Hayward Magic brings new records at the 2024 OSAA Track and Field State Championships

Photo by Charlie Townes

Hayward Field was electric over the weekend with high schoolers from all over Oregon competing in the 2024 OSAA and OnPoint Community Credit Union Track and Field State Championships. Hundreds of students participated in the three-day event from May 16th through May 18th. School records, season bests and personal records were broken all three days for students.  

On Thursday, Daisy Lalonde led the girl's 2A 3000m run. The junior from East Linn Christian won at Hayward for the second time at 10:26.50. Jaya Simmons from Valley Catholic won the 3A girls 3000m with a PR of 10:05.29. 

“It’s hard to believe. I’m super excited to win this year and even more excited to come back next year. I’m excited to get my time down and do my best to improve,” Lalonde said.  

3A’s Ronan Gantzo won the boy’s 3000m run with a time of 8:58.94. The Oregon Episcopal sophomore’s second state win was followed by Vale’s Trevor Stewart, who ran a PR by 15 seconds in 8:59.45. Gantzo also won the boy’s 3A 1500m run with a PR time of 4:04.25. 

Oregon track & field signee Maleigha Canaday-Elliott won the 6A girl’s triple jump with a PR of 12.55m (41-02.25). The McDaniel senior’s distance put her at number one on the 2024 Oregon High School Outdoor Rankings and number 12 on the United States High School Outdoor Rankings. Her PR was three-quarters of an inch behind the state record set in 2005.  

On the final day of the weekend, the Lake Oswego boys and girls swept the 6A 4x100m relays. Riley Ha, Josie Donelson, Cenaiya Billups and Marina Turpen won the girls’ division with an SB of 47.92. Matthew Altman, James Bauman, Baron Kurland and Henri Danzelaud won the boys' division with an SB time of 41.48. Both times are ranked first in Oregon 2024 High School Outdoor Rankings. 

“We’re feeling really good. We had some success in our 4x100m these past few years and to finish off our senior season with another 4x100m win is a really good feeling,” the girls’ team said. 

Drew Smith from Sherwood won the 6A boys javelin throw. His PR of 60.27m (197-09) ranked him first in the 2024 Oregon High School Rankings and ranked 21st in the United States Outdoor Rankings. 

Ida B. Wells’ Asher Danielson won the 6A boys’ 1500m with a time of 3:54.31. The senior is ranked second in the state of Oregon and also placed second in the 3000m with a time of 8:14.93. The winner of the 6A boys’ 3000m was Eugene’s own Malachi Schoenherr of Sheldon High School, who ran 8:14.18. 

“This win means a lot. All the years running combined and coming out with a state championship is great,” Danielson said. “Coming into this race and really wanting to win, it feels great.” 

Lake Oswego’s Josie Donelson also won the girls' 6A 400 meters with a PR new state meet record of 52.83. The senior’s time earned her the number-one spot on the 2024 Oregon High School Outdoor Rankings and number six for the United States High School Outdoor Rankings. Second place was McDaniel’s Aayden Gallagher who also set a PR and new state meet record of 52.98. 

The electricity continues next weekend as the world’s best athletes come to Hayward Field next weekend for the Prefontaine Classic. Tickets are still available to purchase at PreClassic.com/tickets. 

More scenes from the 2024 OSAA Track and Field State Championships, by Charlie Townes

Abby Steiner shines at Hayward Field, captures 200m title at USATF Championships

Kentucky’s Abby Steiner celebrates after running a lifetime best 21.77 to win the 200m national title at Hayward Field. Photo by Tim Healy

By Joe Zochert

In her debut in the U.S. Championships, Kentucky’s Abby Steiner captured her first ever national title in the women’s 200 meters with a personal best and world leading time of 21.77 at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. 

Steiner set the track on fire on a hot 90° day as she set a personal best and got the world lead just hours earlier in the semifinals with a 21.80.

After the race, Steiner talked about her approach in each round over the past two days and how it helped her put together multiple personal-best performances.

“I think the biggest thing was just taking it one round at a time and executing each race and not getting too far ahead of myself,” said Steiner. “So yeah, just doing what I needed to do coming out of prelims to get the preferred lane and then just attacking it in the final.”

The 200m collegiate record holder has had a long track season as she competed both indoor and outdoor for Kentucky this season. Just two weeks ago, Steiner competed at the NCAA Championships and captured the 200m title and played an integral part of Kentucky winning the 4x400m relay.

“I think the biggest thing is just to not put limitations on yourself and I completely trust my coach,” she said. “I know that his training cycles will have me ready for these meets.”

Steiner has not put any limitations on herself this year and has seen success as a result. For the 22-year-old, this year’s success comes on the heels of missing most of last year, including NCAA’s and the Olympic Trials, due to Achillis tendonitis. 

“We always said, the way that last year ended that delay doesn't mean denial,” said Steiner. “And you know, God has a great plan for you.”

“I think just trusting in that, and knowing that, although last year was the end of a chapter, it wasn't the end of my story.”

At the USATF Championships, Steiner concluded her chapter with Kentucky as she competed in her last meet. She reflected on her time and the wild ride of learning the sport from her coach, Tim Hall.

