The women’s collegiate track and field championship took place this past weekend at Hayward Field and the trophy won’t be traveling far to its home. Oregon has a special place in history when it comes to its women’s Track and Field team having won a Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor NCAA Championship. They’re the first team to ever do so. A 4×4 relay that was pure pandemonium clinched the championship for the Lady Ducks.
Anyone familiar with the even kill demeanor of head coach Robert Johnson would know an uproar of emotions after the race was an indicator of the magnitude and thrill. Afterwards he added “It should have never ever come down to that… but what a champion’s heart to see her soldier back in a very short period of time to run a hell of a leg in the 4×400… Just a lion’s effort by those girls today.” per Beth Maiman of NCAA.com Oregon and Georgia went back and forth throughout the meet with contrasting styles. Each point scored by Oregon was done on the track and Georgia’s was scored in the field. In the end, it was the Lady Ducks who had more athletes that qualified for the meet prevailed.
While the Lady Ducks didn’t score in the field, they had numerous contributions scoring in six events. The scoring kicked off in the 100m where Deajah Stevens took 2nd and Ariana Washington took 4th. That same pair made the 200m final as well. Washington took 2nd and Steven looked to be on her way to winning the race before a fall in the last 20 meters didn’t allow her to finish. Elexis Guster chipped in with a 6th place finish in the 400m. Finally, in the 100m hurdles Alaysha Johnson took 4th and Sasha Wallace grabbed the 6th spot.
The real star of this meet was Raevyn Rogers. The Houston native won her 5th NCAA title in the 800m. She pulled her teammate Brooke Feldmeier through who finished 3rd. This capped a season for Rogers in which she was never beaten in an 800. She was the anchor of the 4×4 team that broke the collegiate record that was set by Texas in 2004. Her 49.77s split to run down fellow PAC 12 rival USC was worthy of a trophy itself. Fitting for The Bowerman trophy finalist.
