In order for the Oregon Ducks to compete on their home turf during the NCAA Track and Field Championships next month, they had to first advance from the NCAA West Regionals in Austin, Texas.

The Ducks booked their first four tickets out of Austin to the championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mike A. Myers Stadium on the first of three days of regionals, the first being Cody Danielson, the Pac-12 runner-up in the javelin. His throw of 219 feet, 8 inches ranked him 11^th and earned him a spot in the NCAAs for the third time in his career.

While Danielson may have prior NCAA experience, the other three are new faces to the scene. Hammer thrower Cullen Prena hurled a PR of more than 6 feet to nail a mark of 214-11 to finish ninth and will go for the double as he contends for a spot in the discus on Saturday. Long jumper Rhesa Foster found another spring in her step as she flew to sixth place with another PR leap. Foster has been on a roll since she set a PR to win the Pac-12 Championships two weeks ago.

With Edward Cheserek no longer a factor for the Ducks because of a lower back strain, freshman Tanner Anderson stepped up to the plate and placed third in a sprint to book his ticket home. Anderson will be the lone Duck in the 10,000 meters.

The sprint trio of Hannah Cunliffe, Deajah Stevens and Ariana Washington advanced comfortably, all three of winning their respective heats. Washington was the only one in the field to run sub-11, albeit aided by a strong tailwind of 5.8 m/s.

The wind did not let up for the men’s sprints either, but that was no issue for them as Kyree King and Damarcus Simpson won their heats to advance to the semifinal. Marcus Chambers finished second in his heat to advance in the 400 meters.

This year, the Oregon women have a much larger representation in the quarter mile with the additions of Elexis Guster and Makenzie Dunmore. Guster and Dunmore ranked third and fourth overall to automatically qualify along with Ashante Horsley.

Defending NCAA 800-meter champion Raevyn Rogers got one step closer to Hayward Field as she won her heat and posted the fastest qualifying time of the day. Brooke Feldmeier also advanced automatically.

Besides having top-tier sprinters, Oregon also boasts an incredible depth in the middle distance events. All five Oregon men advanced to the 1,500-meter semifinal, with Blake Haney, Sam Prakel, Mick Stanovsek and Tim Gorman finishing among the top five in their heats to automatically qualify. Austin Tamagno advanced on time.

Three out of the four Oregon women made it through to the semifinal all via automatic qualifiers. Katie Rainsberger led the charge to clock the fastest qualifying time of the day, followed by Emma Abrahamson and Jessica Hull. Lilli Burdon, who raced at Hayward Field last year in the 1,500 meters, will have one more chance to find her way home in the 5,000 meters on Saturday after striking out in the quarter-final.

Eugene star Maggie Schmaedick ended her NCAA run after finishing 17^th in the 10,000 meters, five places away from racing on Hayward Field. This season, the senior had set PRs in the outdoor 1,500 meters, the indoor 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters.

Oregon will continue competing at the NCAA West Regionals through Saturday.

Follow Romaine Soh on Twitter @mainetainpls

The post Oregon notches four qualifiers on the first day of the NCAA West Regionals appeared first on Emerald Media.

Edward Cheserek’s chance at becoming the winningest NCAA athlete across all sports ended Sunday afternoon, after GoDucks released a statement announcing the senior will not race at the NCAA West Regional next weekend due to a lower back strain.

This means that Cheserek cannot race at Hayward Field in the NCAA final next month, effectively putting an end to his storied collegiate career. The senior leaves Oregon with a collegiate record of 17 NCAA titles across cross country, indoor and outdoor track, making him the winningest runner in NCAA history.

The coaching staff came to the decision after considering his post-college running aspirations.

“This is a minor injury that could potentially become worse if he runs on it too soon,” head coach Robert Johnson said in a press release.

“Edward has a bright future in running, and I know he is looking forward to a professional career after college,” associate head coach Andy Powell said.

The last time Cheserek raced was at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships last weekend, where he won the 10,000 meters comfortably. He was scratched from the 5,000 meters the following day.

Cheserek has been a key player on the Oregon team since day one. He has consistently been a double-digit scorer at the NCAA indoor and outdoor track and field meets. At the NCAA indoor championships last March, he scored 28 points to break the meet record for most points scored. His achievements have gotten him through to the Bowerman Award finals for the past three years, the only person to ever do so.

Last indoor season, Cheserek took a break from being a point-contributor to write himself into the record books as he set the collegiate indoor mile record of 3 minutes, 52.01 seconds.

“We are all incredibly proud of everything Edward has done for our program and we are equally proud of what he has done in the classroom. Edward is in good academic standing and will graduate this summer.”

Follow Romaine Soh on Twitter @mainetainpls

The post Lower back strain ends distance star Edward Cheserek’s NCAA career appeared first on Emerald Media.

After Oregon proved its dominance at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships with sweeps of the men and women’s team titles, the awards came pouring in.

Kyree King and Deajah Stevens each claimed Pac-12 Track Athlete of the Year awards, respectively, after both captured victories in their individual events — King in the men’s 100 and 200-meters, and Stevens in the women’s 100 and 200. They also both ran legs on Oregon’s champion 4×100-meter relay teams, giving each of them 22.5 points.

