NCAA Indoor National 60 meters champions Kemba Nelson and Micah Williams of the University of Oregon will open their 2021 outdoor season on Saturday with a 200m race at the 42nd Annual Aztec Invitational 2021, hosted at San Diego State University.
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Nelson, ran a personal best of 7.05 seconds to win the women’s 60m title at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships earlier this month and after a few weeks of recharging, the junior sprinter will look to get her outdoor campaign off on a positive note. The 42nd Annual Aztec Invitational is the opening meeting of the Oregon Ducks’ busy 2021 outdoor schedule.
The Jamaican will race from lane three in the First Section of the women’s 200m invite on Saturday where she is expected to be well tested by USC pair Lanae-Tava Thomas and Kaelin Roberts, as well as her Ducks teammate Danyel White.
Also starting in the first heat of the women’s 200m are Nicole Yeargin, Kyra Constantine and Bailey Lear of USC, Oregon’s Iman Brown and Anaya Bailey of Grand Canyon.
The women’s 200m will have four heats and will run from fastest to slowest.
In her lone 200m, race during the indoor season, Nelson ran 23.53 seconds, which is faster than her current outdoor personal best of 23.57. The 21-year-old is expected to go much faster than her current lifetime best and could even challenge the meeting record of 22.98, set by former Oregon standout Jenna Prandini in 2014.
Williams Targets For Fast Race In Opener
Meanwhile, Micah Williams who dominated the men’s 60m during the indoor season and top the campaign off with a 6.49 secs performance to win the NCAA national title, will compete in the First Section of the men’s 200m to open his outdoor term.
The freshman who owns a personal best of 21.03 is expected to smash that mark this weekend and could challenge the meeting record of 20.54, set by Pinder Demetrius of Texas A&M in 2011.
Oregon senior Gaston Bouchereau, who owns a PB of 20.64, will start alongside Williams in lane six and he is also expected to run well under 21-seconds if the conditions are favorable. Jamaican Xavier Nairne, who also owns a lifetime best well under 21-seconds, will also feature for Oregon in heat one.
Jan Kral of Grand Canyon, Arizona’s Trent Stimac and Trevor Volpe and USC’s Daniel Robinson will all race in section one as well.
