past, he had been nursing injuries during the fall, making his training less productive than it could have been had he been healthy. This year, however, in order to take advantage of his good health, Chambers made the decision to train with a friend in the warm climate of Arizona as opposed to staying in Washington.

“I’ve never really gotten good training back home,” Chambers said. “When you train in the cold, it’s just not going to be as effective.”

With more effective training than he had before, Chambers is in better shape than he was last year. Because of that, Chambers’ indoor season has been filled with individual event wins, and with indoors acting as a precursor to outdoors, it may guide him to that elusive NCAA title.

“I’m just trying to keep momentum going meet-by-meet, take everything as a stepping stone, and then we’ll see what happens at the end of the year,” Chambers said.

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Oregon’s track team was at its best this weekend at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational at the Albuquerque Convention Center, tallying six event wins while more than half of the 20 sprinters and runners hit personal records.

For the second meet in a row, the women sprinters swept the 60-meter with all three marking personal records. Hannah Cunliffe came out on top, crossing the line in 7.07 seconds to take over the world and NCAA lead. The time was also a new all-conditions collegiate and Oregon school record.

Deajah Stevens and Makenzie Dunmore followed Cunliffe across the line with times of 7.21 and 7.25 seconds, respectively and the day was not over for the two. Both Stevens and Dunmore ran a leg of the 4×400 relay, along with Raevyn Rogers and Elexis Guster. The team won the race, crossing the line in 3 minutes, 29.85 seconds.

Sasha Wallace continued her dominance of the women’s 60-meter hurdles, winning the event in 7.996 seconds after beating out Utep Sophomore Tobi Amusan by .001 of a second. Third-place finisher Alaysha Johnson achieved her second personal best in as many days, crossing the line in 8.01.

Johnson’s first personal record came Friday when she and three other Ducks achieved lifetime bests in the women’s 200-meter. Both Hannah Cunliffe and Ariana Washington broke 23 seconds to go 1-2 in the event with times of 22.60 and 22.80 seconds, respectively; Cunliffe’s time also broke the facility record at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Johnson placed fourth, finishing in 23.57, while Ashante Horsley ran the race in 24.06 to place sixth.

Freshman Braxton Canady also found success in the men’s 60-meter hurdle, winning the event with a personal-best time of 7.72 seconds.

Marcus Chambers also came out with a win in the 400-meter, marking a time of 46.45. As for the women’s 400, Guster finished as the runner-up in 52.85. Horsley and freshman Hannah Waller finished in fourth and fifth, respectively, both with personal records. Horsley finished in 53.744, narrowly missing out for third by .002 of a second, while Waller finished in 53.85.

After placing third in the long jump on Friday, Damarcus Simpson finished the 60-meter in second with an indoor personal-record time of 6.66 seconds. He was not the only Oregon jumper to finish as the runner-up in Friday’s events; Cole Walsh was the top collegiate in the pole vault, hitting a personal record of 17 feet, 10.5 inches.

Rhesa Foster also placed third in the women’s long jump on Friday, though on her final attempt she jumped the same distance (19-10.25) as the second-place finisher Daniella Johnson.

The Ducks will have one final attempt to hit the NCAA qualifying marks on Feb. 24-25 as they head back up to Seattle to begin championship competition at the MPSF Indoor Championships.

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To close out its regular indoor season Friday and Saturday, the Oregon track and field team will send 29 distance runners and throwers to Seattle, Washington, for the Husky Classic and 20 sprinters and jumpers to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in search of NCAA qualifying marks.

When asked the reason for splitting the team, head coach Robert Johnson said the meet in Washington is “probably more distance-friendly.” The Dempsey Indoor Center, where the Husky Classic will be held, boosts what Johnson calls an “over-sized” 307-meter track, the same surface on which NCAA Tournament events will take place.

“We don’t get the opportunity to run on those that often,” he said. “The more experience we get, the better.”

Leading the way for the Ducks at the Husky Classic will be Edward Cheserek in both the mile and the 5,000-meter, an event in which the defending two-time indoor champion will be making his 2017 debut along with Tanner Anderson on Friday.

The next day, Cheserek will be joined by several young Ducks in the mile, including Matthew Maton and a group of Oregon newcomers led by transfer Tim Gorman.

Since arriving from Dartmouth, Gorman has enjoyed training with the large group of talented Oregon milers.

“I’ve found throughout my career that the only time I really get better is when I’m training with people who are better than me,” Gorman said. “So I found one of the only teams in the country that has this many sub-4, just really fast milers. It brings up my level of competition.”

The bulk of the women distance runners will also be representing Oregon in the mile, led by Lilli Burdon. Samantha Nadel and Katie Rainsberger will compete in the 3,000-meter, while Alli Cash and Maggie Schmaedick run in the 5,000.

