Jaida Ross of Oregon creates history at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with her shot put victory.
The spotlight, the target and nearly all of the eyes at Hayward Field were on Jaida Ross when she stepped into the shot put ring for the first time Thursday night.
With one smooth spin followed by an inaudible heave, the Oregon senior made history on the first day of the women’s NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet.
Her opening throw, which went 61 feet, 10½ inches, was all she needed to become the Ducks’ first women’s shot put national champion.
Her first throw wasn’t her farthest of the night; it was just never matched by any of the other 23 competitors.
Ross’ best mark came on her sixth and final throw, which went 64-2½.
“The first few throws felt like misses so I knew there was something in there,” Ross said. “I just kept throwing, kept working the technique and kind of put it together on that last throw so it felt good.”
Colorado State senior Gabby Morris was second at 61-2¾ and 2023 champion Axelina Johansson of Nebraska was third at 59-10¼. Mya Lesnar, the 2024 NCAA indoor champion, was fifth at 57-11¾.
“I definitely felt the attention,” said Ross, a Medford native who is in the midst of a storybook season that has included resetting the collegiate record twice in the past two months.
“I used it for a positive as much as I could. I knew I was the one to get coming into the competition so I kind of used that as motivation and a way to just throw as far as I can.”
Ross joins Oregon men’s winners Dean Crouser (1982) and Nate Steinhauer (1965) as the school’s only three NCAA shot put champions.
“This means the world to me,” said Ross, who apparently joined another exclusive club with her win.
Ross said her high school coach Pieter Voskes told her the only other NCAA champion to come out of North Medford High School was Oregon State high jumper Dick Fosbury.
“So this is a pretty cool thing to have my name on,” she said as she firmly grasped her winner’s trophy with both hands. “I’m pretty proud of this.”
The meet isn’t over for Ross. She’ll be back Saturday in the discus final looking to help the Ducks in their battle for a team trophy.
Her win boosted Oregon’s point total to 15 points, putting them in third place in the team standings after one day.