Men’s 100m (Final) and 200 (Final) Sunday 2:35 p.m. PT and 3:45 p.m. PT

 

USC will bring the heat in Sunday’s finals with NCAA leader Andre De Grasse in the mix. The junior threw down an 9.87 in the 100m and a 20.16 in the 200m at the Mt. SAC Relays April 16. The performances marked the first time a sprinter has swept both races in the meet’s 57-year history. 

 

In his first season for the Trojans, De Grasse has blossomed in the 100m and 200m distances. The Toronto native got introduced to track at a late age, and has since said that the sport has saved his life, according to Scott M. Reid of the Orange County Register. 

 

His teammates Beejay Lee and Just’N Thymes will also be prepared to sweep both the 100m and 200m. Lee clocked the fourth-fastest 100m mark run this season (9.96) at the Mt. SAC Relays, just behind De Grasse. He also holds the fourth-fastest 200m mark (20.27) run in the NCAA this season. Thymes has also exploded on the scene after running the seventh-fastest 200m mark this season at Florida Relays with a 20.46. 

 

Although the meet records of 10.03 and 20.00 set by Ato Boldon in 1996 are tough to break, De Grasse should definitely put those marks in danger come Sunday. 

 

Men’s 1500m (Final) Sunday 1:30 p.m. PT
 

 

This year’s Pac-12 Championship 1500m will be one of the most exciting finishes to witness with one of the best kickers in the NCAA known as Thomas Joyce. The California junior has taken over as one of the top middle distance standouts in the NCAA after running a conference-leading mark of 3:39.43 at the Big Meet between Cal and Stanford. The All American also showed dangerous range at the Payton Jordan Invitational with a monster kick in the final 400m to win section 2 of the 5K in a nearly 30-second personal best of 13:34. 

 

That Big Meet win from Joyce included a breakout run from Stanford freshman Sean McGorty who finished runner-up in a blazing fast personal best mark of 3:40.62. McGorty also recently contributed to Stanford’s third-place DMR squad at Penn Relays. 

 

The Oregon trio of Daniel Winn, Johnny Gregorek, and Blake Haney will show some Oregon depth. Winn is fresh after posting a personal best of 3:39.76 in the 1500m at the Payton Jordan Invitational. Both Winn and Gregorek each contributed 4:01 mile splits to the runner-up finish in the 4xMile at Penn Relays. Haney is having a standout freshman year after posting a personal best of 3:41.27 at the Payton Jordan Invitational. 

 

Colorado All American Jake Hurysz will be one to watch as the Buffalo is returning from a season’s best mark of 3:42.56 from Payton Jordan. Washington’s Izaic Yorks will also be one to look for as the Husky recently posted a win and season’s best in the 800m (1:48.52) at the Washington, Washington State dual meet.  He holds a season’s best of 3:43.31 in the 1500m from Mt. SAC and should be ready to roll in his final Pac-12 Championship. 

 

Men’s 5K (Final) Sunday 4:20 p.m. PT
 

The men’s 5K will be the only race where we see both Eric Jenkins and Edward Cheserek contend for Pac-12 titles. The two NCAA Champions from Oregon will have another shot at improving their season’s best 5K marks after jogging 14:00 at the Pepsi Invitational with their teammate Will Geoghegan on April 11. The mark currently puts the Duck trio 56, 57, and 58 in the west region, and will make the cut-off to qualify in the west dangerously close. All three runners will more than likely need faster times if they want to secure their spots, and this will be the last opportunity to make it happen. 

 

Almost all the Colorado NCAA XC Championship squad will be looking to mix up the top spots as Morgan Pearson, Pierce Murphy, Ammar Moussa, and Ben Saarel are all entered. Pearson recently posted a personal best in the 5k at the Mt. SAC Relays with a 13:36 performance, Murphy also posted a personal best of 13:37 at Payton Jordan, and Moussa also earned a PB at Mt. SAC Relays in 13:41. 

 

Women’s 100m (Final) Sunday 2:25 p.m. PT
 

 

NCAA Champion Jenna Prandini will come to roll out in the 100m as well as the 200m and long jump. At last year’s championships, the Oregon Duck set the meet record in the 200m with a huge win in 22.60. This year, Prandini set a world lead in the 100m at the Mt. SAC Relays with a mark of 10.92 (+1.4). At the same meet, Prandini clocked a 22.42 in the 200m, which is now the fourth-fastest mark run in the world this year. 

 

Prandini’s teammate Jasmine Todd will also be ready to contend after running an NCAA No. 2 mark of 11.03, behind Prandini at the Mt. SAC Relays. The NCAA All American will be challenged by USC’s all-star sprint squad of Ky Westbrook, Alexis Faulknor and Tynia Gaither. All of these Trojans have clocked season’s best marks under 11.40. 

 

Women’s 1500m (Final) and 5K, Sunday 1:20 and 3:55 p.m. PT
 

 

Arizona State’s NCAA Champion Shelby Houlihan will look to do more damage at the conference championships in both the 1500m and the 5K this weekend. The 2014 NCAA Champion in the 1500m currently holds the fastest mark this season after running 4:14.35 at a home meet in Tempe, Arizona. She clocked a converted 4:11 in February at the Millrose Games, and is riding a 2:02 performance from Drake Relays where she finished sixth in a field of all professionals. Houlihan is also entered in the 5K and so is NCAA leader Jessica Tonn. Tonn shocked the running world with a huge personal best of 15:18 in the Payton Jordan 5K, which launched the fifth-year senior as the NCAA leader. But Tonn has mentioned before that her focus at conference will be to run her annual 10K. If she chooses to return to the track for the 5K, she could give Shelby a serious run at the conference title. 

 

Stanford’s Elise Cranny will also be one to watch in the 1500m as the freshman phenom has proven to contend in championship situations. So far this season, Cranny has clocked a 4:16 season’s best from Payton Jordan, but her 4:10 personal best in the 1500m from 2014 is a dangerous mark in the field. 

 

Women’s 4x100m (Final) 1:00 p.m. PT

 

The USC women should be looking for some redemption on Oregon after losing to the Ducks at their home invitational back in March. Oregon posted their fastest mark of the season at the Trojan Invitational with a finishing time of 43.31, just 0.10 seconds away from the USC Trojans’ mark of 43.41. The Oregon women’s 4x100m squad currently holds the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this year, while the USC Trojans have since posted a 43.38 season’s best at the Mt. SAC Relays.

On their season’s best run, the Trojans beat out both the professional group of Dawn Harper, Allyson Felix, Jeneba Tarmoh, and Ginnie Crawford, as well as the ‘A’ squad of Oregon. Oregon has a few talented options on their legs such as NCAA Champion Jenna Prandini, All American Jasmine Todd and mainstay Marybeth Sant, but they will be missing Ariana Washington, who was part of their season’s best run earlier in the season. The Trojans will more than likely use their all-star squad of All Americans, Deanna Hill, Ky Westbrook, Alexis Faulknor, and Tynia Gaither.