Meet Recap: 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor T&F Championships

Champions were crowned at the 2023 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Rochester, New York.

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MIT’s men and UW-La Crosse’s women took home their respective team titles after three days of record-breaking competition. The Engineers won their first outdoor title in program history, while the Eagles topped the outdoor podium for the first time since 2015.

Men’s Recap

No one could match MIT on the final day in Rochester, New York.

The Engineers, who came into the meet ranked second in the Pre-Championships Edition of the National TFRI, used three event titles and several top-3 finishes to propel themselves to the top of the podium. Ryan Wilson was a double winner in the 800 meters and 1500 meters, while Enoch Ellis took home top honors in the 110-meter hurdles. Ellis was joined on the podium by Kenneth Wei, who placed third (Wei also added eight points to MIT’s total with a runner-up effort in the long jump).

Top-ranked UW-La Crosse captured runner-up honors with 49 points. Sam Blaskowski starred for the Eagles once again: Blaskowski shattered his own NCAA DIII record to win the 100 meters (10.13), finished runner-up in the 200 meters and helped the Eagles’ 4×100 relay post a pair of all-time marks, the fastest of which is a division record and came in the prelims (39.86). Ethan Gregg provided UW-La Crosse with eight points from a runner-up showing in the 10,000 meters.

John Carroll and Rowan tied for third place with 39 points. Twenty of those points for the Blue Streaks came from Alex Phillip, who capped his legendary NCAA DIII career by sweeping the distance titles. Phillip did so with a flair, setting a meet record in the 10,000 meters of 28:37.89 – which also doubles as the second-fastest mark in division history. The Profs didn’t win an event, but scored in seven different ones.

UW-Eau Claire finished just off the podium with 37 points. Yakob Ekoue made his presence known by scoring 24 points in field events alone: Ekoue won the shot put, was second in the discus and ended up third in the hammer.

Women’s Recap

UW-La Crosse overwhelmed its opponents on its way to the team title.

The Eagles, who entered the meet ranked first in the Pre-Championships Edition of the National TFRI and brought 31 entries with them to Rochester, New York, scored points in 14 different events en route to their 67.5-point total. Skye Digman was the only individual event champion for UW-La Crosse with her podium-topping effort in the shot put, but Lauren Jarrett added a pair of runner-up finishes in the 100 meters and 200 meters, while Maddie Hannan placed second in the 800 meters.

Two-time defending national champion Loras fought valiantly and finished runner-up with 58 points. The Duhawks left their mark all over the record book, especially in the relays: Loras shattered the division record in the 4×100 relay with its 45.60 effort and then capped the meet with a 3:39.76 clocking in the 4×400 relay to cement its status as the third-fastest program in division history. Don’t forget about Kassie Parker or Grace Alley, either: Parker doubled up on distance titles, which included a meet-record time in the 10,000 meters of 33:02.53; Alley won the heptathlon with 5278 points.

Washington (Mo.) finished third in the team standings. Individually, the Bears were handed ten points from Emma Kelley in the 800 meters and eight from Ebunoluwa Opata in the triple jump. WashU added 12 points in the relays, including a blistering 45.67 in the 4×100 relay, which moved them up to No. 2 in NCAA DIII history.

MIT took the final spot on the podium with 37 points, while UChicago rounded out the top-5 teams with 31 points.