“I came into Kentucky as a two-sport athlete who really didn't know that much about track,” said Steiner, who also played soccer her freshman year before focusing on sprints. “I didn't have a fall training my freshman year at Kentucky and it was a struggle my freshman year there was a lot to learn.”

“Just really trusting the process and my coach and you know, going through those progressions and to now you know, fulfilling that vision. So it's been a really special journey. A lot of ups and downs along the way, but this is a special up.”

With her chapter at Kentucky closed, Steiner shifts her focus toward the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in July. She couldn’t be more excited to have it at Hayward Field.

“I'm excited to come back to Eugene after being here twice. It's a familiar environment,” she said. “So just really looking to take it one round at a time since it's my first World Championships.” 

“I don't have a lot of expectations for myself, but hoping to kind of come out of the round similar to how I treated them this weekend and just go from there.”

At Worlds, Steiner will be competing against some of the best as she could potentially face off against Jamaica’s Sherika Jackson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah. On Sunday night, Jackson ran the world-leading time of 21.55 after Steiner set it just hours earlier.

Even with the challenge of facing the best in the world, Steiner is taking in all the excitement of competing on the world stage.

“I'm really excited,” she said. “I'm excited to be on a world stage for the first time and being able to represent my country. It's really special.”

Lyles and Knighton do not disappoint in battle over 200m

Noah Lyles (left) edges out Erriyon Knighton (right) to win the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships 200m title. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Cassie Cole

Sprinting events have always been popular at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, and the men’s 200m final on Sunday did not disappoint.

Sprinting phenom Noah Lyles finished first in the event with a time of 19.67, but it wasn’t without a fight. Lyles and Erriyon Knighton finished first in their respective heats for both the preliminary and semifinal rounds, setting them up as the top competitors for the national title in Sunday’s final. Although Knighton had the lead from the gun, Lyles passed him in the final 30 meters. Knighton finished second in 19.69 seconds.

“It’s just about keeping my composure, being powerful, being assertive when I make every step and just reeling in Erriyon just one step at a time,” said Lyles.

Lyle’s national title was news enough for the track and field community, but it was a quick gesture he made as he crossed the finish line that caught people’s attention. Knowing that he had taken the lead, Lyles pointed in the direction of Knighton as the two crossed the line. Viewers interpreted the gesture as a taunt to Knighton, who is often compared to Usain Bolt as the next big sprinting star. After the race, Lyles confirmed that the point was not meant for Knighton.

“That was a message to everybody who keeps doubting me,” said Lyles. Lyles is the 2019 world champion in the 200m as well as the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, but he hasn’t run as many 200m races as usual this year.

“Erriyon is an incredible talent and he has proven that. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to lay down and die,” Lyles wrote on Twitter.

Lyles’ come from behind win came as a surprise to many viewers due to his slow start. He hung around seventh place for the first 80 meters before beginning to pass the other competitors in the field.

“I’ve been running from behind in a lot of races and it’s nothing to be afraid of,” said Lyles. “When I reach that top speed, I’m gonna keep it for the longest too.”

Lyles himself was a bit surprised by how well he ran today, explaining that his breathing was “a little heavier than [he] thought it was gonna be” when warming up Sunday morning. He chose to take his time and take his warmup slowly, which paid off—he felt so good after the semifinal round that he didn’t even feel like he had just raced.

Lyles didn’t have to run on Sunday, either. As the defending world champion in the event, Lyles has a bye that allows him entry into the world championships even if he doesn’t place in the U.S. finals. After a season of fewer 200m races than usual, however, Lyles wanted the experience.

“I didn’t have to run today but I did,” he said.

Lyles will represent Team USA at the World Athletics Champions in three weeks. He’ll be joined by Knighton and third place-finisher Fred Kerley, who won the national title in the 100m dash on Friday.

The world championships will be held at Hayward Field, the first time ever on U.S. soil, and Lyles is excited for a competition where the crowd knows his name.

“It’s nice to have some Hayward magic,” he said. 

“Walking out into a stadium where nobody really knows how to even pronounce your name completely correctly, it gets to you sometimes,” said Lyles, who has competed in meets around the world but never at U.S. meets as large as Worlds. He’s also looking forward to the energy that comes with a home crowd, discussing his anticipation for “that big clap” that is often reserved for the favorite athletes.

As Lyles prepares for the World Championships next month, he already has big hopes for himself and Knighton.

“I know he’s gonna come to Worlds and he’s gonna bring it,” said Lyles, explaining that Sunday’s race likely gave Knighton the feeling of having a target on his back. “I expect him to PR and I expect myself to PR at Worlds.”

Athing Mu fights off surging Ajee Wilson, defends 800m title

Athing Mu (right) on her way to running 1:57.16 to win the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships 800m title. Photo by Bee Trofort-Wilson

By Cassie Cole

The women’s 800 meter is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated events of the upcoming World Athletics Championships, and all eyes will be on Athing Mu. Mu won the 800m national title on Sunday to confirm her ticket to Worlds.

