USTFCCCA News & Notes
Weekend Recap: Azamati’s All-Time Mark Leads The Way
EDITOR’S NOTE: This post will be updated throughout the weekend.
It’s only March, but collegiate track & field athletes are performing like its June.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | Records & Lists
There were some incredible efforts this past weekend across the nation between the Raleigh Relays, Texas Relays and everywhere in between. After all, if you read our post entitled “Texas Relays Has Way Of Altering Collegiate History,” you would have already learned about what Anna Hall did in the heptathlon earlier this week.
Here is a look at some of those moments that stood out the most to us.
Azamati Does It Again In Austin
Benjamin Azamati and the Texas Relays.
Name a better duo. We’ll wait.
For the second year in a row, Azamati scorched the Austin track over 100 meters.
This time it wasn’t just an NCAA Division II record: Azamati’s wind-legal 9.90 equaled the fourth-fastest mark in collegiate history, regardless of division. He matched Trayvon Bromell at 9.90 and only trails 2017 The Bowerman winner Christian Coleman (9.82), 2019 The Bowerman finalist Divine Oduduru (9.86) and 2011 The Bowerman winner Ngoni Makusha (9.89) on the all-time chart.
Exactly one year ago, Azamati went 9.97 (+1.5) at the same meet to demolish a 38-year-old NCAA DII record formerly held by Darrell Green. Before the season was over, Azamati added four more marks superior to Green’s best of 10.08 and owned the five fastest marks in NCAA DII history.
Now, Azamati is one of the fastest athletes in collegiate history.
Noble Keeps Making History
Christian Noble won’t back down from a challenge.
He proved that once again on Thursday night in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Noble trumped a talented field assembled for the tenth and final section of the Men’s 5000 Meters at the Raleigh Relays. He stopped the clock at 13:24.78, which broke a 22-year-old meet record, set a facility record and moved him up to No. 2 all-time in NCAA DII history.
You might remember Noble from the indoor season, where he set NCAA DII records in both the mile (3:56.10) and 3000m (7:50.98) within 90 minutes of each other. He also held the divisional record in the indoor 5000m until a trio of athletes went under his mark at several Boston meets.
They Were MOVING In Austin
Before you read this, we want to remind you that it’s March 26.
Texas and Texas A&M just clocked the second- and fourth-fastest marks in collegiate history in the Women’s 4×400 Relay: the Longhorns won the Sanya Richards-Ross Invitational in 3:22.94, followed by the Aggies in 3:23.30.
For Texas, Rhasidat Adeleke and Kennedy Simon combined to get the baton around in 1:41.98, then Stacey Ann Williams turned one lap in 51.10, followed by a 49.88 anchor by Davicia Patterson to close things out.
For Texas A&M, Laila Owens and Tierra Robinson-Jones came through 800 meters in 1:43.70, then Charokee Young blistered a 48.98 lap to get the foursome back in contention, followed by a 50.64 anchor by Syaira Richardson.
Indoor collegiate record-holder Arkansas finished third in 3:26.40.
A Sweet (Sprint) Medley
Texas A&M outdueled host Texas as both women’s sprint medley teams eclipsed the former collegiate record.
The Aggies’ Avi’Tal Wilson-Perteete held off the Longhorns’ Brooke Jaworski on a thrilling final homestretch of the concluding 800-meter leg as Texas A&M (3:38.93) and Texas (3:38.95) both broke the previous record of 3:39.04 by A&M in 2017.
You might recall that A&M earned that previous record at the SEC Relays just minutes after Oregon had run 3:39.05 at the Penn Relays.
Preceding Wilson-Perteete on this Aggie foursome were Tierra Robinson-Jones and Laila Owens on the 200-meter legs and Charokee Young on the 400.
That’s Mykolas Alekna To You
How far can a disc feasibly fly?
We’re about to find out thanks to Mykolas Alekna.
For the second week in a row, Alekna launched the platter an ungodly distance. This time, it was a 66.70m (218-10) howitzer that moved him up to No. 3 on the all-time collegiate chart. That was the best mark by a collegian since 2016 and the top effort by a freshman athlete.
You might remember that Mykolas is the son of three-time Olympic medalist (2x gold) Virgilijus Alekna. Mykolas was crowned champion at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2021.
Distin Raises The Bar
Lamara Distin of Texas A&M just kept jumping higher.
After two PRs, she went for the CR – the 1.99m (6-5) set by Brigetta Barrett back in 2013. Distin missed once, then retired, but she had already put her name high up on the all-time collegiate list.
Her school record of 1.99m (6-5) ties her for No. 5 all-time collegiately. In addition, it’s a Jamaican record and a qualifying mark for the World Championships.
Texas Women Fast Thrice
Texas made statements three times in the women’s relays.
On Friday, the Longhorns clocked 42.42 in the prelims of the 4×100 relay – merely a meet and school record that made them the sixth fastest program all-time. It is also the fastest 4×100 recorded anywhere in the world prior to the month of April in any year.
Texas was fast again on Saturday, first in the 4×200 at 1:29.03 – No. 2 all-time collegiately behind only the CR 1:28.78 set by Oregon in 2017. The Longhorns followed up some 90 minutes later to win the Carlette Guidry 4×100 relay final in 42.83.
The meet’s concluding event – the Sanya Richards 4×400 – found the Longhorns again winning in record time, and at 3:22.94 it was the second fastest in collegiate history. A 49.88 anchor leg from Stacey Ann Williams brought the Longhorns home just ahead of Texas A&M’s 3:23.30, which now rates No. 4 all-time among collegiate performances.
Armstrong Rides The Wind
Control what you can. Alicia Armstrong of LSU did that.
Armstrong had no control over the wind, but she mastered the 100-meter hurdles at the Texas Relays with a clocking of 12.33. A wind reading of 2.5 meters per second put the effort in the wind-aided category (anything over 2.0), but she is now the fastest collegian ever under all conditions. The CR is 12.39 by Brianna Rollins of Clemson in 2013.
Gunnarsson Soars In Vault
Lisa Gunnarsson of LSU came through when it matters and then put her name high up on the all-time collegiate chart.
Gunnarson, who needed three attempts to clear 4.55m (14-11), soared on her first attempt at 4.65m (15-3), which set a PR. That also moved her into a tie as the fourth-best performer in collegiate history.
All-Time Distance Marks At Raleigh Relays
The NCAA DII all-time list in the men’s distance events have been under constant revision this year.
That doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon.
Two more all-time marks were set at the Raleigh Relays, this time in the 10,000 meters. Isaac Harding of Grand Valley State finished 10th overall in 28:25.98 to become the ninth-best performer in DII history. Exactly two seconds behind Harding was Jan-Lukas Becker of Queens (N.C.), who clocked 28:27.98 to move to No. 10 on the all-time chart.