Pac-12 Conference Meet Returns To Hayward Field As Teams Face Season's Most Important Meet So Far This Spring

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

The long list of championship meets queued up and waiting for a turn at Hayward Field begins this weekend with the Pac-12 Conference Championships, which run Friday through Sunday. 

It's the 91st men's championship and the 35th for women. 

The host Oregon Ducks are riding a 14-year winning streak on the men's side and the USC women have won the last three women's titles. 

Friday's forecast calls for rain in Eugene, but it should diminish Saturday and Sunday.

Here is a school-by-school look at the weekend:

Arizona:  The Wildcat men finished fifth last year and the women were eighth. Conference champion in the men's 400 meters, Johnnie Blockburger, transferred to USC. 

The headliners this spring are on the women's side. Samantha Noennig is the defending champion in th women's shot put. 

Shannon Meisberger (400 and 400 hurdles), Talie Bonds (100 hurdles and high jump), Lillian Lowe (high jump), Alexa Porpaczy (high jump), Neysia Howard (100 and 200), Skylar Sieben (heptathlon), Mackenna Orie (shot put and discus) and Noennig lead the Wildcats' contingent.

Sprinter Trayvion White-Austin (100), Calvin Wilson (400/400 hurdles), Reinaldo Rodrigues (long jump), Youssef Koudssi (shot put and discus), Jakob Chamberlain (discus and hammer), Jared O'Riley (javelin) and Dominic Gehr (decathlon) are the top athletes on the men's side. 

Arizona State: The Sun Devils come into Eugene with a handful of potential champions, including Jamar Marshall Jr. in the 110-meter hurdles, Turner Washington in the shot put, and the conference's top 4x400 relay, anchored by Justin Robinson. 

The women are led by NCAA discus champion and Olympian Jorinde Van Klinken from The Netherlands. Van Klinken is the reigning conference champion in the discus and also the favorite in the shot put, where she is ranked No. 2 in the NCAA. 

Robinson (400) and Ralford Mullings (discus) could give the Sun Devils big points. Dayton Carlson (800) and Vincent Mauri (1,500 and 5,000) could also be factors. 

For the women, Cortney Jones (100 hurdles), Sevanna Hanson (pole vault) and Dyla James (long jump)  should bolster the team score. 

California:   The Golden Bears swept the men's and women's team titles at the annual Big Meet with Stanford for the first time since 2015, one of the indications that the program is on an uptick. 

Additionally, the team boasts two Bowerman Award watchlist athletes in Mykolas Alekna and Camryn Rogers. 

Alekna, a talented freshman from Lithuania, is the nation's top thrower and NCAA record holder in the men's discus. Rogers, from Canada, is the No. 1 hammer thrower in the NCAA.

The men's team is field event heavy and has scoring potential with Garrett MacQuiddy in the 1,500, Hakim McMorris in the 110-meter hurdles and long jump, Tyler Burns in the pole vault, Jai Williams in the high jump, Isaiah Shaw in the triple jump; Josh Johnson, Jeff Duensing and Jake Porter in the shot put, Iffy Joyner in the discus and Ivan Moisander in the hammer. 

The women are led on the track by sprinter Ezinne Abba, ranked fourth in the conference in both the 100 and 200 meters. Freshman Aly Conyers (400) is a key part of the 4x400. In the field, Cal has Amari Turner (pole vault), Asha Fletcher (long jump and triple jump),  Busola Akinduro and Felicia Fenelus (triple jump), Anna Purchase (hammer) and Amelia Flynt (shot put and discus).

Colorado: One of the nation's premier distance programs, the Buffs feature several prominent runners that could have a big impact. 

Abby Nichols leads the NCAA in the 5,000 meters and is expected to double back to that event after running the 10,000. The Colorado women could rack up a bunch of points in the 10,000 with Nichols, Emily Covert and India Johnson. 

NCAA Indoor mile champion Micaela DeGenero is a threat to win both the 800 and 1,500 meters. 

Madie Boreman, one of the sixth-year seniors in the meet, won the 2017 conference title in the steeplechase. She is also in the 1,500, along with teammate Rachel McArthur.

The Colorado men have contenders in Charlie Sweeney and Andrew Kent in the 10,000. Those two will join Eduardo "Lalo" Herrera in the 5,000 meters and Herrera will also try to win the 1,500. Noah Hibbard is another one to watch in the 1,500. 

The women also have Abbey Glynn in the 400-meter hurdles and Avery McMullen in the heptathlon. 

The CU women have placed in the top five every year since 2017.  

Oregon: The Ducks' mission this weekend is to protect its 14-year winning steak of men's conference titles. 