Mu, who finished with a time of 1:57.16, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a growing favorite in the track and field world. Although she is known for holding strong leads ahead of her competitors, Mu faced a bit of pressure in Sunday’s 800m final. At one point, she was passed by second place-finisher Ajee Wilson before Mu took back first place.

“It was a race. Just kept on running, kept on fighting,” said Mu when asked how she felt about being passed. “I’m never mad at someone coming in and pushing me in a race.”

The Toyota USATF Championships also brought a different kind of first for Mu—her first time feeling like she had a target on her back. Mu explained that although she had heard the phrase before, she never felt it until this weekend. With the promise of a deep 800m field at the world championships with runners such as Keely Hodgkinson, Mu may start feeling the target more often.

“Eventually you’re gonna be the one that people are looking out for or ready to attack when it comes to running,” said Mu. “It’s just something I’m just gonna have to get used to.”

Despite a potential increase in pressure, Mu sees her competition as an opportunity for the sport. “We’re gonna be racing to compete, we’re gonna be racing to win,” she said about Worlds during a press conference on Wednesday. “I think [Hodgkinson and I] are bringing along an entire group of 800m women who are all running really fast.”

Mu will be joined on the world team by Wilson and Raevyn Rogers, who finished second and third in the 800m final, respectively. Wilson won the World Indoor Championships 800m earlier this year and finished in 1:57.23 on Sunday, a season’s best. Rogers finished with 1:57.96 and is a former Oregon Duck. Her silhouette is on the tower at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.

Rogers fell as low as sixth place in the final before a strong kick in the last 100m moved her to third place. This was all part of her plan, however.

“I just knew that I didn’t want to use any energy. I wanted to make sure that I had something to close with, just for my own security,” said Rogers. “I just wanted to make sure that I had enough to close.”

Rogers is excited to make the worlds team and even happier having done so in front of her home crowd.

“That’s a lot of pressure in itself, you know, just being a Duck and competing,” said Rogers. Although she always wants to compete to her best ability, the need is greater when she’s on her former track surrounded by the fans that cheered for her collegiate career. “I want to make everybody proud,” she added.

The crowd will be cheering for all three women when they compete in the 800m rounds next month at the world championships, which will also be held at Hayward Field. Rogers believes that a hometown crowd advantage will be a big boost to Team USA as well as herself.

“We’ll be able to have this whole crowd,” she said. “Having that support to really get the job done.”

For Mu, the pressure will be good but the performance will be even better. Fans won’t be the only ones excited for the women’s 800m World Championship competition—Mu is too.

“This [weekend] is just a little taste of what we’re gonna get in three weeks,” said Mu. “I’m excited to have good races and good competition.”

Grant Fisher earns first USATF national title, wins 5,000m

Grant Fisher makes a move with one mile to go in the men’s 5,000m at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships. Photo by Skyler Humphrey-Davis

By Joe Zochert

On the final day of the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships, Grant Fisher knocked down the meet record en route to capturing his first USA title with a mark of 13:03.86. Fisher was just out of the kicking range of his teammate and training partner, Woody Kincaid, who finished second with a season’s best 13:06.70.

This title felt like an eventuality for the Bowerman Track Club runner as he placed second in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at Olympic Trials last year and also grabbed second at the 10,000 meter championship last month.

“I was confident that I could get out here and try to win,” said Fisher after the race. “It's been something I've been going for so I’m happy to get it done.”

“That 10k stung, I was not happy at all with it and obviously grateful to make the team you can't take those for granted. But yeah, I wanted to win a U.S. title for a while and it feels good to get it.”

After the race, the 2017 NCAA Champion mentioned that getting outkicked by On Athletics Club’s Joe Klecker at last month’s 10,000m final helped him strategize for this win.

“The 10k kind of turned into a 400 and I thought I thought I had the legs,” said Fisher about last month’s final at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. “And I thought that waiting till the end was my best way to win at that point and I was wrong.”

With the pace being pushed from the start and the temperature settling in the mid-80’s, Fisher knew that this environment favored his style as he kicked it into high gear to run a 2:28.31 over the last kilometer.

“I was actually kind of excited for it to be hot,” said Fisher. “I wanted to make a really strong move and you know, in the heat when people really opened things up, you start thinking like, ‘Hey, man, maybe I shouldn't be extending myself so hard.’”

With Fisher qualifying for the world championship team in both the 5k and 10k, he will be joined by his teammates, Kincaid and Sean McGorty in the 5,000m and 10,000m, respectively.

Even with these two representing the United States with him, Fisher quickly pointed out the strong presence of the Bowerman Track Club at Worlds.

“It's gonna be awesome,” said Fisher. “We got a lot of people on the team, both in the U.S. and internationally.”

Fisher noted that seeing his Bowerman teammates enjoy success gave him confidence for the race. 

“It's a confidence thing. It's a team camaraderie thing,” he said about the culture at Bowerman. “That's one of the reasons I joined this team. We push each other and you know when we're on the track, we're racing each other.”

One of the performances that Fisher highlighted was Evan Jager’s second place finish in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase.

