EUGENE, Ore. – On the heels of the Ducks’ fourth-place finish at NCAA Indoor Championships, Jerry Schumacher and Curtis Taylor have been voted USTFCCCA Women’s Indoor West Region Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively.
In Schumacher’s second season in Eugene, the UO women scored points in eight of nine events they were entered and finished the meet with 31 points, just two shy of a spot on the top-three podium. Oregon’s fourth-place team finish marked a seven-spot improvement from a season ago.
Oregon entered the NCAA meet as the fifth-ranked team in the country, and reached as high as No. 2 during the season. The Women of Oregon claimed 14 USTFCCCA All-America First Team accolades, the highest number in the country.
It marks Schumacher’s second regional honor during his collegiate coaching career. He was the 2008 USTFCCCCA Men’s Indoor Great Lakes Region Assistant Coach of the Year while at Wisconsin.
Taylor is now a four-time USTFCCCA Indoor West Region Assistant Coach of the Year, coupled with his trio of honors from 2014-16. The Ducks’ sprints and hurdles group is also coached by assistant Dr. Ola Adeniji.
Under the guidance of Taylor, the women’s sprint and hurdle group accounted for 16 of the team’s 31 points at last weekend’s NCAA Indoor Championships. The Women of Oregon had sprint entries in the 60, 200, 60 hurdles and 4×400 relay, all of which scored points. Jadyn Mays finished third in the 60 and 200 while Aaliyah McCormick (60H) and 4×400 relay were both seventh.
Mays ran 22.49 in the national semifinals of the 200 meters to become the No. 14 indoor performer in collegiate history.
Additionally, the Ducks generated points at the national meet in the mile, 3,000, DMR and shot put. In the latter, Jaida Ross was the national runner-up.
Award winners were determined by vote of USTFCCCA member coaches following the NCAA Indoor Championships held last weekend in Boston. Performances from both the national meet and regular season were considered. Each of the nine regions honored both gender’s top track and field athletes, along with the top men’s and women’s head coaches and assistant coaches.
Oregon’s outdoor campaign begins Saturday, March 16, with several field athletes entered in the OSU PNW Invite in Corvallis. Shelby Moran, last year’s Pac-12 champion in the hammer, is among the team entries.
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