EUGENE, Ore. – Jerry Schumacher has been named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) West Region Women’s Coach of the Year. Jorinde van Klinken, now a three-time NCAA champion in the discus, was voted the top field athlete in the region while Brian Blutreich, leading the UO throws group, is the West Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year.
Schumacher led the Women of Oregon to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the team’s highest outdoor finish since 2017. The UO women earned 17 first- and second-team All-America honors and finished second in the Terry Crawford Women’s Program of the Year standings.
After the Ducks won their second-consecutive conference title, Schumacher was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Oregon scored 158.5 points to out-distance the conference field and scored in 19 of 21 events including seven titles. The UO women spent the final eight weeks of the 2023 season inside the top four of the national rankings.
In winning a third-consecutive NCAA title in the discus, van Klinken bettered her own meet record with a 65.55m/215-0 measure. Her series at the NCAA Championships featured three marks beyond 65 meters, and all six throws were far enough to win the competition. Coupled with her runner-up finish in the shot put, van Klinken accounted for 18 points at the national meet.
Already the collegiate record holder in the discus, van Klinken added the No. 3 measure in NCAA history with a 67.05m/220-0 at the Triton Invitational. She also had a throw of 66.85 meters at the Triton meet which is good for the fifth-best mark in collegiate history. Overall, she had six throws beyond 65 meters this past season.
She began the 2023 postseason by sweeping the shot put and discus titles at the Pac-12 Championships. At the NCAA West Preliminary, van Klinken became the No. 6 collegiate performer in the shot put on the strength of a 19.02m/62-5 effort.
Thursday’s announcement marks the second-career regional honors for van Klinken who was previously selected in 2021 during her time at Arizona State.
Under Blutreich’s guidance, the Ducks’ throws crew scored 22 of the team’s 44 points at the NCAA meet with van Klinken winning the discus, getting second in the shot put and Medford, Ore., native Jaida Ross finishing fifth in the shot put. Shelby Moran also qualified for the national meet in the hammer; finished ninth.
At the conference level, Blutreich saw his group…
CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at University of Oregon Athletics…