Micah Williams, Oregon's sprinters thrive at NCAA Prelims, but there were disappointments

It was sensational weekend for Oregon’s fastest Ducks.

The distance crew, however, suffered some disappointments.

Oregon returned to Eugene on Saturday night from the NCAA West Preliminary meet in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with its roster set for the June 8-11 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field.

Among the Ducks’ 24 combined men’s and women’s qualifiers was Micah Williams, who is evolving into one of the best sprinters in the world.

The second-year freshman from Portland won his 100-meter quarterfinal heat in a wind-legal 9.86 seconds (+0.7) to reset his school record and become the No. 2 collegiate performer all-time. It is the fastest time by an American this season and tied for the second-fastest time in the world.

Accolades:Micah Williams and Robert Johnson are the Pac-12 track athlete and coach of the year

Williams was also on the qualifying 4x100 relay team with Rieker Daniel, Ryan Mulholland and Xavier Nairne.

The Ducks’ women’s sprinters also performed well, qualifying three in the 100 (Kemba Nelson, Jadyn Mays and Jasmine Montgomery), two in the 200 (Mays and Iman Brown) and their 4x100 team of Nelson, Mays, Montgomery and Jasmin Reed.

But the weekend wasn’t without some casualties.

Oregon went to Arkansas with three athletes seeded No. 1 in their respective events and only one advanced — three-time NCAA triple jump champion Emmanuel Ihemeje, whose only attempt went 55 feet, 5 1/2 inches, good enough for a second-place finish in a format where the top-12 finishers in each event qualified for Eugene.

That wasn’t enough for Reed Brown or Alessia Zarbo, who had the top times in their field but didn’t qualify.

Brown, who is ranked No. 3 in the NCAA in the 1,500 at 3:36.44, finished 20th in 3:45.34. Zarbo, who is ranked No. 2 in the NCAA and No. 3 all-time at Oregon in the 10,000 with a time of 32:28.57, placed 30th in her semifinal on Thursday in 34:53.13.

In another stunner, 2021 Olympian Aneta Konieczek didn’t qualify in the 3,000 steeplechase as she finished in 18th in 10:17.70.

Two-time Pac-12 champion Alysah Hickey also scratched from the women’s long jump for an undisclosed reason. She was fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last season.

One of the bright spots among the distance runners was Aaron Bienenfeld qualifying in the men’s 5,000 and 10,000.

Jaida Ross was another double-qualifier for Oregon, as she advanced in the shot put and discus.

Ducks in the NCAA Championships

Men — Aaron Bienenfeld – 5,000 and 10,000; Elliott Cook – 1,500; Rieker Daniel — 4x100 relay; Ty Hampton – javelin; Emmanuel Ihemeje – triple jump; Ryan Mulholland — 4x100 relay; Micah Williams 100, 4x100 relay; Xavier Nairne – 4x100 relay; Luis Peralta – 800; Micah Williams – 100, 4x100 relay; Max Vollmer – decathlon

Women — Iman Brown – 200; Mine De Klerk – shot put; Lexi Ellis – triple jump; Jaida Ross – shot put and discus; Jadyn Mays – 100, 4x100 relay; Jasmine Montgomery – 100, 200, 4x100 relay; Kemba Nelson – 100, 4x100 relay; Malia Pivec – 3,000 steeplechase; Jasmin Reed – 4x100 relay; Dominique Ruotolo – triple jump; Izzy Thornton-Bott – 1,500; Alexandra Webster – 400 hurdles

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

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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon track & field athletes headed to NCAA Championships