By Mark Wang
Oregon’s Jessica Hull became the first Oregon woman to win the 1,500-meter NCAA title since Claudette Groenendaal in 1984 on Saturday at Hayward Field, winning the race in a personal record 4 minutes, 8.75 seconds.
Hull crossed the line with a huge smile on her face, arms thrown in the air with the Hayward Field crowd cheering.
“That was so special,” she said. “That was amazing.”
Hull was in contention for the entire race, and she broke away toward the end to take the title, which turned out to be the Ducks’ only individual title of the meet.
“I think I was very focused very early on, and then coming into 200 to go it got really loud at the end of the grandstand,” she said. “I kept waiting for someone to come up on the outside. I took a quick glance (at the screen), and at that point I was like, ‘Let this crowd bring you home.'”
Hull fell in love with Hayward when she competed here as a member of Australia’s team at the IAAF world championships in 2014. “I was unknown to the American crowd,” she said, “but I felt like I had their love and support from the very start.”
