Weekend Recap: All-Time Marks Continue To Pour In Across The Nation

EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ll continue to update this post throughout the weekend.

Collegians just don’t stop.

All-time marks continue to pour in.

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | Records & Lists

You better believe they won’t slow down.

Here are some of the biggest moments from the weekend in collegiate track & field.

Trio Lead 800-Meter List Onslaught

Michaela Rose started it early in the morning.

Roisin Willis and Juliette Whittaker finished it at night.

Rose, Willis and Whittaker all cracked the all-time top-5 in the Women’s 800 Meters on Friday. The former did so at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston with her 2:00.18, while the latter two made headlines at the Windy City Invitational in Chicago at 1:59.95 and 2:00.32, respectively.

Willis is now the second-fastest woman in collegiate history behind 2021 The Bowerman winner Athing Mu (1:58.40). Rose slots in right behind Willis at No. 3 with Whittaker trailing Rose by just 0.14 seconds in No. 4.

Olemomoi, Valby Add Their Names

Welcome to the club, Hilda Olemomoi and Parker Valby!

Olemomoi and Valby were the most recent collegians to turn the 200-meter oval at the BU Track & Tennis Center in a record-chasing venue. The duo went to No. 3 and No. 8 in collegiate history in the Women’s 3000 Meters with their 8:45.50 and 8:49.71 efforts, respectively.

The collegiate record in the event is 8:41.60, set by Karissa Schweizer in 2017. Chances are that falls this season. The only question is how soon?

Distin Continues To Raise The Bar

Lamara Distin of Texas A&M is getting better with each meet this indoor season.

Her most recent high jump effort of 1.97m (6-5½) gave her a facility record in winning the Tiger Paw Invitational on Saturday at Clemson, South Carolina. It also elevated her to some lofty territory on the all-time collegiate list – =No. 3 and just 1cm off the collegiate record of 1.98m (6-6).

Distin had one unsuccessful attempt at a would-be CR 2.00m (6-6¾) before retiring. Her previous indoor PR was 1.94m (6-4¼) in winning last week’s New Mexico Collegiate Classic at Albuquerque.

From No. 1 to No. 4

Dan Mayer held the NCAA DIII record in the Men’s 5000 Meters for 29 years.

Christian Patzka of UW-Whitewater decided that was long enough.

Patzka went 13:49.04 on a flat track earlier in the afternoon at the aptly-named Midwest Elite to shave more than four seconds off the previous all-time best of 13:53.17 set back in 1994. Not to be outdone, Ethan Gregg of UW-La Crosse finished close behind Patzka in 13:52.59.

The fun wasn’t done there, though: Alex Phillip bettered Patzka at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston later that night. Phillip turned 25 laps of that fast track in 13:44.98 to take more than four seconds off Patzka’s less-than-ten-hours-old all-time best.

Mayer is now No. 4 in NCAA DIII history after a 29-year reign on top.

Loras Soars To NCAA DIII All-Time Topper

The David Hemery Valentine Invitational has treated NCAA Division III athletes quite well over the years, especially those competing in the Men’s Distance Medley Relay.

Four of the five best marks in NCAA DIII history were run inside the Boston Tennis and Track Center at this meet, including the No. 1 and No. 2 marks one year ago. Well, fast forward to 2023 and those are now No. 2 and No. 3 after Loras flew to the top of the chart with its 9:39.80 effort.

The Duhawks took nearly two seconds off the previous all-time best of 9:41.56 established by John Carroll last year.

Here were Loras’ splits – 2:58.30, 48.42, 1:48.01, 4:05.08.

Addy Wiley Super-Fast Again

Huntington (Ind.) freshman Addy Wiley continued her undefeated indoor season with yet another time that is the fastest in NAIA history.

This time it was the 800 meters. Running on Grand Valley State’s 300-meter oversized oval at Friday’s Big Meet #1, Wiley clocked 2:02.33 to win by more than five seconds. The previous NAIA all-time best was 2:03.80 by Hannah Segrave of Milligan (Tenn.) set in 2017, also on an oversized track.

Wiley has the year’s fastest NAIA marks in five events. Besides the 800, she tops the lists in 600 (1:29.77), 1000 (2:51.56), mile (4:32.15) and 3000 (9:24.28).

Farquharson Crushes NJCAA 800 Record

Kimar Farquharson added his name to NJCAA indoor record book in a big way.

The South Plains (Texas) sophomore won the 800 meters Friday at Texas Tech’s Jarvis Scott Open in 1:47.04, chopping more than a second off the previous best set by teammate Mehmet Celik last month on the same track at 1:48.23.

Celik finished third in 1:47.90, also bettering the previous record. The Texans occupy four of the top-8 positions on the all-time list with athletes this year, including Aron Tanui (1:49.43, No. 6) and Chevonne Hall (1:49.97, No. 8).

The Texans weren’t done. On Saturday Celik won the 1000 in 2:22.88, moving to No. 3 all-time NJCAA, while Tanui followed in 2:23.36 to be No. 5 all-time.

Robles Smashes DII 5K Record

Down goes the NCAA Division II 5000-meter record.

Brianna Robles of Adams State set the new standard in the Women’s 5000 Meters, clocking 15:47.88 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational. She smashed the previous best of 16:01.09 by Neely Spence of Shippensburg in 2011. Robles stayed consistent throughout the race before pouring it on in the last 200 meters with a 32.48 second split.

Robles trails the all-conditions best of 15:28.46 set by Caroline Kurgat of Alaska Anchorage in 2019.

Tinch Cracks Into Collegiate All-Time List

Cordell Tinch solidified his spot as one one of the best in collegiate history.

The Pittsburg State standout took down the NCAA Division II record in the Men’s 60 Meter Hurdles with his 7.50 winner at the Gorilla Classic. Tinch topped the previous best of 7.53 set by Myles Hunter of Minnesota State in 2016. He also ran 7.57 in the prelims – giving him two of the three fastest times in divisional history.

Tinch also matched the seventh-best performer in collegiate history in the 60-meter hurdles with his NCAA-leading 7.50.