Observations From Day 4 Of The NCAA DI Outdoor Championships

EUGENE, Oregon — Records didn’t stand a chance at Hayward Field.

That much was evident across the four-day span of the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

On Saturday, for the third consecutive day, collegiate records — and an American record — met their demise as the top DI women competed for bragging rights and the right to be called NCAA champion.

Without further ado, let’s look at what made Day 4 so memorable.

One-Upping The Field

What’s better than a collegiate record?

An American record.

Georgia sophomore Keturah Orji wasn’t satisfied with the former, so she went about setting the latter.

After reaching the finals with a mark of 13.98 meters (45-10½) that would have won it outright, Orji went for broke on her fifth attempt — and it paid off in a big way.

Orji soared 14.53m (47-8), breaking her own collegiate record that she set during NCAA East Prelims and shattering the American standard of 14.45m (47-5) owned by Tiombé Hurd.

"I can never tell how far the jump is, but I can tell whether or not it’s a good jump," Orji said. "My other three jumps were not too good, so my coaches were pushing me and I was really happy with that fifth-round jump."

Needless to say, Orji captured her second consecutive NCAA title in the process and became the seventh woman in NCAA DI history to do so. If Orji repeats next year — and right now there is little doubt that she wouldn’t — she’d join Sheila Hudson as the only three-time winners.

Well Worth The Miles

Courtney Frerichs waded deep into the waters of the unknown when she transferred from UMKC to New Mexico last summer to remain with her coach James Butler.

Any concern Frerichs had last July paid off with a big senior year.

After being part of one of the most dominant cross country teams ever to lace up the spikes — and sometimes flats — Frerichs turned her attention to the outdoor season. Frerichs set her sights on the steeplechase title and better yet, Jenny Barringer’s seven-year-old collegiate record.

Both were in Frerichs’ crosshairs Saturday afternoon and her aim stayed true.

Frerichs dominanted the field by nearly 17 seconds and used a 70-second final lap to sneak under Barringer’s 9:25.54 standard. The Lady Lobo crossed the finish line in 9:24.41.

"Coach Butler told me four years ago that he thought I could do this, and I thought he was a little crazy," Frerichs said. "I thought being an All-American was going to be an amazing feat, but he’s believed in me this whole time and pushed me and I always kept believing."

That determination led Frerichs to the top and into the record books.

"It couldn’t have been any better," Frerichs said. "It started off amazing; winning a team title is the most amazing thing that could have ever happened in my collegiate career. It made the stress of July worth it, transferring was kind of stressful, but this year has been absolutely amazing and I couldn’t ask for anything else."

Odds And Ends

Oregon’s Ariana Washington swept the short sprints, winning the 100 and 200. Washington became the first freshman in NCAA DI history to do so. She also anchored the third-place 4×100 team. All told, Washington scored 21.5 points and was the first freshman to lead the NCAA meet in scoring since LaShinda Demus did so in 2002.
The women’s discus throw final featured five women who threw farther than 60 meters, paced by champion Kelsey Card of Wisconsin. Others launching the discus a long way included Florida State’s Kellion Knibb, Stanford’s Valarie Allman, Kansas State’s Shadae Lawrence and Michigan State’s Katelyn Daniels.
Kentucky’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn became the first freshman in NCAA DI history to win a title in the 100 hurdles. Camacho-Quinn beat defending champ Cindy Ofili in the process.

Checking The Watch (List)

Here are how the 10 members of The Bowerman Watch List fared on Saturday.

Tennessee’s Felicia Brown — Finished sixth in the the 200 (22.67).
Kansas State’s Akela Jones — Finished third in the heptathlon (6063 points).
Texas A&M’s Shamier Little — Won third consecutive 400-hurdles title (53.51).
Michigan’s Cindy Ofili — Second fastest qualifier in 100 hurdles (12.80 ).
Texas’ Courtney Okolo — Won her second 400 title (50.36) … Anchored national champion 4×400 team and overcame a near two-second deficit in the process as she split 50.45.
Georgia’s Keturah Orji — See above.
Southern Illinois’ DeAnna Price — Did not compete.
Oregon’s Raevyn Rogers — Won her second consecutive 800 title (2:00.75).
Mississippi’s Raven Saunders — Did not compete.
Georgia’s Kendell Williams — Won the heptathlon with a score of 6225 points.