Kendricks Relishes Last Appearance In Front of East Grandstand

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

EUGENE -- Sam Kendricks got into the spirit of the last Prefontaine Classic to be held at tradition-laden Hayward Field. 

After winning the pole vault competition, Kendricks hopped into the East Grandstand and took in the remainder of Friday night's session with fans. 

By Kendricks’ count, Friday’s win makes five victories in major competitions at Hayward – back-to-back NCAA titles for Ole Miss, first place at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials and two Pre Classic triumphs.

“I took a victory lap and they didn’t say ‘You should take a victory lap,’ I just took it,” Kendricks said after clearing 19 feet, 0.75 inches (5.81m) on a cool evening with swirling winds.

“Perhaps it was my last time to run around Hayward Field (as it is).

“This is a place I’ve grown with over the years and I was glad I was here to put my own punctuation mark on it.”

Even though it was a non-Diamond League event, the men’s pole vault featured the world record holder (Renaud Lavillenie), Kendricks, the Olympic champion (Thiago Braz) and the 2015 world champion (Shawn Barber), in addition to prep phenom Mondo Duplantis, who graduated from high school last Saturday.

Duplantis cleared the first three heights with first attempts and had the competition almost in hand until three close misses at 19-0.75. Kendricks needed a third attempt clearance at 18-8.75 to stay in the competition and then won it with his first attempt at the next bar, which no one else was able to get over.

“It was little Mondo that made it exciting,” Kendricks said. “He’s a great jumper and he put us all in peril. It I didn’t have a chance to make 5.81 on the first attempt it would have been a different day. Everyone had to come to terms with their own struggles.”

Duplantis will spend the next week at home in Lafayette, La. before embarking on a summer of pole vaulting from a home base outside Stockholm, Sweden.

“I want to be the last man standing and tonight I was close,” Duplantis said. “But Sam is so hard to beat. And it irritates me a lot. But I know that him being hard to beat, will make it so much sweeter (when I do).”

MONDO AND KENDRICKS PLAY 'HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW ME' (IAAF VIDEO)

To Duplantis' credit, he owns a one-sided dominance over Kendricks in ping pong.

"I'm glad I can stay ahead of him in pole vault, just a little," Kendricks said.

Lavillenie, who called meet director Tom Jordan over the winter and requested a men’s pole vault be added to the Pre Classic, finished fifth.

The biggest news-makers of the evening were the trio of world-class javelin throwers from Germany.

Andreas Hofmann, Johannes Vetter and Thomas Rohler all broke the Hayward Field and Pre Classic record and Rohler pulled out the victory with a throw that traveled 294 feet, 10 inches (89.88m).

There were a total of eight towering throws beyond the 2016 meet record of 277-10 (84.68m) by Julius Yego, the 2015 world champion.

On the track, 18-year-old Selemon Barega outkicked Paul Chelimo of the U.S. Army and a big field of contenders to take the 2-mile in 8:20.01.

Edward Cheserek, making his return to Hayward Field after turning pro last year, was not able to stay in contention late in the race and finished 15th.

Emmanuel Korir of Kenya, who won the NCAA 800 meters final in 2017 for UTEP at Hayward Field, was triumphant in his return. Korir ran 1:45.16 to beat Nijel Amos of Botswana (1:45.51).

In the women’s 1,500 meters, Colorado’s Dani Jones, who is redshirting this spring, was the strongest over the final lap and won with a PR time of 4:07. Jones was the NCAA indoor runner-up in the mile.

Alexa Efraimson finished strong to place second.

“It spaces out the seasons nicely,” Jones said of her redshirt status. “I want to take a fifth year so I can be around for the Trials in (a Colorado) uniform. After a tough indoor season and kind of being injured we thought this was the perfect time.”

In the women’s 800 meters, Natoya Goule of Jamaica won in 2:00.84. Stephanie Brown of the U.S. was second in 2:01.84.

Note: Meet director Tom Jordan noted Friday afternoon at the annual press conference that Allyson Felix had pulled out of the women’s 400 meters and was not coming to the meet. Jordan said he didn’t have any further details and didn’t know why Felix had decided not to compete.