“I watched his race yesterday and that one meant a lot to the team,” he said about Jager, who made his sixth World Championships after battling back from injuries over the last four years. “Anyone that knows him, knows what he's gone through.”

His teammate, Kincaid agrees with Fisher's view on the tight-knit community amongst the Nike sponsored track club.

“It's like going to camp with your buddies,” said Kincaid about the atmosphere of the team. “You're hanging out, you're in the house or making dinners together. You're playing pool together. You're just hanging out with your team.”

Fisher and seven of his Bowerman teammates will be representing the U.S. at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in July.

Redemption for Cooper Teare after winning the 1500m title

Cooper Teare breaks the tape in 3:45.86 to win the 1500m national title at Hayward Field on Saturday. Photo by Tim Healy

By Cassie Cole

The men’s 1500 meter final was all about strategy, whether the strategies worked out or not. Day three of the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships brought in more event finals on the track.

A slow start to the 1500m race pushed Oregon’s Reed Brown to take the lead for the first two laps, with training partner Cooper Teare following behind. Brown and Teare hoped to set a fast pace that would decrease the intensity of kicks during the bell lap.

“It’s cool when you can have some team tactics in a USA championship like this,” said Teare. The two were first teammates at the University of Oregon and have continued to train together since Teare turned professional last year.

Despite a team strategy, the race speed didn’t pan out as planned. Big kicks in the bell lap led to changes in position as Brown and Teare were boxed in. Teare, who was pushed to sixth place at 1200m, was able to pull away in the last 100m to finish first with a time of 3:45.86. Brown finished fifth in the race with a time of 3:46.28.

“Going into 400 to go I wanted to be there,” said Teare. “Going into 200 I felt really good, wasn’t really fatigued at all. Kind of came off that curve, found my spot and just didn't look back.”

Teare considers his national title a bit of a redemption after some of his previous races. Last year, he finished fourth in the 5000m race at the Olympic Trials, just barely missing the Olympic team. Teare also finished sixth in the Bowerman Mile at The Prefontaine Classic last month, the second highest American time in the field. His national title demonstrates progress being made.

“For the stakes that come with [the nationals], I felt really good about it and very proud,” said Teare. “Last year I think I was just happy to be here, and this year I was coming for it.”

A big factor in Teare’s improved performance between the Olympic Trials and the USATF Championships has been in his ability to recover. Teare’s 2021 outdoor season was a long one, often requiring him to compete in back-to-back distance events. This year, he’s focused on recovery in a way that works with his races.

“I feel like I’ve kind of figured out the recovery process. That’s a place I lacked in the past,” said Teare. “At the end of the day at Worlds, it’s gonna be who can recover the fastest.”

Teare wasn’t the only finalist to finish strong in the final. Jonathan Davis moved from sixth to second place in the last 100m to finish with 3:46.01, and Bowerman Track Club’s Josh Thompson went from ninth place at 1200m to finish third with a time of 3:46.07. Thompson credits much of his win to the slow pace.

“I felt a little tired coming off the prelim,” said Thompson, who scored the last qualifying spot in Thursday’s 1500m preliminary round. “I was happy the race went out slow, just gave me a mental boost in confidence.”

Thompson’s race plan centered around his competitors who have the qualifying standard for the World Athletics Championship next month. Thompson himself does not have the qualifying standard of 3:35.00 but could instead qualify for the World Championships through rankings. 

“I just knew if I was patient just within the mix, I could rely on my kick and rely on my speed to get into the team the last 50 meters,” said Thompson. “I didn’t really care if I got third or fourth as long as I beat people that had the time and I would probably be set to go to Worlds. But third was just icing on the cake.”

The World Athletics Championships will be held at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. After training and competing in the venue numerous times, Teare is ready for an international competition with a home crowd. He hopes the stands will be packed.

“When you hear your name called and that roar that some other people don't get, it’s definitely kind of a confidence boost on the line,” said Teare. “I’m looking forward to it and just looking forward to have the world in my backyard.”

Sydney McLaughlin breaks her own world record, wins 2022 USATF Championships

Sydney McLaughlin runs away with the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor 400m hurdles title, breaking her own world record in the process. Photo by Bee Wilson-Trofort

By Cassie Cole

Sydney McLaughlin has broken the world record in the women’s 400m hurdles for the third time in one year. Her winning time of 51.41 seconds won her the national champion title in the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships.

McLaughlin has been the clear favorite of her event from the start of this week’s championships. She finished with the fastest times in both the first and semifinal rounds, coming in seconds ahead of her competitors. The question wasn’t if McLaughlin would win the national title, but if she would break the world record in doing so.

“I knew it was definitely possible, I’m really grateful that it happened,” said McLaughlin, who held the previous world record of 51.46. “It’s just a great indicator for where we’re at going into Worlds.” As the world record holder and national champion, McLaughlin will head to the World Athletics Championship in July to compete for the world title. Worlds will be held at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, where McLaughlin has now broken the record twice.

“It’s Track Town, USA—what do you expect? I mean, anytime I come here I can just feel something amazing is gonna happen,” she said.

