Sprinter Makes Noise at Pac-12's

EUGENE, Ore. – Stanford freshman Udodi Onwuzurike did not win at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships on Sunday, but he gave notice that he will be a force in the sprints in the coming years. 

Onwuzurike placed second in the 100 and 200 meters – the latter in a school-record time of 20.09 – to help the Stanford men to fourth place as a team. It was their highest conference finish since placing second in 2018 at home and highest finish away from The Farm since placing third in 2010 in the Pac-10 in Berkeley. 

The men scored 89 points and the Stanford women were ninth with 56. On Sunday, the final of three days of competition, the Stanford teams combined for six runner-up finishes – four for the men and two for the women. In addition to Onwuzurike's school record, triple jumper Keyshawn King broke another Stanford mark. 

Besides Onwuzurike, Stanford second-place finishes went to King, and Cole Sprout (5,000) for the men, and Julia Heymach (800) and Christina Aragon (1,500) for the women. 

King maintained second from the second round on, behind Oregon's Emmanuel Ihemeje. King leaped 52-8 (16.05m) on his fourth attempt, eclipsing the school outdoor record of 52-6 ¾ (16.02m) that he shared with three-time Pac-12 champion Darian Brooks. It was the completion of a memorable weekend for King, who was named Pac-12 Men's Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year a day earlier. 

Onwuzurike, the reigning world under-20 champion in the 200, came within a few steps of winning at that distance. Coming off the turn, Onwuzurike had a slight edge over Oregon's Micah Williams and maintained it until the final meters. Williams won in 20.05, finishing in the same order as the 100. 

Onwuzurike's 20.09 shattered his personal best of 20.21 and his all-conditions best of 20.13. It also pushed aside the school record of 20.33 held by Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver and NCAA long jump champion James Lofton since 1978. 

In the 100 earlier in the day, Onwuzurike was in third until defending champion Davonte Burnett of USC, running second, suffered an injury and hobbled over the line, as Onwuzurike sailed past for second in 10.17. 

The second-places were the best Stanford finishes in those events since Wopamo Osaisai won the Pac-10 100 title in 2008 and Jimmie Johnson won the 200 in 1997. 

In the men's 5,000, Stanford placed three in the top five with Sprout (13:36.50), Ky Robinson (13:36.80) in third, and Thomas Boyden in fifth in a lifetime best 13:37.39. He became the fifth Stanford runner under 13:40 this season. Sprout and Robinson each had the lead late in the race before Colorado's Eduardo Herrera made a decisive move with 300 to go. 

Heymach ran 2:03.81 in the 800, but was unable to repeat as 5,000 champion, finishing 12th in 16:23.81. It was both Heymach's season debut at that distance and final chance at qualifying for the NCAA West Prelims in an event in which she placed sixth last year at the NCAA Championships. Because she will not advance in the 5,000, she will focus on the 800 and 1,500. Heymach was sixth in the 1,500 at the Olympic Trials last year. 

In the 1,500, Aragon equaled her best conference finish, having placed second in the 800 back in 2017 and in the 1,500 in 2018. Aragon, a sixth-year senior, ran 4:14.89. Teammate Melissa Tanaka, a graduate transfer from Penn, ran a personal best 4:17.31 to place fifth. 

Stanford next competes at the NCAA West Prelims on May 25-28 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The NCAA Championships are June 8-11 back at Hayward Field.
 
 

Christina Aragon. Photo by Spencer Allen/SportsImageWire.com.