Stevens’ winning time of 22.09 seconds in the 200 was the second-fastest time in NCAA history, just a hair behind Dawn Stowell’s collegiate record of 22.04s set in 1989. Besides rewriting the meet and all-time records, she also tied with Rio bronze medalist Tori Bowie for the world lead this year. Stevens placed seventh in the Olympic final last year.

Stevens’ accomplishments transcended the conference level as the USTFCCCA selected her as the athlete of the week.

While Stevens is part of a long line of Oregon’s sprinting history — she was the fourth Oregon woman in the last six years to win both the 100 and 200-meter titles — King was the pioneer of the Oregon male sprinting crew as he became the first Duck to pick up wins in both short sprints since 1959. Although King’s time of 10.09 seconds in the 100-meter was not wind-legal, his name appears on the Pac-12 all-time performance list.

This is the second year running that Oregon athletes have been voted the track athletes of the year in the conference, with last year’s awards going to Devon Allen and Hannah Cunliffe. King is the sixth male Oregon athlete to win the honor and Stevens is the seventh female.

Oregon head coach Robert Johnson earned the Coach of the Year award after both the men’s and women’s teams won their categories with more than 50 points to spare. The Ducks’ title sweeps of the Pac-12 meet (11 for the men, 9 for the women) is the most of any conference across the nation. In addition, both the men and women teams tallied seven wins at the meet, the most-ever in a single Pac-12 Championships for the men.

The Oregon women have never strayed from the top two spots in the national rankings this season, logging a nation-best five weeks at the top spot. The men have appeared in the top 10 for six weeks.

The full release is here.

Follow Romaine Soh on Twitter @mainetainpls

The post Oregon sweeps Pac-12 Track Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year awards appeared first on Emerald Media.

The Oregon women’s tennis team ended its NCAA Tournament run in the first round on Saturday morning when No. 30 North Carolina State defeated the Ducks 4-2 in Athens, Georgia.

It has been a decade since the Ducks last qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

The Ducks jumped out to an early lead with the doubles victory. Julia Eshet and Shweta Sangwan were the first to lose, 6-1, but the duo of Marlou Kluiving and Nia Rose followed up with a 6-3 win on their court. Oregon sealed the doubles point when Alyssa Tobita and Rifanty Kahfiani notched a 6-4 victory.

It was a back-and-forth battle in the singles as the Ducks and NC State fought for the lead. The Wolfpack scored their first point after Rose was the first to fall. Sangwan brought the Ducks back to the lead with a win on her court, but then Kluiving lost to tie things up.

North Carolina State eventually came away with the win after scoring two straight wins against Tobita and Eshet, ending one of the most memorable seasons for the Ducks. In 2017, Oregon scored two program firsts in defeating UCLA and USC.

“It really stings since we put ourselves in a great position to win,” Tobita said in a news release. “But, I don’t want the team to forget all the great things we did this year. I’m proud of what we’ve done and I’m excited to go after it for my last year next season.”

Kluiving, a senior, ended her final season at Oregon with a singles record of 21-9. Her overall record of 67-28 ranks her fifth on the all-time list.

The pair of Kluiving and Eshet led the Ducks in doubles wins this season with a record of 19-6.

Oregon’s overall record of 14-11 is the team’s best finish since the 2005-06 season. Oregon’s 6-4 mark in Pac-12 play is the team’s best conference record since 2004-05.

“It was amazing for us to get here and a wonderful experience to build upon for next year and next season,” head coach Alison Silverio said in a release.

Follow Romaine Soh on Twitter @mainetainpls

The post Oregon’s season comes to a close after NCAA Tournament loss to NC State appeared first on Emerald Media.

The last time the Oregon women’s tennis team participated in the NCAA Championships was 10 years ago at Athens, Georgia, where they finished last. Oregon head coach Alison Silverio, then a senior at Georgia Tech, led her team to the school’s first-ever NCAA title in any sport.

When Silverio returns to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex a decade later, she will still be gunning for a national championship — just not for the Yellow Jackets this time. The Ducks, who rank 35th in the nation, will face No. 30 North Carolina State, where Silverio was an assistant coach from 2008-2010, in the first round.

This appearance also marks the 20th anniversary that Oregon earned its first NCAA berth.

“All these coincidences, it’s kinda poetic,” Silverio said. “Athens is full of history, so to be able to say you played there is an honor.”

On May 1, both the men’s and women’s tennis teams gathered in a room for a live screening of the NCAA selection show. Whatever explosive emotions the women had were demonstrated at the courts in Ojai, California, right after Daniella Nasser scored the final point to all but assure the Ducks a spot in the NCAA Tournament, so they entered the screening feeling confident that they would see ‘Oregon’ pop up on the screen.

“I already started having some tears when Dani was playing because I knew this would give us what we wanted,” senior Marlou Kluiving said. “I’m very lucky to experience this in my last year. I wouldn’t say it was unbelievable because I knew we worked hard and knew it was possible, but I guess after those three tough years and finishing like this is very special.”