"We have a long streak of winning and we don't have any intention of losing that," sprinter Rieker Daniel said. "Everyone's feeling healthy and good, so we're ready to go."

The star power in Oregon's lineup has shifted a bit from the distance runners to the sprints, where sophomore Micah Williams is one of the nation's best in the 100 meters and a key cog on the 4x100 relay. Xavier Nairne, Ryan Mulholland, Will Mundy and Daniel are also important pieces. 

Emmanuel Ihemeje has reasserted himself as the top triple jumper in the country, Max Vollmer is the reigning conference champion in the decathlon, Ty Hampton is the top seed in the javelin, and Mason Strunk has taken big steps forward in the hammer.

Reed Brown, Elliott Cook, Aaron Bienenfield and Jack Yearian anchor the distance group. Luis Peralta has come back from injury and could be a contender in the 800. 

The Oregon women feature a deep sprint corps that includes four Top-50 sprinters nationally in both the 100 and 200: Kemba Nelson, Jadyn Mays, Jasmine Montgomery and Iman Brown. 

Shana Grebo gives the Ducks scoring potential in both hurdles events and is the favorite in the 400-meter hurdles. 

Throwers Jaida Ross and Mine De Klerk give the team a 1-2 punch in the shot put and discus. Tori Sloan is among a handful of contenders in the high jump. 

Alysah Hickey (long jump), Aneta Konieczek (steeplechase) and Dominique Ruotolo (triple jump) are all returning conference champions.

Izzy Thornton-Bott is a threat to win the 800 or 1,500 and Alessia Zarbo is the team's top entrant in the 5,000. 

Oregon State: The women's-only program from OSU is getting better year by year but has spent nearly two decades trying to scratch its way up from the bottom of a talent-rich conference. 

New program benchmarks and school records have been tumbling under coach Louie Quintana, but keeping up with conference leaders remains a tall order. Last year, the Beavers were 10th with 21 points. 

All-Americans Grace Fetherstonhaugh and Kaylee Mitchell have proven they can run with anyone and are both in the top 12 nationally in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. They are both expected to run the 5,000 as well. 

"On paper, our team one through 27 is the best roster we've ever sent to a Pac-12 meet," Quintana said. "On paper we might be projected to score about 20 points, and we might score that, or we could score 40."   

The throws group includes Taylor Crockem, seventh last year in the shot put, and Isabelle Esler, Ella Knott and Jordynn Slater in the javelin. Anneke Moersdorf is entered in the long jump and triple jump. 

Jada Hurley is the team's top sprinter. Emma Nelson has scoring potential in the high jump.    

Stanford: The Cardinal men have big scoring potential in the distance races, but in a distance-heavy conference it's difficult to tell how the points will shake out. 

Charles Hicks is the top seed and defending champion in the men's 10,000 and Cole Sprout (5,000) and Ky Robinson (5,000 and 3,000 Steeplechase) are also major players. John Lester (800) and Udodi Onwuzurike (100 and 200) could also land big points in their events. 

Two field events that could be good ones for the Stanford men are th pole vault, with Garrett Brown and Max Manson, and the triple jump, with Keyshawn King and Kevin Yang. 

The women have No. 1 seeds in the 1,500 meters with Christina Aragon, the pole vault, with Laurel Wong, and the javelin, with Virginia Miller. 

Reigning conference champion Julia Heymach is expected to make her season debut in the 5,000 meters. 

Kennedy Gamble (100), Maya Valmon (400), Lucy Jenks (5,000), Grace Conolly (10,000), Elise Miller (triple jump), Jordan Fong (hammer) and Allie Jones (heptathlon) are also likely scorers. 

UCLA: The Bruins came up just one point short of rival USC in its dual meet on the women's side (although it initially celebrated a victory before a scoring error was found), and the men were close enough to keep it interesting until the end as well. 

UCLA has scorers across the board this weekend as it tries to put a winning effort together. 

Shae Anderson (200 and 400), Alyssa Bautista (10,000), Sydney Johnson (heptathlon), Catherine Leger (100 and 200), Lauren McFall (javelin), Chinyere Okoro (100), Rose Pittman (800), Natalie Ramirez (discus), Jillian Stafford (hammer), Lyvante Su'emai (shot put, discus and hammer), Emma Tavella (3000m steeplechase) and Isa Videler (heptathlon) are all in position to compete at the NCAA West regional. 

