Washington and Oregon Ducks teammates fly together

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor 

Oregon redshirt sophomore Ariana Washington might be the reigning NCAA Division 1 outdoor champion in the 100 and 200 meters – a feat no woman can claim in the past 18 years – yet she is also well aware that on any given day she might not be the best sprinter at her own school. 

Deajah Stevens, Hannah Cunliffe and Washington will all run this weekend for the Ducks at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships in Seattle. All three have the luxury of using the meet as a way to sharpen for the NCAA Championships, March 10-11 in College Station, Texas. 

Washington and Stevens were Olympians last summer. Cunliffe defeated both of them at the Pac-12 Conference outdoor championships last year, before straining her hamstring at the NCAA West Regional and re-aggravating the injury at the Division 1 outdoor championships at Hayward Field. 

They might yet prove to be the greatest sprint corps, and part of the best women’s team, in the history of collegiate track and field. 

“Oh, definitely,” Washington said at the suggestion. “We’ve put that on ourselves already. I think we’ve already said this is the greatest team ever, but we try not to stress about it. We just let it come as it will.” 

Washington swept the NCAA 100 and 200 crowns in June, a mildly surprising development, and became the first woman to take both titles since 1998. 

But in 2017, the former Long Beach Poly CA star knows nothing is guaranteed. 

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who wins or who gets third as long as we sweep (races),” Washington said. “That’s what we’re about. ‘The Terrific Trio.’ As long as we go 1-2-3, it doesn’t matter what the order is.” 

Cunliffe is the current national leader and collegiate record holder in the 60-meter dash at 7.07 seconds, in addition to leading the 200 at 22.60. Stevens is second in the 200 at 22.65. And Washington is fourth at 22.80, behind both of them and USC junior Deanna Hill (22.74). 

“I didn’t want to come to Oregon and be the star, or at least be the star right away,” Washington said. “I didn’t want to come and be the only sprinter. I wanted to train with Jenna (Prandini) and Jasmine (Todd). Getting Hannah and Deajah was good for me because I always need someone to push me to be better.” 

Washington finished sixth in the 100 meters (11.01) and fifth in the 200 (22.65) at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Those performances earned her a spot on the Olympic team in the relay pool. She didn’t compete in Rio de Janiero, but she made the trip and got an inside look at how the Olympic Games works. 

“I walked in the Opening Ceremonies, the Closing Ceremonies,” she said. “I just didn’t get on the track, which was fine. Four years from now if I make it to Tokyo, I’ll be a vet.” 

The most satisfying part of the experience was sharing it with her mother, Euna, and her younger brother, Gabe, who is 12 and has cerebral palsy. 

“That was really, really cool,” she said. “When (Gabe) went back to school, his friends were like ‘What did you do over the summer?’ And (when) he said, ‘I went to Rio,’ (they replied) ‘No you didn’t!’ That was a really cool experience for him.” 

It was also great experience for Washington, although the U.S. 4x100 relay team won gold without her participation. 

“It was great just to take it all in,” she said. “I had wanted (to be an Olympian) for so long. It was No. 1 in my dreams and to have that accomplishment, and being around Allyson Felix and Justin Gatlin, it was cool. It was like, , ‘Oh wait, I’m one of them.’” 

Washington also watched her teammate, Stevens, survive the rounds of the 200 and advance to the Olympic final, where she placed seventh.

Washington and Cunliffe both watched Stevens shine on the world’s biggest track and field stage and believe they can do it, too. After all, they do the same workouts and complete them in no particular order.

“It’s great,” Cunliffe said. “We all push each other. If one of us in slacking in a workout, someone else will pick you up. It’s competitive every practice.”