lot of stuff going on at the USATF Championship in Eugene Weather was Hot so were the athletes

Jenna Prandini was all business as she settled into the starting blocks, not even cracking a smile when she was introduced to roaring applause.

It took just 22.20 seconds for her mood to change.

The Oregon star raised both arms high into the air right as she hit the tape at the finish line and then pumped her fist when her winning time in the 200 meters went up on the scoreboard.

On the final day of the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field in front of a crowd of 10,746, Prandini finally got her ticket to Beijing for the IAAF World Championships in August.

Two days after finishing sixth in the 100 final, the Oregon junior dominated the 200 Sunday. She reset her own school record and became the second collegian to win a U.S. title in the 200.

“The feeling is kind of indescribable,” Prandini said. “It hasn’t really hit me right now. I’m thrilled. I couldn’t be any happier and I’m really happy to go to Beijing.”

All along, the race was Prandini’s to lose. She ran the fastest time during the prelims Saturday with a wind-aided 22.18. She came out Sunday and again ran the fastest time during the semifinals in 22.44.

Then came the finals, and Prandini dominated again.

“I was really focused before the race and I just wanted to get it done and do what I knew I could do,” said Prandini, who was second in the 200 at the last two NCAA outdoor championships.

“I just got out hard and worked that curve and once I came off the curve I had to stay relaxed,” Prandini said. “In other 200s I’ve had a problem with tightening up at the end and I was able to stay calm, stay relaxed and finish that race.”

Candyce McGrone was second in 22.38 and Jeneba Tarmoh was third in 22.44.

Teenage pro Kaylin Whitney was fourth in 22.47 and NCAA champion Dezerea Bryant from Kentucky faded to fifth in 22.48.

With her win, Prandini joins current teammate Jasmine Todd and former teammates English Gardner and Phyllis Francis heading to the World Championships.

Todd qualified in both the 100 and long jump, Gardner made it in the 100 as well, and Francis will compete in the 400.

Prandini, who was already qualified for the 4x100 relay pool, was forced to watch Todd and Gardner celebrate after their big night Friday. She used her disappointment as a driving force Sunday.

“I was in the relay pool but I didn’t have my ticket punched to Beijing,” Prandini said. “I definitely wanted to get out there and get my own individual event. It was definitely extra motivation.”

She also got a little pep talk from Oregon assistant coach Curtis Taylor on Sunday morning before the meet began.

“He said ‘You can do it. Visualize running around that track with a flag in your hand,’” Prandini said. “He had all the confidence in the world in me and I know he’s the best coach I could ever ask for.”

In the end, Prandini got to take that victory lap.

“(Visualizing is) nowhere close to the real thing,” Prandini said. “It’s awesome to be able to hold this flag. It’s like a dream come true.”

Also Sunday, Texas A&M sophomore Shamier Little continued to be the dominant figure in the women’s 400 hurdles, winning the title in 53.83 to become the first to sweep the NCAA and U.S. championships in the same season since UCLA’s Sheena Johnson in 2004.

Little is the current world leader 53.74.

“It’s getting more and more exciting,” said Little, who was the World Junior champion last summer. “I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in the next few years.”

Cassandra Tate finished second in 54.01 and 2014 champion Kori Carter was third 54.41.

Men’s 110 Hurdles Final

David Oliver win in 13.04, followed by Ronnie Ash (13.13) and Aries Merritt (13.19).

Women’s 1,500 Final

Jenny Simpson wins in 4:14.86 while Nike Oregon Project’s Shannon Rowbury is second (4:14.99). Keri Gallagher is third (4:15.81). OTC Elite’s Lauren Johnson is fourth (4:16.08) and Nike Oregon Project’s Treniere Moser and Mary Cain are, respectively, sixth (4:16.18) and eighth (4:16.77).

Women’s 200 Final

Oregon junior Jenna Prandini wins in school-record 22.20. Prandini is only the second collegian to win the U.S. women’s 200. Candyce McGrone takes second (22.38) and Jeneba Tarmoh is third (22.44).

Men’s 200 Final

Justin Gatlin wins in 19.57. Isiah Young is second (19.93) and Wallace Spearmon is third (20.10).

