EUGENE -- When push came to shove, Ariana Washington chose to stay.

The University of Oregon's three-time NCAA champion opted for another year as a collegiate sprinter over the beckoning world of professional track and field.

"At the end of the day, I decided I had unfinished business here," says Washington, a junior who will be part of the UO contingent competing Friday and Saturday at the Dr. Sander/Columbia Challenge Invitational at The Armory in New York City.

Whether or not to leave early was not an easy decision. It weighed on her throughout 2017 and into the summer, when Washington was part of Team USA for the World Outdoor Championships in London.

Teammates Deajah Stevens and Raevyn Rogers left school following their junior seasons after the UO women clinched the 2017 NCAA triple crown -- national championships in cross country, indoor and outdoor track in the same academic year.

"I had a lot of discussions with my family and people around me who support me," she says.

Including Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy, Washington's boyfriend.

Murphy gave up his senior season at Akron to turn professional in the summer of 2016, and then medaled in Rio. He was the perfect sounding board.

"I didn't suggest one way or another," Murphy says. "I gave her information and made sure she had all the facts. There are a lot of gray areas in professional track. Every time I have a conversation with my agent I learn more about how the sport works."

Washington decided she could only benefit from another year of collegiate structure, including hands-on coaching from UO sprints coach Curtis Taylor, the occasional motivational push from head coach Robert Johnson, and the academic support the Ducks afford athletes.

She is within reach of a degree in elementary education, which factored into the decision too.

"I have no regrets about coming back," Washington says. "I want to just have one more college year."

Big things could be in store. After healing from a broken foot that cost her the 2015 outdoor season, Washington has had a superlative collegiate career.

She won NCAA outdoor titles in the 100 and 200 meters as a redshirt freshman. She tacked on an NCAA indoor title in the 200 last March. She was second in the 200 and fourth in the 100 at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Washington is Oregon's school record-holder indoors in the 200 with a best of 22.42 seconds. She stands No. 3 on the school's career outdoor list in the 200 and No. 6 in the 100.

"She wants to win national titles," Murphy says. "She has won some already. She is hungry for more. She wants to go out on a high note. That's exactly why she made the decision she made. She has big goals and aspirations and has the tools to get them as a collegiate athlete."

There aren't many collegians with Washington's international resume.

She made the 2016 U.S. Olympic team as an alternate. She came home last summer from London with a world championships gold medal from the 4x100.

It was on the world stage in 2016 that Washington met Murphy. They became friends while hanging out in the Rio athletes village, and stayed in touch afterward. Early last summer the friendship became something more.

Murphy has joined the Portland-based Nike Oregon Project training group, which means he spends a lot of time in Eugene and she is a regular visitor to Portland.

The relationship works on many levels, from pushing each other to eat better to each providing the other an informed perspective through the ups and downs of being an athlete.

"If one of us doesn't run as well as we could have potentially, it's not, 'Oh you did great,'" Murphy says. "It's, 'What positives can we take out of it? Where do we go from here? What do we do to make sure it doesn't happen again?'"

That helps. So does Washington's upbeat personality.

"Even if she isn't having a great day, she makes sure it won't affect anybody else's day," Murphy says. "She is a very uplifting person, and very fun to be around. She knows how to bring a smile to your face."

And so, Washington has launched into what almost certainly will be her final six months as a UO athlete.

This year, she says, she feels centered.

"Last year I got caught up in the possibility of me leaving, what the future holds, and all of that," Washington says. "I don't think I ever took time to be in the moment.

"That's what I'm trying to focus on this year. To enjoy the time I have to be with my team and my coaching staff, and to focus on the now."

-- Ken Goe

kgoe@oregonian.com | @KenGoe