Oregon track and field sweeps team titles at Pac-12 Championships

One Oregon track and field program entered Sunday aiming to extend its streak of dominance, while another hoped to re-establish itself atop the Pac-12.

Both accomplished exactly that.

The Oregon men captured their 15th consecutive conference title Sunday at Hayward Field, finishing with 161 points — 56 more than runner-up Washington. Meanwhile, the women’s team won with 167 points — 64.5 more than second-place Colorado — to win its first team title since 2017.

“God continues to bless us with super, super talented kids,” Oregon coach Robert Johnson said after both Duck teams had secured their titles. “We’ve got a great support staff that is bringing that talent out of them. For us to be able to win a Pac-12 championship on both sides. … That’s definitely gonna be one of the things I remember out of this year, and out of my years here.”

Both the men’s and women’s programs featured some eye-popping individual performances. The two teams combined to win 12 events, with the men winning seven and the women capturing five.

But it was depth, ultimately, that enabled the Ducks’ men and women to both win by comfortable margins.

“This championship wasn’t going to be won by the kids that were 1-2-3,” Johnson said. “It was gonna be won by those sixth, seventh, and eighth places. You guys know that we have a balanced approach, so we have bullets everywhere.”

Johnson pointed to the performances of Elliott Cook, who won the 800 in a personal-best time of 1 minute, 48.81 seconds despite being seeded fourth coming into the meet, as well as Jaida Ross, who took second in the shot-put with a school-record throw of 17.55 meters, as athletes who stood out over the weekend.

Arguably, though, the brightest moments of the day for both the Oregon men and women came in the sprint events.

Redshirt freshman sensation Micah Williams had a day for the ages. The Portland, Ore., native won the 100-meter dash in 9.93 seconds. His time was not only a meet record but also the sixth-fastest time ever by a collegiate athlete.

Less than an hour later, Williams won the 200 in 20.05 seconds, which is the fourth-fastest time run by a college athlete this season.

Oregon senior Kemba Nelson completed a sprint double as well on the women’s side, winning the 100 in a season-best time of 11.05 seconds and the 200 in a personal-best time of 22.74 seconds.

“Over the years (the sprint events) have been something that we’ve prided ourselves on,” Johnson said. “They say you can’t run fast in the Pacific Northwest, but we continue to prove them wrong.”

For the Oregon women, winning the 4×100-meter relay at the start of Sunday provided a major boost and set the tone for the day. The sprint team of Jadyn Mays, Nelson, Jasmin Reed, and Jasmine Montgomery won in 42.91 seconds.

“The team was very positive after that — we were positive coming into the meet, but after that, we just kind of knew,” Nelson said. “It was like a confidence-booster going into individual races and we just took that energy with us.”

The Ducks will now turn their attention to NCAA West regionals, which are set to begin May 25 in Fayetteville, Ark.

Here is a rundown of all of the titles Oregon won throughout the weekend.

Oregon men’s victories

• Micah Wiliams — 100 meters (9.93 seconds)
• Micah Williams — 200 meters (20.05 seconds)
• Elliott Cook — 800 meters (1:48.81)
• Ty Hampton — Javelin (73.86 meters)
• Pierce LaCoste — long jump (7.73 meters)
• Emmanuel Ihemeje — triple jump (16.71 meters)
• Max Vollmer — decathlon (7,961 points)

Oregon women’s victories

• Kemba Nelson — 100 meters (11.05 seconds)
• Kemba Nelson — 200 meters (22.74 seconds)
• Alysah Hickey — long jump (6.71 meters)
• Lexi Ellis — triple jump (13.09 meters)
• Jadyn Mays, Kemba Nelson, Jasmin Reed, and Jasmine Mongomery — 4×100-meter relay (42.91 seconds)