Heading down south to Albuquerque is the trio of Hannah Cunliffe, Deajah Stevens and Ariana Washington, who swept the 60-meter at the Armory. They will compete in both the 60 and 200-meter, along with several other Ducks.

Two freshman will be joining the three: Makenzie Dunmore for the 60-meter and Hannah Waller for the 200-meter. Waller will alsoc ompete in the 400-meter along with Elexis Guster.

Alaysha Johnson and Sasha Wallace will compete in the 200, though the majority of their attention will be directed to the 60-meter hurdles.

“I always like running in Albuquerque,” Wallace said. “Everybody just seems to do pretty well; the times are pretty good. So I’m sure we’re going to come out with better times and even more qualifiers.”

Freshman Rhesa Foster is another Duck looking for her qualifying mark; she joins Wallace and Johnson in the 60-meter hurdles. Foster is also set to participate in the long jump, while fellow jumper Chaquinn Cook competes in the triple jump.

The men are also sending a small pack of jumpers down south. In addition to racing in the 60-meter, Damarcus Simpson will participate in the long jump, while Ben Milligan and Cole Walsh represent the Ducks in the triple jump and pole vault, respectively. Alongside Simpson in the 60-meter will be Kyree King, who has won both of his 60-meter races since transferring to Oregon from Western Kentucky.

After coming off a school record-setting performance in the 200-meter, senior Marcus Chambers is looking to to improve on his 400-meter time.

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After a successful fall season which amounted to a one point victory at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Oregon women’s cross country team has now been honored for its off-field efforts by the USTFCCCA. The Ducks were named the 2016 NCAA Division Women’s Scholar Team of the Year.

The Ducks averaged a cumulative 3.42 GPA throughout the fall to earn this honor for the second time in school history; this first time the team was honored was in 2012.

In addition to the team award, Alli Cash, Samantha Nadel and Katie Rainsberger  were also given USTFCCCA All-Academic honors. Cash, now a senior, has been acknowledged for her academic excellence before as three-time Pac-12 Cross Country All-Academic and a two-time Track All-Academic.

“This is an amazing honor for our team, and I am incredibly proud of the Women of Oregon for being true representatives of what it means to be a student-athlete,” Oregon head coach Robert Johnson. “Their discipline and success on the track and in the classroom is a true testament of who they are individually and collectively as members of our team.”

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To begin its 2017 season under new head coach Katrina Dowd, the Oregon women’s lacrosse team won a closely-contested match against Michigan, defeating the Wolverines 11-8 on a rainy Saturday at Pape Field.

Seven different Ducks scored their first goals of the season, including a three-goal effort from sophomore Julia Taylor to lead the team.

Oregon took an early lead, tallying two goals in the first 10 minutes off of costly penalties by the Wolverines. Just three minutes into the game, junior Joanna Hesketh, who emerged as a leader over the offseason, established herself as a goal leader, too, by scoring the Ducks’ first of the season off a free shot.

Just four minutes after that, Oregon struck again when another Michigan penalty set up a goal from Mariah Gatti.

It wasn’t until after Oregon tallied its third goal, scored after a hard drive to the net by Bella Pyne, that Michigan was able to get on the scoreboard. After causing an Oregon turnover, Anna Schueler beat goaltender Becca Katzen.

Soon after that third goal by the Ducks, however, Michigan backup goalie Alli Kothari began warming up on the sidelines as if she expected what came next from the Ducks.

More mistakes by Michigan caused the Ducks to score two goals in under a minute, bringing them up to a comfortable 5-1 lead. A tripping call lead to the first goal, Gatti’s second, while a turnover caused the second, this one by sophomore Shannon Williams.

With that, Mira Shane was chased from the Michigan goal crease, allowing Kothari to finish out the game.

With the score 6-1 with about six minutes remaining in the first, Michigan began to panic. Even though the Wolverines had taken eight shots, they were only able to find the back of the net once. Luckily for them, Oregon was unable to gain control off of draws, and while Michigan tallied 16 draw controls, the Ducks could only get five.

Because of this, Michigan was able to regain control often. Even though Oregon produced another goal before the half was up, Michigan scored three of its own, two from free shots by Lauren Oberlander and Kim Coughlan.

Both Wolverines tallied their second goals of the game early in the second half, prompting Oregon to take a timeout with a diminished 7-6 lead. Taylor gave the Ducks short-lived reassurance by scoring two of her own less than a minute apart. Soon after her second goal, however, Michigan answered with one of their own when Tess Korten scored on another free shot.

With two minutes remaining in the game, Korten tallied her second goal of the game to bring the score to 11-8. However, after a failed free position shot, Oregon regained possession and finished out the game for the win.

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