This is the first year that Silverio has a full squad of nine to work with ever since she took the reins as head coach three years ago. The Ducks recorded a number of firsts this season. They defeated UCLA and USC for the first time in program history and also took down a ranked opponent (then-No. 25 Washington).

The fact that Oregon’s regular rotation contains only one senior (Kluiving) means Ducks could be a formidable force for the years to come.

“I came in here hoping that we could do something that they haven’t done in a while,” freshman Julia Eshet said. “That’s exactly what we did. That’s exciting for the team, for the coaches, everybody who’s helping us.”

The furthest Oregon has progressed in the NCAAs was the second round in 2004, where it fell to Washington 4-3.

By rankings alone, North Carolina State has the upper hand. Besides being ranked five places above Oregon, they boast a doubles pair of No. 22 Martina Frantova and Anna Rogers while Oregon’s top pair of Eshet and Shweta Sangwan trails in 82nd place. Oregon’s top singles player is No. 79 Alyssa Tobita while Frantova is close behind in 86th place.

But rankings don’t always predict who wins the match.

“The wonderful thing about that is we’ve been battle-tested the whole season,” Silverio said. “It’s post-season, it’s a clean slate for everyone. This is our opportunity to trust the preparation and the work we’ve put in, go out there and leave it all out on the court.”

Oregon will kick off its NCAA campaign on May 13 at 6 a.m. If the Ducks progress beyond the first round, they will face either No. 5 Georgia or South Carolina State.

Follow Romaine Soh on Twitter @mainetainpls

The post Oregon earns first NCAA berth in 10 years, but it doesn’t come as a surprise to the team appeared first on Emerald Media.

After Oregon pulled out its first program win over UCLA on Thursday, the Ducks were unable to pull off another upset as Stanford blanked Oregon 4-0 on Friday at the Ojai Valley Athletic Club to maintain its unbeaten streak in Pac-12 play.

The Ducks’ six conference wins in the regular season (6-4) is their best Pac-12 record since the 2004-05 season (5-6).

The Cardinal, the Pac-12 leader ranked No. 6 in the nation, clinched the doubles point after taking down the duos of Nia Rose and Marlou Kluiving 6-1, and Alyssa Tobita and Rifanty Kahfiani 6-2. Shweta Sangwan and Julia Eshet were unable to finish their match.

Stanford continued its dominating streak in the singles with two-set defeats against Eshet, Kluiving and Rose. Rose came the closest to holding off her opponent, limiting the point deficit in her first set to two point (6-4) but ultimately gave up the second set 6-2 to seal Stanford’s sweep. The remaining three singles matches were left unfinished.

“Today’s match against Stanford was a tough one, but getting to compete with one of the top teams in the nation shows us that we are right there with them,” Tobita said in a news release. “Yesterday’s win was like a dream. We had an opportunity to get into the tournament with a win against a top 25 team and we were able to play the way we wanted when it mattered most.

“I’m so proud of the team energy we brought and the belief we had in one another.”

Oregon’s overall record of 14-10 is the program’s best finish since the 2005-06 season (14-9) when the progam finished seventh in the conference standings. The Ducks will learn of their NCAA Tournament destination on Tuesday.

The NCAA will announce individual selections on Wednesday.

Follow Romaine Soh on Twitter @mainetainpls

The post Women’s tennis’ Pac-12 Championships run ends with 4-0 loss to Stanford appeared first on Emerald Media.

– Defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt has a storied history of building teams from nothing. Now, the 60-year-old will strive to lift Oregon’s defense from the ashes – all while chugging cans of Pepsi as early as 6 a.m.

– After Edward Cheserek withdrew from the Bryan Clay Invitational, there were rumors that it was a repeat of last year, when he was worn out from a long season. Robert Johnson squashed that claim on Tuesday, saying that the senior has done all he can for the school and will attend to his wishes. Cheserek is entered in the 5,000 meters at the Payton Jordan Invitational where he will face off against the 1,500 meter Rio Olympics champion Matthew Centrowitz, a former Duck.

– Oregon track and field will travel once more to the Penn Relays and the Oregon State High Performance meet this weekend before the lights turn on at Hayward Field the following weekend for the Oregon Twilight.

– Oregon head coach Willie Taggart is focused on building a relationship with the seniors in an attempt to build leadership after realizing he failed to do so at USF.

– With four scholarships freed up by the departure of Jordan Bell, Casey Benson, Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey, Dana Altman has offered one to five-star recruit Bol Bol, son of NBA star Manute Bol. The 6-foot-11, 190-pounder averaged 16.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and almost three blocks per game last season. Arizona, USC, and Kansas have also offered him scholarships.

– Although Oregon softball lost three consecutive Pac-12 series, the Ducks are still within the top 10 of the NCAA and hope to get back in the swing of things when they face Oregon State this weekend.

Follow Romaine Soh on Twitter @mainetainpls

The post Quick Hits: Will Jim Leavitt revive Oregon’s defense? Edward Cheserek is the author of his final track season appeared first on Emerald Media.