Kemba Nelson takes 100/200m sprint double at PAC 12 Championships
Kemba Nelson took the 100/200m sprint double at the PAC 12 Conference Championships held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Nelson, a senior at the University of Oregon, was the third-fastest heading into the final after clocking 11.23 during her preliminary round heat. USC’s Celera Barnes (11.16) and California’s Ezinne Abba (11.20) were faster going in.
However, in the final on Sunday, Nelson, who has a personal best of 10.98, turned on the afterburners and lead from start to finish to win in a season-best 11.05. Abba clocked 11.13 for second place while Barnes finished third in 11.21.
A half-hour later, Nelson lined up in the 200m final and this time produced a personal best 22.74 to take victory over Abba, who ran 22.91 for the runner-up spot. Shae Anderson of UCLA took the final podium spot in 23.04.
Nelson was also a member of Oregon’s 4x100m relay team that won gold in a season-best of 42.91 over USC ‘A’ in 43.45 and UCLA ‘A’ 43.77, which were second and third, respectively.
Nelson’s points helped Oregon’s Women win the championships with 167 points. Colorado finished second with 102 points with California third with 82 points. USC with 78 points and Washington with 68 points rounded out the top five schools.