Cole Hocker’s 1,500-meter victory highlighted Day One of the Hayward Premiere

At the Hayward Premiere on Friday, April 2, Oregon sophomore Cole Hocker highlighted the first day by winning the men’s invitational 1,500 meters in 3 minutes, 38.99 seconds, which is the No. 1 time in the NCAA this season.

Hocker, coming off NCAA indoor titles in the mile and the 3,000 meters, said he was happy with the race.

“I just went in with one goal — to win — and I executed that,” he said in a statement from Oregon athletic communications. “I’m really happy about it because of where we are in training and completely training through this race and not really prepping specifically for this.”

Three other Ducks won individual events. Sophomore Tori Sloan won the women’s long jump on her second jump of 19 feet, 5.25 inches, a PR by about a foot and a half; Jack Yearian won the second section of the men’s 5,000 meters in 14:11.22, a personal best by 40 seconds; and Matt Wisner won the second section of the men’s 1,500 in 3:42.95, a personal best by six seconds.

Other winners on opening night:

• The women’s javelin was the first field event in Hayward, and BYU junior Ashton Riner won on her first throw with 165 feet  (50.30 meters).
• Michael Bryan of Wichita State won the men’s hammer throw with a personal record of 224-10 (68.54m), and Oregon State’s Lindsay McShane won the women’s event with a throw of 208-3 (63.48m).
• Washington State’s Emily Coombs had a dominant victory in the women’s pole vault with a vault of 12 feet, 9.5 inches (3.90m), and Zach McWhorter from BYU won the men’s event with a personal best 18-6.44 (5.65m)
• Arkansas freshman John Baker won the men’s long jump with his fourth jump, 23 feet, 6.25 inches (7.17m).
• Cameron Bates of BYU won the men’s javelin with a personal best 253-2 (77.17m).
• New Mexico’s Charlotte Prouse took the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:54.56.
• BYU’s Clayson Shumway edged out Iowa State’s David Too, 8:47.48 to 8:47.58 to win the men’s steeplechase. BYU finished with five runners in the top eight.
• BYU swept the top four positions in the women’s invitational 1,500 meters, with Courtney Wayment winning in 4:16.10, only .02 ahead of Anna Camp.
• Whittni Orton from BYU  broke away from the pack with 5 laps remaining and didn’t look back. Utah’s Poppy Tank finished 2nd with a time of 15:45.07.
• Colorado’s Eduardo Hererra held on to win in the men’s invitational 5,000 meters in a personal best 13:24.46, and along with the second- and third-place finishers, BYU’s Connor Mantz and  Casey Clinger, he met the qualifying standard for the Olympic trials.
• Boise State’s Clare O’Brien led the final two miles of the women’s invitational 10,000 meters and won in 32:43.70.
• Iowa State teammates Wesley Kiptoo and Edwin Kurgat controlled the men’s invitational 10,000 meters, with Kiptoo winning in 27:58.10.