Oregon's Jaida Ross becomes All-American, places fifth in shot put at NCAA Championships
Oregon’s Jaida Ross is officially an All-American.
Ross, a redshirt freshman from Medford, Ore., improved on her school record in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 58 feet, 6 inches Thursday evening at Hayward Field in Eugene to place fifth at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.
In doing so, she became the third UO woman to ever secure All-American status in the shot put, joining Brittany Mann (2014 – 2016) and Quenna Beasley (1983, 1985).
Ross’s effort on Thursday was a notable improvement over her previous personal best of 57-7, which came at the Pac-12 Championship meet last month. She broke the form charts and provided a few extra points for the Ducks, which could prove to be pivotal for a team that was not projected to finish in the top-10.
Track and Field News predicted that Ross would finish eighth, but her third throw of the day proved to be good enough to bump her well above that mark.
Ohio State’s Adelaide Aquilla won the national title with a throw of 65-5 1/4. Arizona State’s Jorinde Van Klinken (60-11 1/2) and Nebraska’s Axelina Johansson (59-3) rounded out the top three.
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Oregon freshman Mine De Klerk placed 13th with a throw of 55-4 1/2.
Now in her second season with the Ducks, Ross had a decorated prep career at North Medford High School, where she won 6A state titles in the shot put her freshman and junior years and finished second as a sophomore. Her shot at nabbing a third title was wiped out by the pandemic.
Earlier this week, Ross met with reporters and gave an insightful interview about the trajectory of her career.
Ross is slated to compete in the discus later this weekend, too. She finished third in that event at the Pac-12 Championships and set a personal-best mark of 183 feet, 7 inches at the NCAA West Regional Meet a week later.
The women’s discus is scheduled to begin Saturday at 2:05 p.m. PT.
