UO release - EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon track and field team closed out the penultimate weekend of the regular season with a pair of wins and four top-10 program performances Saturday between the Desert Heat Classic and OSU High Performance meet. The Ducks' winners circle included Aaliyah McCormick in the 100-meter hurdles in Arizona and Mihaly Akpamgbo in the mens' 100 meters in Corvallis.  Just two weeks shy of the postseason, the Ducks combined for 18 personal or season bests Saturday.  In the first field result of the day, Emily Fitzsimmons established a lifetime best of 4.41m/14-5.5 in the pole vault to become just the third woman in program history to clear 14 feet outdoors. She joins the short list featuring past UO standouts Becky Holiday (14-8) and Melissa Gergel (14-7.25). Fitzsimmons surpassed her previous outdoor best of 4.20m/13-9.25 from last year's NCAA West regional meet. She finished fourth in Saturday's competition.  The Hills, Texas, native cleared 14 feet—4.36m/14-3.5, to be exact—twice this past indoor season.  The Ducks' first win in the desert came from McCormick in her signature event. She crossed the finish line in 13.03, lowering her season's best the 13.07 she ran at the Battle at the Beach (April 4). Saturday was her first hurdles race since the Long Beach meet.  In another standout hurdles performance, freshman Annaleise Taylor put together a lifetime-best time of 58.50 in the 400-meter hurdles. After just missing a spot on the UO top 10 at the Battle at the Beach in April, the Goodyear, Ariz., native cracked the all-time list as the No. 7 performer in school history. In her first race of the day, Taylor ran an all-conditions best of 13.52 (+2.4) in the 100 hurdles.  The Ducks' all-time top five in the men's shot put had gone unchanged since 1982 until Kobe Lawrence let go of a 19.64m/64-5.25 measure in the fifth round of Saturday's competition. The mark is also a new season's best, surpassing his 19.28m/63-3.25 at the Oregon Team Invitational (April 19). With Saturday's effort, Lawrence surpassed Dave Voorhees to go from sixth to fifth on the UO top-10 list.  Lawrence carries a career best of 20.07m/65-10.25 from his redshirt season in 2024.  Ella Clayton added a lifetime-best performance of her own, posting a time of 51.64 to finish third in the 400 meters. The time eclipses her previous best of 51.92 from the 2023 season and marks her first sub-52 clocking since running 51.96 at the 2023 NCAA West regional. With her latest outing, Clayton moves from eighth to seventh on the program's all-time list.  Clayton was also part of two season-best relay performances for the UO women. The 4x100 and 4x400 relays clocked in at 43.87 and 3:37.37, respectively, good for second in both races. The men's 4x1 relay was also in season-best form Saturday, passing the baton the track in 39.89 in a third-place finish.  Closer to home, the Ducks got a win from Akpamgbo in the 100 meters at the OSU High Performance in Corvallis. The UO freshman stopped the clock in 10.73 to secure the victory, his second of the season. He also won the 100 meters—in 10.61—at the Oregon Open (April 18) in Eugene.  The Ducks return to Hayward Field this coming Friday, May 9, for the Oregon Twilight. Oregon will also host the Big Ten Championships (May 16-18) and NCAA Championships (June 11-14) on its home track. Tickets for the Twilight and both postseason meets are currently on sale.