USTFCCCA News & Notes
How They Fared: Collegians at the 2025 World Championships
The 2025 World Championships are underway in Tokyo!
Collegians from 2025 are standing out in a big way.
Keep checking back as we’ll continue to update this post.
Top Collegians at the 2025 World Championships |
|||
| Name |
Program
|
Event
|
Place
|
| Isabella Whittaker | Arkansas | Women’s 4×400 | 1st |
| Aaliyah Butler | Georgia | Women’s 4×400 | 1st |
| Jenoah McKiver | Florida | Mixed 4×400 | 1st |
| Mykolas Alekna | California | Men’s Discus | 2nd |
| Dejanea Oakley | Georgia | Women’s 4×400 | 2nd |
| Jenoah McKiver | Florida | Men’s 4×400 | 2nd |
Kazimierska Sets 1500 All-Time, All-Dates CR
Klaudia Kazimierska, who competed for Oregon during the 2025 collegiate seasons, smashed the all-time, all-dates best for a collegian in the 1500 meters with her 3:57.95 performance in finishing seventh for Poland in the final.
That time chopped 1.22 seconds off the 3:59.17 set by Addy Wiley of Huntington (Ind.) following the 2023 collegiate season. Kazimierska now owns five of the top-7 performances on the all-time, all-dates list for the 1500, including three of the five sub-4:00 times.
The Toyko final featured four former collegians in all, led by Jessica Hull (Oregon ’19) earning bronze at 3:55.16. U.S. champ Nikki Hiltz (Arkansas ’18, Oregon ’15) was fifth in 3:57.08 and Sinclaire Johnson (Oklahoma State ’19) was 13th in 4:00.92.
Alekna Collects Third Global Silver In Discus
World record holder Mykolas Alekna, who competed for California during the 2025 collegiate season, added a career fourth global medal – and third silver – with a runner-up finish in the men’s discus.
Alekna held the lead until the final efforts as his second-round throw of 67.84m (222-7) was tops in wet competitions until Sweden’s Daniel Stahl surpassed him in Round 6 at 70.47m (231-2) to successfully defend his title.
Alekna earned silver at the 2022 World Championships followed by a bronze in the 2023 edition. He gained silver again at the Paris Olympics as he redshirted the 2024 season collegiately.
Lemngole Adds To Collegiate All-Time, All-Dates Steeples
Doris Lemngole, who competed for Alabama during the 2025 collegiate seasons, posted two more high-ranking marks in the steeplechase.
Despite a tumble off the last water jump, Lemngole finished fifth in the final in 9:02.39, which is No. 2 on the collegiate all-time, all-dates list – behind only her in-season Collegiate Record of 8:58.15 set winning the NCAA DI Outdoor title in June. She also added the No. 4 such performance with a 9:08.97 clocking in the heats.
Two other 2025 collegians also made the final – Angelina Napoleon of NC State was ninth as the top American in 9:17.44, while Lexy Halladay-Lowry of BYU was 14th in 9:34.03. Halladay-Lowry rates No. 2 on the all-time, all-dates collegiate list at 9:08.68 and Napoleon is No. 4 at 9:10.72.
Ezekiel Hurdles To No. 2 On All-Dates Chart
Nathaniel Ezekiel picked the right time to set a massive PR.
Ezekiel, who competed for Baylor during the 2025 collegiate seasons, clocked PR 47.11 to finish fourth in the final of the 400-meter hurdles and move up to No. 2 on the collegiate all-time, all-dates list behind Rai Benjamin’s 47.02 from 2018. That performance by Ezekiel also set a new Nigerian record.
Benjamin was also in the final on Friday and ended up winning the world title in SB 46.52. The former Southern California standout now has two global gold medals in the event – the first from the 2024 Olympics and now from the 2025 World Championships.
Ezekiel, like Benjamin, is built for championship racing. Back in June, Ezekiel clocked back-to-back PRs of 47.86 and 47.49 in the semifinals and final at the NCAA DI Outdoor Championships. Then in September, Ezekiel went 47.47 in the semifinal of the World Championships and scorched the final.
Whittaker, Butler Earn Gold In Women’s 4×400
A pair of collegiate rivals – Isabella Whittaker and Aaliyah Butler – were teammates on the dominant USA women’s 4×400 squad that won gold in a meet-record 3:16.61.
Whittaker, who competed for Arkansas during the 2025 collegiate indoor season, opened up with the race’s fastest leadoff split at 50.12. After a 48.71 split on the second leg by former Georgia star Lynna Irby-Jackson, Butler – who competed for Georgia during the 2025 collegiate seasons – increased Team USA’s lead from 1.26 to 1.96 seconds with a 49.96 carry.
Former Kentucky star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone – a finalist for The Bowerman in 2018 – finished off with a 47.82 anchor.
Leading off the silver-medal Jamaica team was Dejanea Oakley, who competed for Georgia during the 2025 collegiate seasons.
McKiver Gets Relay Gold And Silver In 4x400s
Jenoah McKiver, who competed for Florida during the 2025 collegiate seasons, earned a pair of medals on different 4×400 squads for Team USA.
McKiver had the team’s fastest split of 43.91 on the third leg in the mixed 4×400 as the Americans won the gold medal, clocking 3:08.80 to equal the meet record from 2023 that was a world record at the time.
