EUGENE, Ore. – Taylor Chocek strengthened her spot as the No. 4 performer in program history with a lifetime-best score of 5,625 points in the Mt. SAC Relays heptathlon which concluded Thursday. Oregon also saw personal bests from Giuliano Scasso and Vincent Mestler in the steeplechase during the Bryan Clay Invitational distance carnival.
Chocek posted her third personal best of the event with a measure of 5.94m/19-6 in the long jump on a third-attempt triumph. She owned a previous best of 5.70m/18-8.5 from last year’s Pac-12 meet. In the second event of the day, Chocek got the javelin out to 38.29m/125-7 on another third-attempt effort in a mark just six centimeters off her season best.
The Eugene, Ore., native capped the heptathlon with a run of 2:25.48 in the 800 meters to finish in sixth place overall and fourth among collegians. With the collective performance, Chocek added just over 100 points to her lifetime best.
Based on marks entering the weekend, Chocek moves into the top 15 nationally in the heptathlon.
Thursday also marked the beginning of the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif. Running in heat four of eight, Scasso and Mestler dipped below the nine-minute mark for the first time. Scasso posted a time of 8:54.57 to take more than seven seconds off his event debut of 9:02.26 from the Stanford Invitational.
Mestler had a similar improvement with a time of 8:56.39 from his opener of 9:04.80 two weeks ago in Palo Alto. Alex Slenning posted a season-best time of 8:55.46 to finish inside the top 30 of the expansive field.
In the women’s steeplechase, sophomore Harper McClain was the Ducks’ top performer with a time of 10:16.24 which was good for 27th place overall. She finished just off her PB of 10:15.82, a time from the Stanford Invitational that made her the No. 9 performer in UO history.
THURSDAY RESULTS
Mt. SAC Relays (Walnut, Calif.)
Heptathlon
6. Taylor Chocek – 5,625 points (PB) [No. 4 UO]
8. Long Jump – 5.94m/19-6 (PB) [831 points]
5. Javelin – 38.29m/125-7 [635]
8. 800 Meters – 2:25.48 [751]
Bryan Clay Invitational (Azusa, Calif.)
MEN
3,000m Steeplechase
24. Giuliano Scasso – 8:54.57 (PB)
29. Alex Slenning – 8:55.46 (SB)
34. Vincent Mestler – 8:56.39 (PB)
WOMEN
3,000m Steeplechase
27. Harper McClain – 10:16.24
57. Malia Pivec – 10:35.27
Up Next: Day three of the Mt. SAC Relays starts at 9…
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