EUGENE, Ore. – Continuing his standout postseason, Elliott Cook turned in the top time in the semifinal round of the 1500 meters on day one of the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field. The Pac-12 champion advances to his first NCAA final in the event, and will race for a national title Friday at 6:12 p.m. on ESPN2.
Cook was the fastest overall qualifier in Friday’s heats of the 1500 meters, stopping the clock in 3:37.25 which also marked a new lifetime best for the UO junior. The Powell, Ohio, native began the day with a best of 3:38.12 from last year’s USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, and carried a season-best time of 3:38.55 into the meet.
In a near miss, redshirt freshman Rheinhardt Harrison was the first runner outside of the advancing 12 athletes. He actually turned in the eighth-fastest overall time with a personal best of 3:38.70 but with a loaded second heat, he missed an at-large bid. Tomas Palfrey, the third Duck in the event, was seventh in heat one in 3:40.82 and finished 19th overall in his NCAA debut.
PJ Ize-Iyamu, the Pac-12 champion at 100 meters, capped his breakout season with a 13th-place finish in the semifinals. The Oregon sophomore was fourth in heat one with a time of 10.28 in heat one of three. Ize-Iyamu was making his second NCAA appearance, and first as an individual qualifier. He made his first NCAA trip a season ago with the Ducks’ 4×100 relay.
Through the first five events of the decathlon, UO sophomore Rafael Raap sits in 18th place with 3,873 points. He bookended his day with a pair of solid performances in the 100 and 400 meters, respectively. Raap ran 10.99 in the 100, just .02 off his season best from the Mt. SAC Relays. In his final event of the day, he clocked a time of 50.41 over 400 meters, good for a season’s best.
The decathlon will conclude Thursday, beginning with the 110-meter hurdles at 11:30 a.m. Day two of the 10-event competition also includes the discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500 meters.
Up Next: Day two of the NCAA Championships marks the beginning of the women’s competition. The Women of Oregon have 15 total entries across 13 events. In addition to semifinal heats, the Ducks will have scoring chances with Jaida Ross in the shot put and Shelby Moran in the hammer. The hammer is set to start at 3 p.m. with the shot put scheduled for a 7:40 p.m. start.
Wednesday Results
NCAA Championships (Eugene, Ore.)
q – advances to final
MEN
100 Meters
13. PJ Ize-Iyamu – 10.28
1500 Meters
1. Elliott Cook – 3:37.25q (PB)
8. Rheinhardt Harrison – 3:38.70 (PB)
19. Tomas Palfrey – 3:40.82
Decathlon – Day 1
18. Rafael Raap – 3,873 points
17. 100 Meters – 10.99 [863 points]
16. Long Jump – 7.02m/23-0.5 [818]
11. Shot Put – 13.81m/45-3.75 [717]
18. High Jump – 1.86m/6-1.25 [679]
22. 400 Meters – 50.51 [796] (SB)
For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
