The Oregon Ducks headed to Seattle to compete in the UW Preview and really proved why Eugene is called TRACKTOWN USA. The men and women both came out breaking personal records but focused on getting ready for the season.
The men came out and were all over the board but for the most part successful. Sophomore Braxton Canady set himself a new indoor personal record and came out on top for the 200 meter. Later, he competed in the finals for the 60-meter hurdle and fell to the second spot to Aries Merritt also known as an Olympic gold medalist. I would say a successful day for Braxton.
For middle distance, in the 1,000-meter heat the Ducks followed one another for the win. Jaxson Hoey, a sophomore transfers, won the heat in 2:27.59, finishing ahead of Reed Brown and Mick Stanovesk who finished third and fourth place, respectively.
The women’s rookie Sydnee Walker set the tone high and got herself a personal best of 58-7.5 not only placing her second in weight throw but moving her into the seventh in UO indoor history. Following Walker was fellow rookie Maddie Rabing and Ronna Stone making it to the finals.
Reigning Pac-12 champion, Alaysha Johnson, finished second overall in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.27. To finish it off, redshirt sophomore Khadejah Jackson and Senior Kylee O’Connor both came out on top for the 400 meters.
That wasn’t the only great news that happened for the Ducks. They just signed 9 athletes for the 2018-2019 academic year – Five will be joining the Men’s and four will be joining the Women’s.
Looking into this year’s recruiting class, one male and one female really stand out.
For the men’s team, they picked up Eric Edwards Jr. from Houston, Texas. At Langham Creek High School, he broke the U.S. Juniors record for the 110 hurdle with a time of 13.32 that is not only the fastest time in the nation for 2017, but it is the eighth-fastest time ever in the U.S. He went on to be the 2017 Pan-American U20 champion, and the best part about it, is that he beat out UO freshman Joseph Anderson for it.
For the women’s team, we have Tori Sloan, who is from Meridian, Idaho and attended Mountain View High School. She is the 2017 Idaho 5A state champion in the long jump. She was a part of the 2017 USATF Junior Olympics all-American in both the heptathlon and the high jump.
These athletes are champions from around the world and helping make Oregon’s 2018-2019 recruiting class one of the most elite in the country. Oregon track is set up to be the best of the best for quite a while.