Men’s 3,000 Steeplechase Final

Nike-Bowerman’s Evan Jager wins in 8:12.29. Donald Cabral finishes second (8:13.37) and Daniel Huling takes third (8:14.11).

Men’s Triple Jump Final

Omar Craddock wins with a mark of 57-6¼. Will Claye is second (57-4¼) and Marquis Dendy is third (56-6½).

Women’s Pole Vault Final

Jen Suhr wins the women’s pole vault after clearing 15-9¾. Sandi Morris of Arkansas is second (15-3) and Demi Payne of Stephen F. Austin is third (15-1). Former Duck and UO record-holder Becky Holliday finishes tied for seventh (14-5¼) and former Duck Melissa Gergel is tied for 14th (13-11¼).

Men’s 800 Final

Former Springfield runner Nick Symmonds wins in 1:44.53. Erik Sowinski takes second (1:44.84) and Casimir Loxsom is third (1:45.35).

Women’s 800 Final

Alysia Montano wins in 1:59.15. Brenda Martinez captures second (1:59.71) and Ajee’ Wilson is third (2:00.05).

Men’s Shot Put Final

Joe Kovacs wins with a toss of 71-8. Christian Cantwell is second (71-0) and Jordan Clarke takes third (70-6¼).

Women’s High Jump Final

Chaunte Lowe wins with a jump of 6-3¼. Elizabeth Patterson takes second (6-2) and Amy Acuff is third (6-2). UO’s Lauren Crockett finishes tied for seventh (5-10).

Heptathlon (final day)

Barbara Nwaba wins with 6,500 points. Sharon-Day Monroe is second (6,458) and Erica Bougard is third (6,288).

Women’s 400 Hurdles Final

Shamier Little of Texas A&M captured first in 53.83. She was followed by Cassandra Tate (54.01) and Kori Carter.

Men’s 200 Semifinals

Justin Gatlin (19.90), Isiah Young (20.19) and Wallace Spearmon (20.30) are the three top qualifiers for the final at 2:22 p.m. today.

There was a gum show Sunday at Hayward Field.

As Nick Symmonds prepared to cross the finish line in the 800-meter final at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships for his sixth U.S. title, the gregarious local favorite flexed his biceps for the cameras and the crowd of 10,746.

It was free advertising for Symmonds, who has the logo of his Eugene-based Run Gum company tattooed on his arms.

A year earlier, after his highly successful relationship with Nike and the Oregon Track Club Elite had come to an end, a physically battered Symmonds watched the event from his couch while contemplating retirement.

“I was 30 and my body was broken,” Symmonds said after gutting out the victory with a time of 1 minute, 44.53 seconds. “I had never suffered an injury like that before and I just thought I was too old to keep running at this level. I’ve gone through some real self doubt in my career.”

Symmonds said competing for the Seattle-based Brooks Running Company has breathed some new life into his career. He had just enough oxygen to get by runner-up Erik Sowinski (1:44.84) down the stretch.

Duane Solomon, owner of the previous two U.S. titles, promised and delivered a blistering pace before hitting a wall with 50 meters left.

“(Solomon) took it to the twilight zone,” Symmonds said. “All morning I’m just like, ‘Prepare yourself for the fight, you’ve got to be willing to be up and close to the action.’ At 150 meters into the race I was like, ‘You are not doing that.’”

Symmonds wisely took his pedal off the gas and methodically started to pick off one member of the pack at a time with about 300 meters remaining.

“I always say if I can be on the leader’s shoulder with 150 meters to go, I like my chances,” Symmonds said. “I moved up onto Erik Sowinski’s shoulders, we moved shoulder to shoulder for about 20 to 30 meters and I finally broke him.

“Then it was just about how do I celebrate this.”

Casimir Loxsom finished third in 1:45.35 to earn the final spot for the IAAF World Championships in Beijing. Clayton Murphy, who finished third in the NCAA Outdoor Championships two weeks earlier at Hayward Field, was fourth, setting an Akron school record (1:45.59).

“The pace was a little hot,” Loxsom said. “I was happy to hold on for the third-place spot.”

