Duck Men win Pac 12 Women 2nd

The Men of Oregon ran their conference streak to 13 in a row Sunday night by winning the 2019 Pac-12 Championships team title. The Ducks out-distanced the field with 173 points with the help of a program-record eight event titles, six of those coming during day two. Redshirt senior Cravon Gillespie was a three-time champion (100m, 200m, 4x100m) with school records in each event.

"It was an overall team effort," head coach Robert Johnson said during a post-meet interview with the Pac-12 Network. "Great job by the coaches. They had a great game plan coming in. An even better job by these athletes going out there competing and executing. These guys have obviously been here and done it before. I couldn't be more proud of them and the way they got it done today."

The Women of Oregon finished as the conference runner-up for the second-consecutive year with the help of Pac-12 titles from Jessica Hull at 1,500 meters, Rhesa Foster in the long jump and Chaquinn Cook in the triple jump. The UO women tallied 137 points, just 17 behind champion USC

2019 Pac-12 Champions (by event)

Cravon Gillespie – 100 Meters

Cravon Gillespie – 200 Meters

Orwin Emilien – 400 Meters

Jessica Hull – 1,500 Meters

Cooper Teare – 5,000 Meters

Eric Edwards Jr. – 110m Hurdles

Spenser Schmidt, Cravon Gillespie, Rieker Daniel, Oraine Palmer – 4x100m Relay

Tristan James – Long Jump (from Saturday)

Rhesa Foster – Long Jump

Chaquinn Cook – Triple Jump

Max Vollmer – Decathlon (from last weekend)

In the first event on the track, Gillespie teamed with Spenser Schmidt, Rieker Daniel and Oraine Palmer to set a school record in 38.72, surpassing the previous mark of 38.76 established in 2017. The 4x100-meter victory was the program's third conference title in the event, and second in three years.

Gillespie was back on the track to lead a 1-2-5-6 showing for the Ducks in the 100 meters. In defending his conference title, Gillespie broke the school record, tied the Pac-12 Championships meet record set by Andre DeGrasse in 2015 and became the No. 3 all-time performer in conference history.

Collectively, the Ducks racked up 25 points in the event with Palmer (10.25) finishing second in a new personal best while Schmidt and Daniel crossed in fifth and sixth, respectively. With his time, Palmer moves into eighth on the UO top-10 list.

When the 200 meters rolled around, Oregon held a 137-133 lead over meet runner-up UCLA. Gillespie, Palmer and Daniel finished 1-2-3 to collect 24 points and create separation on the team scoreboard. In the victory, Gillespie lowered his own school record to 20.17—from 20.23—and entered the league's all-time top 10 in the event.

The women's trio of champions all became two-time conference winners with Hull defending her title from last season. Cook and Foster had each won their respective event at the 2017 conference meet in Eugene.

Over the final 100 meters of the race, Hull (4:16.42) used a familiar kick to pull away from the field and secure her second-consecutive Pac-12 title over 1,500 meters. The win was the program's seventh in the event and Hull joined Jordan Hasay (2011-12) as the two UO women with back-to-back conference titles in the 1,500 meters.

Foster led throughout the competition in the long jump and finished with a best of 6.29m/20-7.75 from her second attempt. She becomes the second Oregon woman with two conference crowns in the long jump, joining Jamesha Youngblood (2009-10) on that short list. In the only weather delay of the day, the event was delayed by lightning late in the final round.

With the meet winding down, Cook and Lexi Ellis added 15 points to the women's total with their 1-4 finish in the triple jump. Cook took the top spot with a jump of 13.40m/43-11.75 and gave Oregon its seventh conference win in the event, tying the most titles by any school in the triple jump. Ellis finished fourth in her Pac-12 Championships debut.

Freshman Eric Edwards Jr. secured the men's first individual title of the day with his victory in the 110-metre hurdles. He stopped the clock in a personal-best time of 13.59 to win his first Pac-12 title. Oregon has now taken three of the past four conference titles, a span that also features Devon Allen (2016) and Braxton Canady (2018).

Last year's fifth-place finisher, Orwin Emilien took home the Pac-12 title in the 400 meters. He did so in a new personal best of 45.91, taking down his previous best of 45.95 set on the Drachman Stadium track two weeks ago at the Desert Heat Classic. Oregon has won five of the last nine Pac-12 titles in the event.

Sophomore Cooper Teare was another first-time conference champion by way of his victory in the 5,000 meters, the final individual event of the meet. With just over 100 meters to go, Teare broke through the lead pack to claim the men's eighth Pac-12 title. He finished in 13:49.77 and became the Ducks' first 5K champion since Edward Cheserek in 2015.

Points From Everywhere

Men – 21 scored

Drake Brennan – discus

Reed Brown – 1,500m

Rieker Daniel – 100m, 200m, 4x100m, 4x400m

Eric Edwards Jr. – 110m hurdles

Orwin Emilien – 400m, 4x400m

Cravon Gillespie – 100m, 200m, 4x100m

Dalen Hargett – decathlon

Jonathan Harvey – 4x400m

DJ Henderson – long jump

Charlie Hunter – 800m