With next week’s Pac-12 championships on the minds of many Oregon coaches and athletes, participation by Ducks in the Oregon Twilight Meet was cut back.
Jenna Prandini, who recently set UO records in the 100 meters and 200 meters at the Mt. Sac Relays, did not participate in any way on Friday. Sophomore sprinters Christian Brennan and Ashante Horsley ran only in the 200 meters.
This resulted in an entry list of just four competitors in the women’s 400 meters, only three of whom showed up. Cassie Hopkins, a senior from Australia who ran unattached, was joined at the starting line by Maura Forbush of Willamette and Mattie Brouwers of Lewis and Clark.
After battling a significant wind, which seemed up pick up just before the start, throughout the race, Hopkins won in 58.99.
“It was pretty windy, so I didn’t have a very good time, but I got the finish right,” she said. “It doesn’t really get you at the start. But it slows you down the remainder of the race, so you don’t have the momentum you would’ve wanted.”
Hopkins, whose PR in the 400 meters is 58.32, raced at Hayward Field for the first time on Friday.
“It’s really intense here,” she said. “It’s so much more intense than at home. I’m really not used to that at all, but I liked it. There’s a lot more people into the sport, whereas at home there are not very many big crowds.”