Solomon eventually crossed the finish line in 3:08.74 after his strategy backfired.

“The last 100 I just could not control my body at all. There was nothing I could do, my body just wanted to slow down,” Solomon said. “I got to the point where I was almost blacking out. I just had to stop, I had nothing left, I could barely walk to the line.”

In the women’s 800 final, Alysia Montano — who ran eight months pregnant at last year’s outdoor national championships — won with a time of 1:59.15.

Then Montano did Steph and Riley Curry-style interviews with her 9-month-old daughter, Linnea.

“I’ve had a couple of ups and downs in the postpartum journey,” said Montano, who is still breastfeeding and easing her way back into the sport with limited training. “I knew that I would be able to make it back. The national championship? I didn’t know it would happen this soon, but I believed.”

Montano finished last year’s race in 2:32.13 when her goal was not to be the first elite athlete lapped in the 800. On Sunday, the 29-year-old just wanted to use her experience to get back on the podium.

“I think honestly what’s given me this championship is being able to have perspective and faith in my ability to compete without really knowing where my fitness is,” said Montano, who tied Madeline Manning for most wins in the 800 with six.

Brenda Martinez (1:59.71) was the runner-up. Ajee Wilson (2:00.05), despite losing a shoe with 200 meters to go, finished third to qualify for the world championships.

Maggie Vessay, a pre-race podium favorite, fell down and eventually finished in 3:14.92.

Galen Rupp accomplished his primary goal of qualifying for the IAAF World Championships in two events.

He almost accomplished so much more.

Rupp was leading the men’s 5,000-meter final coming into the home straight but was passed by both Ryan Hill and Ben True before reaching the finish line on Sunday during the final day of action at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet at Hayward Field.

Hill won the slow, tactical race in 13 minutes, 50.69 seconds. True was second in 13:51.09.

Rupp, who won his seventh-consecutive 10,000 title on Thursday, was third in 13:51.54.

“To get on both teams was the goal, first and foremost,” said Rupp, 29, a member of Nike Oregon Project in Portland. “I was able to win the 10K, which is obviously great. I was hoping to win today, but like I said, qualifying was the No. 1 thing I needed to do.”

This is the fourth time the former Oregon star has qualified for the World Championships in both distance races.

He was also third in the 5,000 in 2011 and second in 2013. He completed the 10,000/5,000 sweep in 2012 before going on to win silver in the 10,000 at the London Olympics.

“I knew what it was going to be like going in,” Rupp said. “It’s not the first time I’ve doubled. I had to take care of business on Thursday first.”

Hill qualified for his second World Championship team with the victory. He finished third at the U.S. outdoor meet in 2013.

He took the lead with a strong kick in the last 100 meters.

“Perfect race for me,” said Hill, who trains with the Bowerman Track Club in Portland. “The pace and the gradual buildup to a hard finish, it’s really what I wanted, and then to be able to be in the top five almost the whole time and never lose the race, it just played out perfectly for me today.”

True, who finished second to Rupp in the 10,000, won’t run the longer race at the World Championships, he said. He’ll focus on the 5,000 instead, though he still needs the World Championships standard of 13:23.

Also in the race was 40-year-old Bernard Lagat, the American record-holder who finished in 10th at 13:59.48 and failed to make his fifth World Championships team for the United States, and sixth overall.

Eric Jenkins, who just completed a standout senior season at Oregon, finished seventh in 13:56.16.

“Man, that was tough,” said Jenkins, who now runs for Nike. “I just felt a little flat, a little tired. It’s been a long year. I definitely could’ve ran a smarter race. I hung out in the back too much, and you can’t do that. You might be able to get away with that in an NCAA 10K, but you can’t do that up at this level.”

Also Sunday, Evan Jager won his fourth consecutive men’s 3,000 steeplechase.

The American record-holder, who competes for the Bowerman Track Club, won in 8:12.29.

Donald Cabral was second in 8:13.37, and Dan Huling was third in 8:14.11.

Gatlin wins 200 with fastest time ever at US championships

By PAT GRAHAM, AP Sports Writer Published: Jun 28, 2015 at 6:25 PM PDT