Despite holding a significant lead over her competitors, McLaughlin believes that she still has much to improve upon in preparation for Worlds. “I don’t think the perfect race ever exists,” she said. Her next steps have her focusing on pushing herself mentally and developing a deeper understanding of the race.

Britton Wilson and Shamier Little will be joining McLaughlin at Worlds after finishing second and third, respectively, in the 400m hurdles. The former two women are training partners.

“I just knew I needed to keep myself mentally straight and keep my head in the game,” said Wilson, who is the 2022 NCAA champion in this event. “Physically I knew I could do it. I’ve worked super hard to get here.” Wilson explained that although McLaughlin was in the lane next to her, she didn’t feel pressured to match her speed. She knew she wouldn’t be able to beat the two-time Olympic gold medalist, but she could pace herself.

“When I see [McLaughlin] pass, I just knew I needed to stay focused, don’t panic, and go with her,” said Wilson. “I just know I need to stick with her and run my race.” Wilson finished with a new personal best of 53.08 seconds.

Little rounds out the 400m hurdle team headed to Worlds with a third-place time of 53.92 seconds, a season best. She is the 2015 World Championship silver medalist in the event, but it’s been a while since she’s joined Team USA.

“It’s been a long time since I made a team and this is just the ultimate feeling. I’m on a high right now, I’m so excited,” said Little.

“Last three hurdles I know I just had to bring it home,” Little said after her event. She moved from sixth place to third within the second half of the race, overtaking 2020 Olympian Anna Cockrell during those last three hurdles.

Little felt that she had made the team before she even crossed the line, but it was the confirmation on the jumbotron that brought the feelings.

“Just to see my name pop up there, just the weight lifted off my shoulders, like, I did it,” said Little. “Just so much more in store for me, us, this event,” she added.

The stellar team of McLaughlin, Wilson and Little will be joined by defending world champion Dalilah Muhammad at Worlds. Muhammad will not be competing at nationals this week due to a hamstring injury, but has received a bye into worlds due to her 2019 world champion status.

“I think all four of us are gonna go out there and represent USA very well,” said McLaughlin. “We’re gonna try to get all of us on the podium and do what we have to do.” With McLaughlin heading the team, the women’s 400m hurdles promises to be one of the highlights of the World Championships this summer.

Jager completes injury comeback, makes World Championship team

Evan Jager runs 8:17.29 to achieve the World Championship steeplechase standard, finishes second to earn his spot on the world championship team. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Joe Zochert

Bowerman Track Club’s Evan Jager crossed the finish line of the men’s 3,000m steeplechase in second place with a season-best 8:17.29 and also hit the qualifying standard to represent the U.S. at his fifth World Athletics Championships in July.

Despite placing second on Saturday afternoon, the smile on the 33-year-old’s face over the last 50m of the race could be seen as he finished. 

“I couldn't even really keep it together till the finish line and just like the emotions came just pouring out of me,” Jager said.

He even compared some of these emotions to the ones that he felt in his biggest Olympic moments.

“Honestly, kind of very similar emotions to making my first Olympic team or winning the medal in Rio,” he said after the race.

Even with these emotions, the American steeplechase record holder has had his confidence shaken by a myriad of injuries.

“For me, it was just really emotional,” said Jager. “I've doubted myself, more than I believed in myself these last four years.”

Injuries have derailed him the past four years, forcing him to miss the 2019 World Championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In 2018, he suffered a stress fracture that ended his season and caused him to sit out 2019. He recovered in 2020, but the season was canceled due to the pandemic. 

To begin the 2021 season, he sustained a calf injury in March which had him walking in a boot at the time of last year’s Olympic Trials. 

Despite these injuries, the former Wisconsin Badger felt relief in making the team this year.

“The decision to end the season at that point was kind of a relief because like I could finally like allow myself to relax and accept the fact that I was injured and then start looking forward to this year,” said Jager. “Obviously, everyone in the U.S. wants to make the World Championship team in Eugene so that was a huge goal for me.”

With another season ending due to injury, he decided to use that time to help his body to fully heal. 

“I took a ton of just downtime. I didn't cross train, I didn't do anything because I just wanted my body to heal,” he said about his time last year.

With these injuries and time off, Jager has had to reinvent his running style and depend on strategy.

“I don't really feel like I can run 66 and drop like a 62 whenever I want,” said Jager. “So I feel like I have to kind of spread my energy out a little bit better and just be smarter about when I'm making moves and positioning.”

Fighting through these injuries and implementing these new strategies, Jager is beginning to feel like his old self again over the past couple of weeks.

“I'm starting to feel more and more like myself,” he said. “I feel like I've been in a workout and like I could tell the workout was getting hard but I know can keep pushing,”

“I feel like I'm actually fit enough to like keep improving on fitness in those really hard workouts.”

With these difficult four years, Jager  didn’t throw in the towel as he believes this is the first major challenge of his legendary steeple career.

Until 2012, Jager competed in the 1500m and 5,000m. After making the Olympic team for the steeplechase in 2012, he felt that the steeple has been his event. He didn’t face many major challenges until the stress fracture.

