A Record-Breaking Night at the Oregon Twilight Meet
Yared Nuguse just edges out Oregon’s Cooper Teare at the line, taking the win in 3:35.96 in the Bill McChesney Memorial 1,500m. Photo by Otto Horiuchi
By Kate Walkup
EUGENE, Ore. — The magic of Hayward Field was on full display as a record-breaking start to the Oregon Twilight meet on May 7 set the pace for a record-breaking finish at dusk.
The long-awaited Bill McChesney Memorial 1,500m didn’t disappoint, but the action on the track leading up to the much-anticipated final 1,500m heat made the buildup that much more compelling.
Adams State’s Eilish Flanagan set the tone for the night, breaking the women’s 3,000m steeplechase NCAA D-II record with a time of 9:40.68 in her dominant win. It was the first of many records to be shattered during the final regular season meet at Hayward Field.
Adams State’s Eilish Flanagan emerges from the water pit on her way to a new NCAA D-II steeplechase record, 9:40.68. Photo by Otto Horiuchi
Two-time NCAA champion and 2016 Olympic finalist Devon Allen won the 110m hurdles in a time of 13.40 seconds, breaking his own Oregon Twilight meet record. It was the former Duck’s first performance in the reimagined Hayward Field.
“We’re standing here so we get it but you have to come see it to believe it,” Allen said in regard to the new track facility. “It’s pretty awesome. I don’t see why anybody in track and field wouldn’t want to come run here.”
Devon Allen returns to Hayward Field and breaks his own Oregon Twilight meet record, clocking 13.40. Photo by Otto Horiuchi
To wrap up the action on Friday night, the Oregon duo of Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker set out to go one-two in the Bill McChesney Memorial 1,500m. However, Notre Dame’s Yared Nuguse had the stronger final kick down the home stretch in a race that ended in a photo-finish lean, securing him the win.
Nuguse also posted the top outdoor time in the U.S. this year, finishing in 3:35.96—a meet record.
If this wasn’t enough, Nuguse led the top seven finishers in the 1,500 to breaking the previous meet record of 3:38.60, giving a preview of what’s to come at the NCAA Championships next month.
Even though Hocker’s closing speed looked dangerous down the final stretch, his signature kick wasn’t enough to pass Nuguse or Teare. Teare went into the race with the fastest entry of the top three finishers, but his immediate speed off the starting line didn’t give him enough of a lead to hold off Nuguse’s kick.
“I was hoping to have someone to sit on until the last 200 (meters), but that’s not how it goes,” Teare said. “It’s been pretty consistent for me to hammer it and try to win from the front, but that’s hard to do, especially with this caliber of field.”
Finishing 0.01 seconds behind Nuguse in 3:35.97, Teare secured the second-place finish in preparation for the postseason. Hocker finished third in 3:36.47. Teare and Hocker now rank third and fourth on the Oregon all-time list.
“Looking at Pac-12s, the goal there is to win, win, win,” Teare said. “This was kind of that last fun race where you just get to go from the gun. I’m grateful for the opportunity and grateful to have awesome competition. Now, we switch the mindset a little bit and we go out there to win every race. It’s definitely a different strategy but I think that will play into our hands pretty well.”
The Pac-12 Championships come next for the Ducks to test the championship waters before stepping onto the big stage of the NCAA Championships and the even bigger stage of the Olympic Trials later next month.