Meet Recap: 2024 NCAA DIII Outdoor T&F Championships

Champions were crowned at the 2024 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina!

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: National Championships Central

Is it 2017? We ask because UW-La Crosse’s men and Washington (Mo.)’s women topped the podium. Both the Eagles and the Bears used a big third day to propel themselves to the top of the standings. This is UW-La Crosse’s 16th national title in program history, while WashU earned its second.

Men’s Recap

UW-La Crosse got off to a fast start, held steady and then clinched their victory with an unexpected victory. The Eagles won the meet-opening 4×100 relay and were neck and neck with WIAC rival UW-Oshkosh until the 800 meters, where Cael Schoemann’s triumph vaulted them ahead for good. Schoemann came into the NCAA Championships seeded tenth, but picked the right time to run a 1:48.65 PR and win by 0.24 seconds. The not-so unheralded Sam Blaskowski capped a stellar season with the 100-200 double and a tote on the aforementioned relay.

UW-Oshkosh’s runner-up effort was highlighted by a 1-2 finish in the long jump. Joshua Rivers stole the show with his winning, wind-aided 7.95m (26-1) for the third farthest mark in NCAA DIII history, regardless of conditions.

Bethel (Minn.) and Rowan tied for third with 43 points.

Women’s Recap

Four event titles and several other stout performances carried WashU to glory. Emma Kelley accounted for two of those titles with an impressive 400-800 double. Kelley won the 400 in a 53.76 PR and, after barely catching her breath, returned to the track for a wire-to-wire victory in the 800. She wasn’t alone in the 800, though, as teammate Danielle Schultz finished runner-up to give the Bears 18 big points. Kelley and Schultz later teamed up with Kylie Spytek and Catherine Christopher to win the 4×400 relay. WashU’s fourth – err, first – event title came on Day 1 when Yasmin Ruff ruled the pole vault.

Lauren Jarrett carried UW-La Crosse on the final day. Jarrett helped the Eagles win the meet-opening 4×100 relay and then doubled up on sprint titles in the 100 and 200. That accounted for 22.5 of UW-La Crosse’s 47.5 points at the meet, which was 0.5 points more than third-place Loras.

Odds & Ends

UW-La Crosse scored the most points by a winning men’s team since 2007 (UW-La Crosse, 99) … Washington (Mo.) scored the most points by a winning women’s team since 2015 (UW-La Crosse, 73) … Alexis Boykin of MIT became the first woman in NCAA DIII history to win both the shot put and hammer at the same NCAA Championships. Boykin also finished a close runner-up in the discus. How close? Try 1 cm … Joshua Rivers of UW-Oshkosh soared a wind-aided 7.95m (26-1) in the long jump to move up to No. 3 on the all-time, all-conditions NCAA DIII chart … Natalia Sawyer of Buffalo State and Ren Brown of UChicago put on a racing masterclass in the final of the 400-meter hurdles. Sawyer won by 0.004 seconds and set a meet record with her 58.01 clocking (Brown was also credited with 58.01).