“I was like [steeplechase] feels just right to me and so from then until 2018, I never really ran into any major challenges in my career in the steeple,” said Jager. “I thought a lot of times that like I don't think I could live with myself if I like just gave up the first time it got hard.” 

“I mainly wanted to prove to myself that I could do it but like there was that little bit in me that like wanted to prove to everyone else that like I wasn't done and I can still be the runner that they thought I could be.”

With the hardest stretch of his 13-year career hopefully behind him, Jager will be back at Hayward for the world championships with hopes to finish the season healthy and build on it.

“I'm excited to keep progressing throughout the summer and hopefully, finish the season healthy and have a full two years of training under my belt going into the next season,” said Jager. “So if I can get here and make the team off of like six months of solid training. I'm very excited looking forward.”

Sinclaire Johnson earns first national title, punches ticket to Worlds

Union Athletics Club’s Sinclaire Johnson breaks the tape in 4:03.29 at the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships. Photo by Tim Healy

By Joe Zochert

In a stacked women’s 1500m, Union Athletics Club’s Sinclaire Johnson captured her first national title with a mark of 4:03.29. 2020 Olympians Cory McGee and Elle St. Pierre placed second and third, respectively.

Even with the deep field, Johnson was confident in her chances after running a personal best of 3:58.85 at The Prefontaine Classic last month at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.

“It showed me that not only am I going to be able to compete with the best in the U.S., but I'm going to be able to compete with us in the world,” said Johnson about her performance at the Pre Classic.

With this confidence, Johnson planned to try to stay in top-three contention and react to any moves in the front to give her a chance on the final lap.

“From the beginning, I was just gonna try and hold that top-three position and not let myself fall back from that and just cover any moves,” said Johnson.

The Nike runner’s strategy paid off as she found herself behind McGee, St. Pierre and Bowerman Track Club’s Karissa Schweizer at the bell. On the final curve, Johnson passed McGee on her outside shoulder to take the lead.

“I felt like the last lap was just waiting, patience and unleashing my last gear,” Johnson said as she clocked a 59.28. 

“Cory made a move on the backstretch, I followed her and then, like 150 to go I was like, ‘Alright, this is my this my chance to swing to the front and just try to hold it on until the finish,’”.

After crossing the finish line, Johnson was greeted with hugs by McGee and St. Pierre to congratulate her on making her first team. 

The 24-year-old said that this race wouldn’t have been as competitive if it wasn’t for those two. Johnson is excited to be teammates with them at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in July.

“The level of competition wouldn't be where it's at if it weren't for Ellie and Cory,” said Johnson after the race. “So I feel like just having them to push me and make me better and to be able to celebrate together, like we're all trying to make the team out there, it feels pretty good.”

This victory is a complete 180-degree turn from last year as she placed last in the 1500m at the Olympic Trials.

Johnson compared this to her NCAA victory in 2019 as she place last in 2018 and came away with the NCAA title just a year later.

“I feel like that's kind of my M.O. like in college in 2018,” she said. “I got dead last in the 1500 and then came back and won the thing next year.”

“I don't know if that had a little bit of foreshadowing of what was going to happen in my pro career.”

These losses have given Johnson more motivation for competing and showed her the larger picture of the sport.

“I feel like it just adds fuel to the fire.” she said about getting last in 2018 and at the 2020 Olympic Trials. “I think it's good to lose.”

 “I think you learning to lose and learning to deal with the  adversity in our sport just only makes the highs higher and makes you just appreciate things more.”

With making her first U.S. team, it still hasn’t set in for Johnson that she will be representing her country at the first ever World Championships in the U.S.

“I think I haven't really fully wrap my mind around that yet,” she said. “But, just having the World Championships on US soil for the first time ever is already in and of itself an incredible opportunity.”

“I get to represent my country and I'm ready to do big things there.”

Melissa Jefferson makes a statement, wins U.S. 100m title

After finishing 8th at the NCAA Championships, Coastal Carolina’s Melissa Jefferson (right) wins the 2022 USATF Outdoor 100m title. Photo by Bee Trofort-Wilson

By Joe Zochert

Day two of the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships were action packed with a battle in the men’s shot put, a new meet record in the men’s 100m and a world leading performance by Sandi Morris in the women’s pole vault. However, Melissa Jefferson, a junior from Coastal Carolina University, made the most noise in the women’s 100m on Friday.

Even though she surprised many by making her first World Championship team, Jefferson knew that punching a ticket to worlds was a possibility all year.

“I won't say that I'm fully surprised because it was one of my goals that I had listed down for this year,” said Jefferson, “It was to compete at this meet and make Team USA and compete at the World Championships.”

Jefferson captured her first national title with a time of 10.69 in the women’s 100m on Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. The junior beat out Adidas’ Aleia Hobbs and Nike’s Twanisha Terry, who finished second and third, respectively.

For Jefferson, this victory isn’t a fluke as it is just the reward for the motivation that she has built up after the 2021 NCAA Championships.

Last year, she competed in both the 100m and 200m at Hayward Field and didn’t advance out of the first round in either. The feeling she got from not advancing has stuck with her ever since.

