USTFCCCA News & Notes
Weekend Recap: Multiple Collegiate Records Fall!
EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ll continue to update this post throughout the weekend.
Are you kidding us!?
We’re seriously in awe.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | Records & Lists
Our head is still spinning from what has already happened this weekend.
RELATED: Anatomy of Ayden Owens’ All-Time Decathlon
Allow us to try to make sense of another incredible few days in collegiate track & field.
Welcome To The Sub-22 Club
Favour Ofili took the collegiate record book by storm.
Ofili, competing at the Tom Jones Memorial on Friday afternoon, broke the collegiate record – and became the first female collegian to dip under 22 seconds during the collegiate season – in the 200 meters, when she broke the tape in a wind-legal 21.96.
That took down the former all-time best of 22.02, set by Florida’s Kyra Jefferson to win the event at the 2017 NCAA DI Outdoor Championships.
Ofili destroyed the competition, winning by 0.85 seconds. The wind reading was +1.3 meters per second, under the the 2.0 limit for record purposes.
LSU now has control of both the 100- and 200-meter collegiate records. 2019 The Bowerman winner Sha’Carri Richardson reached unprecedented heights when she traversed 100 meters in 10.75 seconds during her Bowerman year.
Remember: It’s Only April!
Just watch this.
Words are escaping us.
Kipsang Rolls Into The Record Book
We knew Eliud Kipsang could run fast over 1500 meters.
After all, Kipsang moved up to No. 5 in collegiate history with his 3:35.49 effort last year at the NCAA DI East Preliminary Round, of all places.
Well, Kipsang got a perfect opportunity on Friday to climb even higher on the all-time chart and didn’t disappoint. Kipsang won the elite section of the Men’s 1500 Meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational in 3:33.74, which broke the year-old collegiate record set by Yared Nuguse last year.
This was the second time in the past five years that the collegiate record changed hands in Azusa, California. Back in 2018, Josh Kerr broke Sydney Maree’s longstanding all-time best by 0.29 seconds (3:35.01 to 3:35.30). Fast forward to 2022 and Kipsang nearly took off a full second from Nuguse’s standard (3:33.74 to 3:34.68).
Ms. Rogers’ Neighborhood
You know it’s a massive weekend of collegiate track & field when the official account of Cal XC/Track & Field just slips this in the feed.
Super casual, right?
Camryn Rogers bettered her collegiate record in the hammer throw to 75.73m (248-5), which was 21cm or 8 inches farther than her previous collegiate best of 75.52m (247-9). Rogers now has each of the top-4 marks in collegiate history in the event.
Zahafi Cooks A Fast 800
Moad Zahafi of Texas Tech sizzled the track over 800 meters at the Tom Jones Memorial on Saturday afternoon.
After a 50.94 first lap, Zahafi finished strong to clock 1:43.69 in moving to the No. 3 collegian all-time. Zahafi was unpressed in the final stages, winning by more than two seconds. His previous PR was 1:44.78, set last year before enrolling at Texas Tech.
The only times faster by a collegian are 1:43.25 (by Michael Saruni of UTEP in 2018) and 1:43.55 (by Donovan Brazier of Texas A&M in 2016).
Andrews-Paul Sets NCAA DII 800-Meter Record
Alison Andrews-Paul wouldn’t be denied history on Thursday night.
Andrews-Paul, competing in the elite section of the Women’s 800 Meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational, turned two laps in 2:01.43 to set an NCAA Division II record. That mark crushed the previous all-time best of 2:02.39 established by Carsyn Koch nearly six years ago.
If you said Andrews-Paul’s performance was unexpected, clearly you haven’t been paying attention to NCAA DII happenings: Andrews-Paul won the NCAA DII indoor crown with what is the third-fastest effort in divisional history (2:04.04) and previously added two other top-10 marks to the all-time indoor chart at No. 5 (2:05.09) and No. 7 (2:05.75).
This was the third PR of the outdoor season for Andrews-Paul. The Simon Fraser standout went 4:21.52 over 1500 meters at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic in late March and stopped the clock at 55.26 to win the 400 meters at the Emilie Mondor Invitational this past weekend.
Flanagan Breaks NCAA DII 5000 Record
Roisin Flanagan of Adams State had her first collegiate race since the 2021 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
She certainly made it known she was back.
Flanagan broke the NCAA DII record in the Women’s 5000 Meters on Friday night at the Mt. SAC Relays. Running in the elite section, she clocked 15:28.41 to break the previous record of 15:33.83 set by Neely Spence of Shippensburg in the same meet back in 2011. It was a big PR for Flanagan, as her previous best of 15:47.57 was set at the Portland Twilight on May 8 of last year. She later went on to finish third at the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships in 15:52.80.