The men's team has scoring potential coming from Tate Curran (pole vault), Aidan Elbettar (discus), Kris Emig (hammer), Peter Herold (Steeplechase), Ugonna Ikejiofor (discus), Munir Kabbara (Steeplechase), Anoop Khatra (javelin), Sean Lee (high jump), Myles Misener-Daley (400), Cameron Reynolds (400), Ismail Turner (400), Jacob Wilson (shot put and hammer).  

The men's 4x400 relay, anchored by Misener-Daley, should compete for the victory with USC and Arizona State.

USC: The women's team seeks its fourth consecutive conference title and the men finished second to Oregon in 2021. The USC men have not won since 2006 but have scored 99 or more points 19 of the past 24 seasons. 

The Trojans return Davonte Burnett, who won the 100 and 200 last year. His races against Oregon's Micah Williams could be highlights of the meet. 

Arizona transfer Johnnie Blockburger is a reigning confernce champion in the 400 and anchors the 4x400. Trey Knight and Christian Johnson (hammer), Tate Ojora (110 hurdles), Earnest Sears III (high jump) and Sam VanDorpe (800) are all key players for the Men of Troy.

The women, reigning NCAA champions,  have a standout in Jan'Taijah Ford in the 200, 400 and relays. Celera Barnes, a Kentucky transfer, who ran a wind-aided 10.82 in the 100 meters at Texas Relays, should be in the mix in the 100 and help the 4x100 relay. 

Jasmine Jones (100 hurdles), Samirah Moody (100), Karlee Freeman (discus) and Joy McArthur (hammer) are the heavy hitters on the women's side.  

Utah: The Utes, a women's-only program, were 12th last year and relying on several key performers this weekend. 

Emily Venters, ranked seventh nationally, is the top seed in the women's 10,000 meters and could become the first Utah woman to win a Pac-12 individual track title.

Venters and Cara Woolnough will look to team up in the 5,000 as well. 

Simone Plourde (800 and 1,500), Josefine Eriksen (400) and Skyler Blair (400 hurdles) are also poised to score and the Utes' 4x400 relay team is ranked seventh. 

The team's highest output since joining the conference was 23 points in 2014.  

Washington: The Huskies finished third in both the men's and women's Pac-12 standings in 2021, a new high water mark for the combined program. 

The men feature Brian Fay, the NCAA leader in the 5,000 meters (13:16.52) and there are lots of options for the team in the distance events. 

Freshman Anthony Smith could score in the 100 and 200. The 400-meter hurdles could be a lucrative event with both Cass Elliott and Jonathan Birchman ranked in the top five. 

Freshman Nathan Green will compete in his first Pac-12 meet in the 800 meters. Fay, Luke Houser, Ryan Renken, and Joe Waskom are all in the 1,500. 

Fay is also entered in the steeplechase, along with Sam Affolder, who is seeded second, and 2021 runner-up Waskom. Kieran Lumb and Tibebu Proctor are both capable of scoring in the 10,000.

Ollie Thorner is seeded second in the decathlon, after a runner-up finish in 2021. Freshman Jami Schlueter is seeded seeded sixth.

Two-time Pac-12 discus champion Elijah Mason faces one of the best fields in conference history and comes in ranked fifth. Jayden White is ranked second in the hammer and Roan Allen is ranked second in the javelin. 

The re-emergence of Carley Thomas, a 2019 World Championships competitor for Australia, is a big story and she will pair with Anna Gibson looking for big points in the 800 meters. Gibson is also a contender in the 1,500.  

Haley Herberg placed third in the 10,000 meters last year and is a contender for the top spot this weekend. Teammates Naomi Smith and Allie Schadler could give the team a boost in the event Friday night as well.  

Makenna Barton, the reigning conference champion in the pole vault, is joined by teammates Delaney Ezeji-Okoye and Ashleigh Helms. 

Ida Eikeng is the top entrant in the heptathlon and Hannah Rusnak, the 2019 champion, is ranked fourth. Throwers MaKayla Kelby and Beatrice Asomaning will fight for points in the shot put, discus and hammer. Kathleen Horn is seeded fourth in the javelin. 

Washington State: The Cougars come into Pac-12s with three women ranked in the top three in the conference. Freshman Micaela De Mello (100 hurdles), Aislinn Overby (high jump) and Valentina Barrios-Bornacelli (javelin) are the top performers. 

Neema Kimtai could score in the 800, as could Mevin Jelagat in the 10,000. 

Colton Johnsen is a contender for the men's steeplechase title and is 12th nationally at 8:39.38. Kelvin Limo also has scoring potential in the steeple. 

Johnsen and Zach Stallings are also top competitors in the 1,500. 

Mitch Jacobson is a seven-foot high jumper and seeded third. Jacob Englar is a factor in the pole vault.