Jasmine Jones won the 100 hurdles title a year after finishing second. Photo by Cierra Hitner
Arizona State’s Jamar Marshall Jr. started strong and cleared every hurdle cleanly to win the Pac-12 title in the 110-meter hurdles Sunday at Hayward Field by a margin of .14 seconds.
His time of 13.39 seconds was a personal best.
“I’ve been feeling good this whole week,” he said. “I mean I’ve been through ups and downs, just look at the rankings the past few weeks.”
Marshall fell and suffered a concussion at the Mt. SAC Invitational earlier this outdoor season. Despite the setback, Marshall Jr. felt good about his rehab and his mindset with running hurdles moving forward.
This win gave him his second straight conference title, but he knows that the work is not over yet.
“Forget life, hurdles are just like a wife — like there’s ups and downs, you know what I mean,” he said. “When we got into an argument at Mt. SAC, you know, she kicked me out of the crib, and now I’m back on good times.”
The women’s 100-hurdle title went to USC’s Jasmine Jones, who got off to a terrific start and pulled away early on to cement the victory in 12.92.
“The start was a lot about focus – you know, we had to stand up at the beginning of that,” Jones said. “Don’t let it get to your head and don’t get distracted and just think about everything you’ve practiced.”
Jones’s win comes after she finished second behind former teammate Anna Cockrell, last year’s NCAA Champion.
“It was good to win it this year,” she said. “My coaches talked about it this offseason to not let it get to me and affect my performance this season.”
