Oregon women going for a three-peat at the last Pac-12 Track & Field Championship meet

The long and storied history of track and field in the Pac-12 Conference ends this weekend in Boulder, Colorado.

Oregon has every intention of going out on top.

The Pac-12 Track & Field Championship meet is taking place Friday-Sunday at Potts Field and the Ducks women are favored to win their third straight team title — and 13th overall — before heading to the Big Ten next season.

It’ll be a tougher road to a high finish for the Oregon men, who have won a Pac-12 record 22 team titles at the conference championship meet in their history.

Oregon women should dominate

The Ducks have seven individuals and one relay ranked No. 1 in the conference in their respective events and five others ranked No. 2.

Jadyn Mays (100 and 200 meters) , Maddy Elmore (1,500), Aaliyah McCormick (100 hurdles), Katie Clute (3,000 steeplechase), collegiate-record holder Jaida Ross (shot put) , Shelby Moran (hammer) and the 4x100 relay team all have the best times or marks in the conference this season.

Klaudia Kazimierska (800), Silan Ayyildiz (5,000), Anika Thompson (10,000), defending Pac-12 champion Shana Grebo (400 hurdles) and Taylor Chocek (heptathlon) all have the second-best time or score.

If those 13 meet expectations, that’s 110 points — not enough to comfortably win a team title, but certainly a nice start.

Good thing for Oregon it has plenty of depth to pile up points and make up for any miscues or setbacks along the way.

Oregon got a big boost to its lineup a month ago with the return of long jumper Alysah Hickey, who was fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last season.

The two-time Pac-12 champion (2021, 2022), who had been out all of 2024 with an ankle injury, competed at the Mt. Sac Relays in April and jumped 21 feet, 1¼ inches, the third best mark in the Pac-12 this season.

It was Hickey’s first competition since the USATF Outdoor Championships in July.

For what it’s worth, the Ducks have won the last two titles with an average of roughly 163 points to 115 for the second-place finisher.

Oregon men not expected to contend for team title

The Ducks had won 15 straight conference titles until that streak was ended last season by Washington as Oregon struggled to a sixth-place finish with 75 points — its lowest finish and point total since coming in seventh with 71 points in 2000.

The Ducks still don’t appear to have the depth to contend for a team title, but they have enough to make the meet interesting.

Matthew Erickson (800), Benjamin Balazs (3,000 steeplechase) and Osawese Agbonkonkon (high jump) each are the top seed in their respective events.

Elliott Cook, the 800 champion in 2022, is back after a redshirt season and has the No. 2 time this season in both the 800 and 1,500.

Devin Hart is entered in the 10,000 and 5,000 and is a legit contender to score in both, as is PJ Ize-Iyamu in the 100 and 200.

Close look at the schedule

The meet begins at 10 a.m. Friday with the start of the heptathlon as well as the women’s javelin final. Running events begin at 3 p.m. with the women’s 1,500 prelims. The only finals on the track are the women’s and men’s 10,000 at 4:50 and 5:30, respectively.

Day 2 of the decathlon opens the meet at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The men’s hammer final at 12:30 p.m. is the first field event and the women’s 100 hurdles prelims the first track event at 2 p.m. The only track finals on Saturday are the women’s and men’s 3,000 steeplechase at 4:20 and 4:40, respectively.

It's all finals on the track Sunday beginning at noon with the women’s 4x100 and ending at 3:10 with the men’s 4x400. The men’s hammer is the first field event at 12:30 p.m.

TV Schedule

FRIDAY

• Women’s javelin, 10 a.m. — Pac-12 Oregon, Pac-12.com
• Men’s javelin, 1 p.m. — Pac-12 Network, Pac-12.com
• 10,000 finals, 4:50 p.m. — Pac-12 Network, Pac-12.com

SATURDAY

• Men’s hammer, 12:30 p.m. — Pac-12 Oregon, Pac-12.com
• 3,000 steeplechase finals, 4:20 p.m. — Pac-12.com

SUNDAY

• Full coverage, 12 p.m. — Pac-12 Network, Pac-12.com

Follow Chris Hansen on X @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com .

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon women going for a three-peat at the last Pac-12 Track & Field Championship meet