The University of Oregon has a women’s national champion shot-putter for the first-time ever.
On day 2 of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Duck Jaida Ross capped her record-breaking collegiate season with an NCAA title in the shot put Thursday evening at Hayward Field.
Ross, a native of Medford, grabbed the title with a 19.57m/64-2.5 throw. While that was her longest throw of the day, all six of her throws during the competition were far enough to win. Ross will return to the field Saturday in the discus.
Jaida Ross. National Champion. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/62g54rwuZO
— oregontf (@OregonTF) June 7, 2024
Also from the field, teammate Shelby Moran took fourth in the hammer.
After the first day of women’s competition Thursday, six athletes advanced to Saturday’s finals.
In preliminary races, Jadyn Mays secured her spot in both the 100 and 200 finals, Klaudia Kazimierska became the No. 3 performer in school history at 1500 meters, and 400-meter hurdler Shana Grebo bested her own school record.
Competition continues Friday with men’s final events. Racing for NCAA gold in the 1500 meters, Oregon’s Elliott Cook will hit the starting line at 6:12 p.m.
Friday also marks the beginning of the heptathlon. The event features Oregon State’s, Anneke Moersdorf, the Pac-12 Student Athlete of the Year. Oregon teammates Taylor Chocek and Annika Williams will also compete in the heptathlon. The first event—the 100-meter hurdles— is set for 1 p.m. at Hayward Field. The final heptathlon events are Saturday.
You can find a complete schedule of events here.