“It started back last year, when I was at NCAA, and my goal for that meet was to make it to the finals and I didn't, I went out in the first round and I was very upset.” 

“I remember feeling how I felt and so I told myself that from that day forward, I would never want to put myself in a position to where I would feel like that ever again.”

Jefferson won the NCAA indoor 60m national title in March, and two weeks ago, she advanced to the final rounds in both the 100m and 200m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Even though she placed eighth and ninth in the 100m and 200m, respectively, Jefferson has trusted the work that she has put in since last year.

“One of the biggest things for me is trusting what I've been doing and practicing, you know, I mean, you're right, what I know that are capable of doing.”

However, when things haven’t worked out for Jefferson over this past year, she has credited her faith for keeping her going.

“I just put all my trust in God and two weeks ago, I wasn't really happy with the results that came,” she said. “I had to step back and realize who's really in control.”

“He's in control of everything that I endure in this life and so if He knew that two weeks ago, it needed to happen in order for this to happen today and I’m fine with that.”

With this year-long work and mindset, Jefferson won her prelim with a mark of 11.04 on day one, then ran a personal best of 10.82 in the semifinals. Less than two hours after the semifinals, she pulled off the upset for the American title in the 100m.

Now, Jefferson will have a chance to be the first woman from the United States to medal in the 100m at Worlds since Tori Bowie. However, she will most likely have to go through Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser and Sherika Jackson. These three swept the 2020 Olympic podium in the event.

Despite never racing against these three, Jefferson welcomes the challenge.

“I'm just glad that I get an opportunity to do it, and you know, I'm ready for any challenge and anything that may come my way,” she said about the potential competition at Worlds. “Because, I've been preparing for this ever since last year and I feel like I'm ready for it. 

The Power of Two Olympians: Morris and Nageotte Jump Their Way to Worlds

Sandi Morris wins the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships pole vault. Photo by Tim Healy

By Cassie Cole

The expectations were high in the women’s pole vault final, but so were the jumps. The best pole vaulters in the country came together on day two of the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships in the hopes of winning the national title.

The title went to Sandi Morris, who was the only competitor to jump 4.82m (15-9.75) on Friday. Morris’ jump is a world leading height and as well as a season best—a stark comeback after injuries sustained from breaking a pole kept her from competing in the Olympic pole vault final last year.

During a press conference earlier this week, Morris said that she has a “fire in [her] heart” that pushed her to return from last year’s injury even stronger than ever. That fire took her to the top of her field and the top of the bar Friday afternoon.

“I was super motivated to make this comeback,” Morris said. “I want to keep this momentum going and keep this positive mindset, and my body feels healthy and strong.”

As the national champion, Morris will be competing in the World Athletics Championship Oregon22 next month at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. She already has plans for how she can improve over the next several weeks.

“I’ve got bigger bars in sight,” said Morris. She feels that she can improve upon how she jumps off the ground, with a focus on “jumping like a long jumper” to put more energy into her jump instead of relying on the momentum of her pole. “I really want to get back up over 4.90 and higher,” Morris said.

Although Morris now holds the world leading height for the women’s pole vault, she doesn’t want to get ahead of herself for what may happen at Worlds. The 2020 Olympics showed her how quickly things can change.

“All I can say is, I’m gonna go out there and I’m gonna jump my heart out and I’m gonna give it my absolute all, and maybe it’ll be my day,” said Morris. “I like to say every dog has its day, and if you just keep on trying and you don’t let failure hold you back from trying again, your day will come.”

Regardless of her results at worlds, Morris knows that the event will be a competition to remember. The World Championships this summer will be the first time the event has been held in the United States, giving American athletes the opportunity to represent their country on home soil.

“I’m just so grateful that I get to experience it because it’s gonna be a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Morris. “To get to look up and see all those American flags and have the home crowd behind us, I know it’s gonna be very, very special.”

Morris’ training partner and top competitor, Katie Nageotte, also placed high in the pole vault. Her jump of 4.65m (15-3) put the Olympic gold medalist in third place for the USATF Championship and punched her ticket to worlds.

In Nageotte’s own words, she’s had a tough year. After coming off her Olympic success, Nageotte has faced injuries during the indoor season, COVID-19 during the outdoor season and difficulty finding motivation all year.

“Usually when you have that elation [of the Olympics] and you have that feeling, I think my body was like, ‘wait, we have to do this all over again?’” Nageotte said. “As much as I wanted to feel hyped up and excited—and obviously I wanted to make this team—it was like my body just wouldn’t turn on.”

Despite a difficult year so far for Nageotte, she’s found some managing tactics. Nageotte has turned to her training group for support, finding energy in their positivity.

“Everybody just comes in, everybody wants to do well. Everybody wants to work hard, that’s why we’re all there,” Nageotte said of her training group. “It’s really fun just being around people that want it like you do.”

Nageotte has also changed the way she competes in events to address her lack of motivation.

“Make this as technically good as you possibly can, because right now you’re not getting hyped up in the way that I normally feel,” Nageotte said. “So we need to just approach this from a different way and that worked.”