He was later part of the U.S. men’s 4×400 in the prelims, anchoring in 44.46 as the Americans qualified via a runoff for the final. Team USA later earned silver in the final.
Blast From The Past
Collegians who competed in 2025 aren’t the only ones standing out in Tokyo.
Athletes who once vied for national titles in the U.S. collegiate system at some point of their career are leaving their mark, too.
Here is an updated chart of medalists with U.S. collegiate ties.
| Evan DUNFEE | CANADA | 35 Kilometres Race Walk | Gold |
| Ryan CROUSER | UNITED STATES | Shot Put | Gold |
| Bryce DEADMON | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Lynna IRBY-JACKSON | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Jenoah MCKIVER | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Alexis HOLMES | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Valarie ALLMAN | UNITED STATES | Discus Throw | Gold |
| Tara DAVIS-WOODHALL | UNITED STATES | Long Jump | Gold |
| Melissa JEFFERSON-WOODEN | UNITED STATES | 100 Metres | Gold |
| Armand DUPLANTIS | SWEDEN | Pole Vault | Gold |
| Camryn ROGERS | CANADA | Hammer Throw | Gold |
| Geordie BEAMISH | NEW ZEALAND | 3000 Metres Steeplechase | Gold |
| Cordell TINCH | UNITED STATES | 110 Metres Hurdles | Gold |
| Katie MOON | UNITED STATES | Pole Vault | Gold |
| Sydney MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE | UNITED STATES | 400 Metres | Gold |
| Rai BENJAMIN | UNITED STATES | 400 Metres Hurdles | Gold |
| Melissa JEFFERSON-WOODEN | UNITED STATES | 200 Metres | Gold |
| Anna HALL | UNITED STATES | Heptathlon | Gold |
| Cole HOCKER | UNITED STATES | 5000 Metres | Gold |
| Lee Bhekempilo EPPIE | BOTSWANA | 4×400 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Isabella WHITTAKER | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Lynna IRBY-JACKSON | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Aaliyah BUTLER | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Sydney MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Leo NEUGEBAUER | GERMANY | Decathlon | Gold |
| Melissa JEFFERSON-WOODEN | UNITED STATES | 4×100 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Twanisha TERRY | UNITED STATES | 4×100 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Kayla WHITE | UNITED STATES | 4×100 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Sha’Carri RICHARDSON | UNITED STATES | 4×100 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Christian COLEMAN | UNITED STATES | 4×100 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Kenneth BEDNAREK | UNITED STATES | 4×100 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Courtney LINDSEY | UNITED STATES | 4×100 Metres Relay | Gold |
| Eugene OMALLA | NETHERLANDS | 4×400 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Jorinde VAN KLINKEN | NETHERLANDS | Discus Throw | Silver |
| Tobi AMUSAN | NIGERIA | 100 Metres Hurdles | Silver |
| Dorcus EWOI | KENYA | 1500 Metres | Silver |
| Sandi MORRIS | UNITED STATES | Pole Vault | Silver |
| Anderson PETERS | GRENADA | Javelin Throw | Silver |
| Thea LAFOND | Commonwealth of DOMINICA | Triple Jump | Silver |
| Jereem RICHARDS | TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO | 400 Metres | Silver |
| Jasmine JONES | UNITED STATES | 400 Metres Hurdles | Silver |
| Kenneth BEDNAREK | UNITED STATES | 200 Metres | Silver |
| Chase JACKSON | UNITED STATES | Shot Put | Silver |
| Georgia HUNTER BELL | GREAT BRITAIN & N.I. | 800 Metres | Silver |
| Mykolas ALEKNA | LITHUANIA | Discus Throw | Silver |
| Vernon NORWOOD | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Jacory PATTERSON | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Khaleb MCRAE | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Rai BENJAMIN | UNITED STATES | 4×400 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Dejanea OAKLEY | JAMAICA | 4×400 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Stacey Ann WILLIAMS | JAMAICA | 4×400 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Andrenette KNIGHT | JAMAICA | 4×400 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Nickisha PRYCE | JAMAICA | 4×400 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Ayden OWENS-DELERME | PUERTO RICO | Decathlon | Silver |
| Jonielle SMITH | JAMAICA | 4×100 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Aaron BROWN | CANADA | 4×100 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Brendon RODNEY | CANADA | 4×100 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Andre DE GRASSE | CANADA | 4×100 Metres Relay | Silver |
| Julia PATERNAIN | URUGUAY | Marathon | Bronze |
| Julien ALFRED | SAINT LUCIA | 100 Metres | Bronze |
| Iliass AOUANI | ITALY | Marathon | Bronze |
| Grace STARK | UNITED STATES | 100 Metres Hurdles | Bronze |
| Jessica HULL | AUSTRALIA | 1500 Metres | Bronze |
| Tina ŠUTEJ | SLOVENIA | Pole Vault | Bronze |
| Curtis THOMPSON | UNITED STATES | Javelin Throw | Bronze |
| Mackenzie LITTLE | AUSTRALIA | Javelin Throw | Bronze |
| Taliyah BROOKS | UNITED STATES | Heptathlon | Bronze |
| Marco AROP | CANADA | 800 Metres | Bronze |
| Alex ROSE | SAMOA | Discus Throw | Bronze |
| Kyle GARLAND | UNITED STATES | Decathlon | Bronze |