Men of Oregon Add Six More NCAA Qualifiers
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Oregon men's track and field team collected six national qualifiers Friday at the 2022 NCAA West Preliminary, pushing the team's total to nine entries for the NCAA Championships (June 8-11) at Hayward Field. Among day three's highlights, Micah Williams broke his own UO record in a sizzling 9.86 performance in the 100 meters.
Advancing to the NCAA Championships
Aaron Bienenfeld – 5,000 & 10,000 meters
Elliott Cook – 1500 meters
Ty Hampton – javelin
Emmanuel Ihemeje – triple jump
Ryan Mulholland/Micah Williams/Rieker Daniel/Xavier Nairne – 4x100m relay
Luis Peralta – 800 meters
Micah Williams – 100 meters
Max Vollmer – decathlon
In their first event of the day, the UO men secured a national qualifier in the 4x100-meter relay with the quartet of Williams, Ryan Mulholland, Rieker Daniel and Xavier Nairne. The Ducks combined for a time of 39.14 to finish third in their heat and eighth overall. That time moves to No. 8 on the UO all-time list.
Elliott Cook, the Pac-12 champion at 800 meters, will be making his NCAA Championships debut thanks to a lifetime-best performance in the 1500 meters. The sophomore standout clocked a time of 3:38.92, knocking nearly two seconds off his previous best of 3:40.80 from Wednesday's first round.
Roughly 90 minutes after his relay duties, Williams scorched the backstretch at John McDonnell Field in 9.86 to reserve his spot in the 100-meter field at the NCAA Championships. The Portland native lowered his own school record and moved into a tie for the second-fastest performance in collegiate history. The time also puts Williams into a tie for No. 2 on the world list—wind legal—this year and broke the facility record.
The Ducks added a national entry in the 800 meters with Luis Peralta who will be making his second trip to the NCAA Championships. Peralta clocked a season-best time of 1:47.92 and held off a late charge by the field to claim the third automatic qualifier in heat three.
Defending NCAA champion Emmanuel Ihemeje needed just one attempt to post his qualifying mark in the triple jump. On his opening pass down the runway, Ihemeje got out to 16.90m/55-5.5 which ended up being the second-farthest effort of the day. Including the past two indoor season, Ihemeje has won three-consecutive NCAA titles—2021 indoor, 2021 outdoor, 2022 indoor—in the triple jump.
Notable: Will Mundy finished 13th overall—one spot out of an NCAA spot—in the 400-meter hurdles…he posted a time of 50.96 to finish fifth in heat two and was supplanted by the fourth-place finisher in heat three…in the triple jump, Jonah Tactay produced a season-best mark of 15.24m/50-0, just off his lifetime best of 15.25 meters.
The Women of Oregon take center stage Saturday with 21 opportunities in 13 events to add qualifiers beginning with Mine De Klerk and Jaida Ross in the discus. The pair has already secured NCAA marks in the shot put from Thursday.
Day four of the NCAA West Preliminary will be streamed on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app beginning at 3 p.m. (PT) with heats of the 4x100-meter relay.
Friday Results
Q – advances to NCAA Championships
100 Meters – quarterfinals
1. Micah Williams – 9.86Q (PR) [No. 1 UO, No. 2 NCAA]
23. Ryan Mulholland – 10.40
800 Meters – quarterfinals
14. Luis Peralta – 1:47.92Q (SB)
20. Matthew Erickson – 1:49.68
1500 Meters – quarterfinals
4. Elliott Cook – 3:38.92Q (PR)
20. Reed Brown – 3:45.34
5,000 Meters – semifinals
6. Aaron Bienenfeld – 13:32.13Q
400m Hurdles – quarterfinals
13. Will Mundy – 50.96
4x100m Relay – quarterfinals
8. Ryan Mulholland/Micah Williams/Rieker Daniel/Xavier Nairne – 39.14Q [No. 8 UO]
Triple Jump
2. Emmanuel Ihemeje – 16.90m/55-5.5Q
31. Jonah Tactay – 15.24m/50-0 (SB)
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