By Hannah Bonnie
Oregon has a long history of producing elite distance runners, but on the second day of the U. S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, it was the women sprinters who shined.
Ariana Washington said that the goal was to get all the Ducks through to the next round, which takes place tomorrow.
The mission was accomplished. During the first round of the women’s 100 meters Saturday at Hayward Field, all six of the former and current Oregon sprinters managed to qualify for the second round, two of them placing first and second overall.
Leading the bunch was Jenna Prandini, a former Duck who won the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships during her final season. Her time of 10.81 seconds was her personal record, beating her old time by more than .10 seconds.
“It’s pretty exciting and just shows that my training is right where I need to be,” she said. “If I could just focus and stay relaxed and keep getting through the rounds, I should be happy.”
Behind her, in second place overall, was another former Duck, English Gardner, a five-time NCAA champion. She finished her heat in first place with a time of 10.90.
“I’m pretty pleased, my fitness level is up, so I’m just excited. I do smell rain though,” said Gardner.
You smell rain?
“I believe that something special is about to happen. I can feel it,” she said. “There’s something in there. I don’t know what it is, but if I run the right way, you’ll see something special. … I believe that I was born to do what I’m doing right now. And I’m just waiting for it to rain.”
In seventh overall was sophomore Washington, who finished second in her heat behind Texas’ Morolake Akinosun with a time of 11.01. The time was a new personal record, beating her former time of 11.18.
Washington battled through a poor start to finish strong. She says that she is typically a stronger finisher than a starter, something that she hopes to work on. She attributed the poor start to pre-race jitters.
“It’s something that takes a lot up here rather than down here,” she said. “Tomorrow should be better. I should just clear my head and get down to business.”
Behind her are former Duck Mandy White and current Duck Deajah Stevens, who finished in 11th and 15th overall, respectively. White finished with a time of 11.11, while Stevens finished in 11.18. White qualified based on her time, as she finished in fifth in her heat behind Prandini, Joanna Atkins, Alex Anderson, and Octavious Freeman.
Jasmine Todd, who missed the end of the track season when she was declared academically ineligible, was competing in the finals for the long jump before she competed in her heat of the 100. She had just finished her last jump before she was rushed over to the race. Though she didn’t make the Olympics in the long jump, she did manage to qualify for the next round in the 100. She was last in the field of 21 athletes, making the team based on her time of 11.26.
“Who wouldn’t want to be out on the track with your teammates?” said Todd. “It says a lot about our program. We’ve become a lot stronger in our sprints. It’s really exciting.”