No Barrier Too Tall For Wayment
Courtney Wayment was already among the fastest in collegiate history in the steeplechase, regardless of competition date. After all, Wayment went 9:23.09 last year at the U.S. Olympic Trials to become the third-fastest woman on the all-dates, all-time collegiate chart.
Well, Wayment made sure her name was high up the in-season list on Thursday.
Competing at the Mt. SAC Relays, Wayment stopped the clock at 9:26.88 to move up to No. 4 behind Courtney Frerichs (9:24.41), Emma Coburn (9:25.28) and 2009 The Bowerman winner Jenny Barringer (9:25.54). Barringer (now Simpson), Coburn, Frerichs and Wayment are now the only women in collegiate history to notch sub-9:29 marks in the event during the season.
Wayment and Valerie Constien ran away from the talented field halfway through the race and then the BYU standout dropped the hammer to leave Constien in the dust. It was a final lap of 1:09.19 for Wayment, which put nearly five seconds between her and Constien (9:31.20).
Eight Collegians Go Sub-13:30 At Bryan Clay
The fastest section of the Men’s 5000 Meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational was filled with collegians: 18 of the 19 finishers, to be exact.
When the last athlete crossed the finish line, it turned out to be an all-time race.
Eight collegians went sub-13:30, led by Brian Fay of Washington and Morgan Beadlescomb of Michigan State. Fay used a ferocious kick to breeze by Beadlesomb in the final 25 meters and stop the clock at 13:16.52 with Beadlescomb right behind in 13:17.16. That moved Fay up to No. 6 all-time in collegiate history, while Beadlescomb climbed to No. 9. Both Beadlescomb and Fay starred during the indoor season, as the former is now the third-fastest miler in collegiate history (3:52.03) and the latter turned in what is one of the fastest 1600m splits in a collegiate distance medley relay (3:52.81).
Here are the other sub-13:30 collegians on Thursday night: Eduardo Herrera of Colorado at 13:20.30; Kieran Lumb of Washington at 13:23.26; Casey Clinger of BYU at 13:23.33; Victor Kiprop of Alabama at 13:24.48; Alex Maier of Oklahoma State at 13:26.81; and Isaac Green of Washington at 13:29.55. Duncan Hamilton of Montana State finished right outside in 13:30.50.
Phillip Realizes All-Time Dreams In California
Alex Phillip wasn’t going to back down on Thursday night.
Phillip, competing in the second-fastest section of the 10,000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays, finished fourth out of 37 competitors in 28:48.88 to become the third-fastest man in NCAA Division III history. The John Carroll standout only trails record-holder Ian La Mere (28:38.63) and Dan Mayer (28:48.4h) on the all-time chart.
This was yet another strong effort by Phillip in a string of them, dating back to the fall: Phillip won the individual title at the NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships in November to cap a near-undefeated season; his indoor season started with a 5000m PR of 13:58.42 and not long after, anchored JCU to an NCAA DIII record in the distance medley relay of 9:41.56 and capped the campaign off with a distance double at the NCAA DIII Indoor Championships.
Phillip wasn’t the only Blue Streak athlete to run well in the race on Thursday, though: Jamie Dailey finished in 29:28.87 to move up to No. 16 on the NCAA DIII all-time chart.
Grizzlies and Lakers and Thunder Wolves, Oh My!
The NCAA DII all-time list in the distance events had a lot of updates following a handful of outstanding performances between the Bryan Clay Invitational and the Mt. SAC Relays on Thursday night.
Reece Sharman-Newell of CSU Pueblo clocked 1:45.56 in the Men’s 800 Meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational to become the second-fastest performer in NCAA DII history. He narrowly missed the NCAA DII record of 1:45.24 set by Savieri Ngidhi back in 1995. Sharman-Newell finished second overall behind former CSU Pueblo great Thomas Staines, who won in 1:45.28.
A trio of athletes from Adams State made their mark at the Mt. SAC Relays. The first Grizzly to break into the all-time list was Clement Duigou in the Men’s Steeplechase, clocking 8:36.25 to finish third in the elite section and move to No. 7 all-time. Brianna Robles then shined in the Women’s 10,000 elite section, finishing second in 32:50.62 to become the fourth-best performer in DII history. The third performance came from Awet Beraki, who ran 28:12.10 for a fourth-place finish in the Men’s 10,000 elite ection to become the sixth-best performer on the all-time chart.
The Grand Valley State duo of Isaac Harding and Tanner Chada closed out the evening at the Bryan Clay Invitational with a pair of top-10 performances in the Men’s 5000. Competing in the second-fastest invite section, Harding placed second in 13:34.54 and Chada went 13:37.81 to cross the line in seventh. Those efforts put them at No. 5 and No. 9, respectively, on the all-time list. Harding and Chada moved ahead of former Laker standout Zach Panning, who is now No. 10 all-time at 13:37.94.