THOUSANDS OF FERVENT Duck fans in Hayward and elsewhere had high hopes for Aaliyah McCormick at this meet. And she repaid them.
The defending champion, McCormick had a busy indoor season, capped by an NCAA win, and her outdoor campaign began slowly. Then, at the West Regional, she produced a surprising 12.44, a significant 0.3 improvement of her previous personal best.
Kentucky’s consistent Emmi Scales and Southern U’s Tashina Alase, both juniors with 12.64 bests, were the only other contestants in McCormick’s new time zone.
The semis did nothing to alter the scenario. Scales and Alase both won theirs, in 12.72 and 12.90, respectively, while McCormick leveraged a 1.2mps aiding wind to record the No. 2 time of her career, 12.58.
For the final, Alase was in lane 4, McCormick in 5, and Scales in 6.
The field was off evenly at the gun, with Scales and McCormick touching down together after hurdle 1. There was nothing between them at hurdle 3, but already a small gap had opened between the leaders and Alase, UCLA’s Celeste Polzonetti and Ohio State’s Janela Spencer.
The top 2 remained almost exactly even over 7, with Scales perhaps inches ahead. Over 8, McCormick forged slightly in front, Polzonetti was 3rd, Spencer 4th, and Alase fading. The latter hit hurdle 9 and was effectively out of the chase.
McCormick had at most 2 feet on Scales when they rose for hurdle 10, and then disaster struck — but not for the Duck, who cleared it successfully, sprinted hard for the line, and crossed in 12.47 (1.2), close to her PR and a popular victory that was celebrated effusively.
At the other end of the emotional roller-coaster was Scales. She hooked the tenth hurdle with her trail leg, was thrown off stride, took one giant step and, out of control, crossed into Polzonetti’s lane, spun and crashed to the track, crossing the line backwards and forcing her neighbor to dodge her sprawling form.
Scales was timed in 12.67, but was DQed for “flagrantly impeding” Polzonetti. The Bruin soph was awarded 2nd in 12.782, ahead of Spencer in 12.789 and a pair of Texas Tech juniors, Tonie-Ann Forbes (12.80) and Symoria Adkins (12.82).
Afterward, a happy McCormick reflected on her year. “When I went across the line, all I could think was, I did it again. I can’t even express to you how happy and blissful I am. I tell myself that there are people coming for me, people want to beat me. Every day when I came to practice and ran on the straightaway, I would say, ‘I want to be national champion again.’ I would just think about someone being right next to me all the time and continue to push and push and push myself.”
WOMEN’S 100 HURDLE RESULTS
FINAL (June 13; wind +1.2)
1. Aaliyah McCormick (Or) 12.47;
2. **Celeste Polzonetti’ (UCLA-Ita) 12.79 PR;
3. Janela Spencer’ (OhSt-Jam) 12.79;
4. *Tonie-Ann Forbes’ (TxT-Jam) 12.80 PR;
5. *Symoria Adkins (TxT) 12.82;
6. Jaiya Covington (TxAM) 12.96;
7. *Rachel Mehringer (InSt) 12.99;
8. *Tashina Alase (Sn) 13.18;
… dq—[blocking]—[2]*Emmi Scales (Ky) [12.69].
SEMIS (June 11)
I(1.5)–1. Scales 12.72; 2. Polzonetti’ 12.74 PR; 3. Adkins 12.84; 4. **Joslyn Hamilton (SC) 12.94; 5. **Rukia Nusra Omulisia’ (Ky-Ken) 12.99; 6. Falon Spearman (Vand) 13.09; 7. Nea Sanders (SMU) 13.19; 8. Macee Rivers (IlSt) 13.27.
II(1.2)–1. McCormick 12.58; 2. Spencer’ 12.77 PR; 3. Mehringer 12.79; 4. Forbes’ 12.86 PR; 5. ***Taylor Cox (Ga) 12.89; 6. *Camden Bentley (Ky) 13.10; 7. Taylen Wise (Az) 13.13 PR; 8. **Júlia Jóhannesdóttir’ (Rice-Ice) 13.33.
III(1.0)–1. Alase 12.90; 2. Covington 12.90; 3. Oneka Wilson’ (Clem-Jam) 12.93; 4. Micaela De Mello’ (Or-Bra) 12.93; 5. *Adeyah Brewster’ (LSU-Bar) 13.10; 6. Asjah Atkinson (USC) 13.19; 7. *Kailey Elliott (ECar) 13.19; 8. **Gabriella Cunningham (Ar) 13.51.