 
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Sunday's results
Pac-12 Championships
At Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore.
Winners and all Stanford competitors

Men
Team scores – 1, Oregon 161; 2, Washington 105; 3, USC 101; 4, Stanford 89; 5, Arizona State 88; 6, California 85; 7, UCLA 68; 8, Colorado 61; 9, Washington State 34; 10, Arizona 27. 
100 – 1, Micah Williams (Oregon) 9.93; 2, Udodi Onwuzurike (Stanford) 10.17.
200 – 1, Micah Williams (Oregon) 20.05; 2, Udodi Onwuzurike (Stanford) 20.09 (PB; school record; school frosh record; No. 8 Pac-12 AT). 
800 – 1, Elliott Cook (Oregon) 1:48.81; 9, John Lester (Stanford) 1:55.15. 
5,000 – 1, Eduardo Herrera (Colorado) 13:33.95; 2, Cole Sprout (Stanford) 13:36.50; 3, Ky Robinson (Stanford) 13:36.80; 5, Thomas Boyden (Stanford) 13:37.39 (PB); 21, DJ Principe (Stanford) 14:22.00; 26, Robert DiDonato (Stanford) 14:31.50; 30, Michael Vernau (Stanford) 14:41.41; 34, Nolan Topper (Stanford) 14:52.68. 
4x100 relay – 1, USC 38.60; 6, Stanford (Dorien Simon, Olufemi Cole, Karson Lippert, Udodi Onwuzurike) 40.07.
4x400 relay – 1, USC 3:03.39; 8, Stanford (Miles Zoltak, Karson Lippert, Olufemi Cole, Marcus Floyd) 3:11.63.
High jump – 1, Earnie Sears III (USC) 7-1 ½ (2.17m); 12, James Stevens (Stanford) 6-2 ¾ (1.90m). 
Triple jump – 1, Emmanuel Ihemeje (Oregon) 54-10 (16.71m); 2, Keyshawn King (Stanford) 52-8 (16.05m); 4, Kevin Yang (Stanford) 50-4 ¾ (15.36m) (PB); 10, Marcus Floyd (Stanford) 46-4 (14.12m) (PB). 
Discus – 1, Mykolas Alekna (Cal) 225-6 (68.73m); 8, Chudi Ikpeazu (Stanford) 179-10 (54.82m); 16, Sam Liokumovich (Stanford) 165-5 (50.42m); 20, Max McKhann (Stanford) 155-8 (47.45m).  

Women
Team scores – 1, Oregon 167; 2, Colorado 102.5; 3, California 82; 4, USC 78; 5, Washington 68; 6, UCLA 66.5; 7, Arizona 60; 8, Arizona State 57; 9, Stanford 56; 10, Oregon State 32; 11, Washington State 29; 12, Utah 21. 
400 – 1, Jan'Taijah Ford (USC) 51.22; 7, Maya Valmon (Stanford) 53.36 (PB; No. 9 Stanford AT; No. 3 Stanford frosh). 
800 – 1, Carley Thomas (Washington) 2:02.93; 2, Julia Heymach (Stanford) 2:03.81; 5, Ellie Deligianni (Stanford) 2:05.07.
1,500 – 1, Micaela Degenero (Colorado) 4:13.26; 2, Christina Aragon (Stanford) 4:14.89; 5, Melissa Tanaka (Stanford) 4:17.31 (PB); 7, Lucy Jenks (Stanford) 4:18.34. 
5,000 – 1, Abby Nichols (Colorado) 15:47.92; 8, Lucy Jenks (Stanford) 16:17.12; 12, Julia Heymach (Stanford) 16:23.81; 19, Audrey Suarez (Stanford) 16:43.76; 26, Jessica Lawson (Stanford) 17:00.45; 30, Grace Connolly (Stanford) 17:07.14.
400 hurdles – 1, Shannon Meisberger (Arizona) 56.43; 7, Samantha Thomas (Stanford) 1:00.28 (PB). 
4x100 relay – 1, UCLA 3:31.49; 8, Stanford (Samantha Thomas, Maya Valmon, Trinity Price, Ellie Deligianni) 3:42.50.
Triple jump – 1, Lexi Ellis (Oregon) 42-11 ½ (13.09m); 8, Elise Miller (Stanford) 40-9 (12.42m); 11, Allyson Weiss (Stanford) 39-3 ¾ (11.98m); Ellie Talius (Stanford) F. 
Discus – 1, Jorinde Van Klinken (Arizona State) 199-8 (60.87m); 20, Brandy Atuatasi (Stanford) 147-8 (45.02m); 26, Kaiah Fisher (Stanford) 133-8 (40.75m).