Ducks get eight individual wins during season-opening Oregon Preview meet

Shelby Moran left the sunshine and desert climate to follow her coach back to Oregon.

Saturday she made her debut as a Duck a successful one.

The native of Sherwood and transfer from Arizona State won the women’s hammer and had a satisfying performance in the discus as the Ducks opened the outdoor track and field season Friday and Saturday with the Oregon Preview meet at Hayward Field.

The Ducks won eight events, including Moran’s victory in the hammer when she became the No. 4 all-time performer at Oregon with a throw of 211 feet, 4 inches on her first attempt.

Still, it was well below her personal record of 231-7, leaving the junior frustrated with what she thought was a poor mark.

“I’m pretty disappointed,” she said. “I took like a month off very recently and I’m still trying to get back into it and I’m trying to be a little lenient on myself, but we’ll see.”

With Moran on the roster, Britney Henry’s school record of 221-7 might be in danger for the first time since Olympian Jillian Weir last threw for the Ducks in 2014.

“No doubt that I will get it,” Moran said. “We’re starting off slow since I did take time off. My PR is 70 meters so I don’t see why I wouldn’t get it.”

Moran transferred when throws coach Brian Blutreich left Arizona State for Oregon. Her former Sun Devils teammate Jorinde Van Klinken, an Olympian in the discus, also transferred to Oregon and set the NCAA record indoors in the shot put in January.

Moran also placed third in the discus on Saturday with a mark of 172-02.

“Last year I was only over (164-0) once, at Pac-12s, so it was nice to start the season there,” said Moran, whose discus PR is 179-7, which she threw as a high school senior in 2018 to set the Oregon state record. Her collegiate best is 174-0.

Oregon’s Jaida Ross, who finished eighth in the shot put last week during the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship meet, finished second Saturday with a throw of 178-2 on her final attempt.

“Very happy, better than expected,” Ross said. “I had some doubt today and leading up to today. I’ve been really focused on shot lately just because indoors was last week, so this was a quick turnaround for me.”

Oregon State’s Jade Whitfield had the two best throws of the day, including the winning mark of 182-5 that shattered the program record of 176-10¾. Whitfield also threw 179-8.

Another Mestler in the steeplechase for Oregon

Vincent Mestler’s move to the steeplechase might have been inevitable, but Saturday it became official.

The Oregon sophomore, whose brother and father had standout steeplechase careers for the Ducks, finished second in the men’s 2,000-meter steeplechase in 5 minutes, 48.6 seconds.

“First introduction,” Mestler said. “I felt pretty good about, so definitely excited to do some more in the future.”

Mestler spent his freshman season as a middle distance runner but coach Jerry Schumacher approached him during the 2022 cross country season and suggested he should try the steeplechase.

By December, “it felt like maybe this was going to be a real thing we do, probably targeting next season,” Mestler said. “But then training was going well and we decided let’s go for it this year.”

Mestler’s brother, Jackson, won the Pac-12 3,000 steeplechase title in 2021 and later that summer went on to make the finals at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials.

His PR of 8:27.65 is the fastest time recorded by a Duck since Ken Martin set the school record of 8:20.97 in 1980.

Their dad, Rick, was a four-time steeplechase all-American for Oregon from 1988-92.

Vincent Mestler was out front in his debut race when Seattle’s Gus Harquail burst into the lead with two laps to go. He finished in 5:44.84 for the win.

“There’s been a bit of a learning curve, but I really enjoyed it,” Mestler said. “I wish I would’ve gone with that move there. I feel like I could’ve had a chance to go out there and win it. I learned that I can close hard and I should’ve done it earlier.”

Ty Hampton working through back issues

Returning Pac-12 men’s javelin champion Ty Hampton cut his day short Saturday as he attempts to compete through the same back issues that put an early end to his 2021 season.

Hampton threw 217-9 on his second throw, fouled on his third and then passed on his final three to finish in second place.

He was still in the lead when Colby Neron of Umpqua Community College passed him with a throw of 217-11 on his final attempt.

“Just trying to see where I’m at for the season,” said Hampton, who set his PR of 252-11 last season to move into third-place all-time at Oregon. “Just doing something to have an idea. … I’m just not that healthy this year compared to last year.”

Kohana Nakato wins the women’s javelin

Kohana Nakato was thrilled with the way her season started Saturday.

Using a short approach, the Oregon sophomore won the women’s javelin with a throw of 158-11 — a mark she hit on both her first and fifth attempts.

“It felt amazing,” Nakato said. “Everything that I’ve been working on just clicked and it just felt so good … made me feel good about what’s to come.”

Last summer Nakato won the USATF U20 championship and earned a spot in the World Junior Championships. She also placed third at the Pac-12 Championships in May.

“I definitely feel a lot more comfortable and confident, especially after last year,” Nakato said. “It was a good year to get under my belt.”

Harper McClain wins meet-opening 10K Friday night

Several member of the Ducks’ distance crew were attempting to secure an NCAA West Preliminary qualifying time Friday night when the Oregon Preview opened with men’s and women’s 10,000 races.

Harper McClain led a trio of Oregon runners under 34 minutes in the women’s race and Abdinasir Hussein ran under 29 minutes for a third-place finish in the men’s race.

Running in the first 10K of her collegiate career, McClain finished in 33:44.62 to get the win. Maddy Elmore was third in 33:51.49 and Anika Thompson crossed in fourth in 33:51.70.

The NCAA West Preliminary qualifying cut-off time last season was 34:23.08.

The men's race was won by Boise State's Mohammed Jouhari in 28:51.72 with Oregon freshman Josh Edwards, who was competing unattached, coming in second at 28:52.99. Hussein's time of 28:57.08 puts him inside last year's regional qualifier (29:02.56) in what was his first 10,000.

Other notable results

• Oregon's Mia Moerck won the women’s 1,500 in 4:27.32, separating from Oregon State’s Christina Geisler (4:28.50) down the homestretch.

• Oregon heptathletes Colleen Uzoekwe and Taylor Chocek went 1-2 in the women’s 200. Uzoekwe won in 24.44 and Chocek ran 24.77.

• Oregon's Hannah Ganashamoorthy won the women’s long jump with a mark of 18-11¾.

• Oregon's Mason Strunk won the men's hammer with a throw of 206-4.

• Oregon freshman Hunter Angove won the men's pole vault, clearing 16-2¾

• Lane Community College's Dylan Murray won both the 110 hurdles (14.79) and 400 hurdles (53.22). Murray is a former standout for Willamette High who won a Class 5A state title in the 110 hurdles in 2019.

Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com. For more sports coverage, visit registerguard.com. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Highlights from Oregon Ducks outdoor track and field opener