Nageotte’s approach took her to a spot as one of the top three finalists before she chose to retire from the competition and avoid pushing herself too hard. Joining Team USA for Worlds is enough for Nageotte, especially after all that she has dealt with.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of a year,” said Nageotte. “It’s one that I wasn’t prepared for, I wasn’t expecting, but it makes me that much more proud of what I did today.”

Burks adds outdoor long jump title to her 2022 resume

Quanesha Burks wins 2022 USATF outdoor long jump title, jumping 7.06m (23-2) at Hayward Field. Photo by Bee Trofort-Wilson

By Cassie Cole

The women’s long jump final was all about enjoying the event, as told by its top finishers. The competition was one of three finals on Day One of the Toyota USATF Championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.

Back to Back Championships

Quanesha Burks placed first in the long jump with a wind-aided jump of 7.06m (23-2). She is now the 2022 indoor and outdoor U.S. champion in the long jump.

Burks finished third at the Olympic Trials in 2021 and represented Team USA in Tokyo last year. After competing on the world stage, Burks felt pressured to continue performing at her best.

“You have this unnecessary pressure like you want to be on top always,” said Burks. “I was struggling at first because I felt like I have to jump seven meters, I have to jump this every single meet, I have to be number one in the world.” She explained that the pressure to live up to her title of Olympian was initially difficult to combat this year.

Despite addressing the pressure as a “mental battle,” Burks felt a lot more confident with her mental state coming into the competition Thursday. “I’m so happy I was able to come in and not get so worked up in the expectations of others, but more be happy for myself,” she said.

Burks had one goal coming into the competition: “Being in the moment, be present, don’t worry about the results.” She didn’t have to worry about the results, as her first and winning jump put her well in the lead ahead of her competitors.

Although Burks has attended a U.S. championship before, her family has not. The USATF Championship is the first time that Burks’ family has been able to see her compete in a U.S. championship competition, and both she and her family have loved the experience.

"It was so special and I really wanted to win it for them,” said Burks. She hopes that her family will be able to attend the World Championships at Hayward Field as well.

Moore Jumps Twice

Florida’s Jasmine Moore was also all about stress-free competition this week. The college sophomore finished second in the long jump at 6.80m (22-3.75), which isn’t even her main focus at the championships. 

“Long jump is moving up there, but triple jump is like my baby,” said Moore. She’ll be competing in the women’s triple jump final on Saturday and is coming off indoor and outdoor NCAA titles in both events this year.

“At least, you know, you’ve made it in one so just go out there and give it your best in triple jump,” said Moore, who is feeling more prepared for the triple jump knowing that she has a spot on the Worlds team this summer. She wasn’t stressed in the long jump competition either, however.

“I definitely had a lot less pressure on myself,” Moore said. “I had nothing to lose with this event.” Moore’s best jump was her first, which she explained gave her confidence in continuing the competition and reducing pressure on her performance.

Moore hopes to finish in the top three for the triple jump competition this weekend as well but isn’t yet sure if she would compete in both events at Worlds if given the opportunity.

“I kind of want to do whichever one has the best chance to make it to finals,” she said.

Four women will represent Team USA in hammer throw at World Championships

Brooke Andersen wins the 2022 USATF Outdoor Hammer Throw title, throwing 77.96m(255-9). Photo by Skyler Humphrey-Davis

By Joe Zochert

The women’s hammer throw was the first team selected for the upcoming World Athletics Championships Oregon22 on day one of the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field. It includes four of the nation’s best throwers, including Brooke Andersen, Janee Kassanavoid, Annette Echikunwoke and Deanna Price. Each will have a chance to earn the U.S. its second medal in the event after Price won the world title in Doha.

Andersen, the champion, is excited to be on a team with this group of women at the first world championships on home soil.

“We have a great group of girls,” she said about the group. “I believe in their abilities and my ability as well so that we can achieve the highest standing for the U.S.”

Andersen threw the four farthest distances of the day, ultimately winning with a 77.96m (255-9) on her fourth attempt. Despite the national title, the 2020 Olympian refuses to underestimate the competition she will face in less than a month.

“I never count anyone out,” said Andersen, who placed 10th at the 2019 Doha World Championships. “I would like to say I believe in my ability to get the job done.”

Kassanavoid threw 76.04m (249-6) to place second and earn a spot on her first world championships team. After missing the Olympics by one place at the Olympic Trials last year, she put in the work to claim her spot on the podium this year.

“It feels great you know, what I commit my time and sacrifices for,” Kassanavoid said. “So essentially putting in the work each year, I could say, ‘I failed,’ but I was still at the elite level of a world-class athlete.”

“So coming back I was just focusing on myself and controlling me in the ring.”

The Missouri-native is in the midst of a career year having thrown a personal best 78m (255-10) in May. She hopes to use it to capture a medal. 

“This is the best I've ever been in my career,” said Kassanavoid. “So I'm just really excited and I think I can do pretty well and hopefully come home with a medal.”

Third-place finisher Echikunwoke had a fantastic day on Thursday, achieving the world championship standard on her second throw with a mark of 73.76m (242-0). The throw earned her a place on the podium and a return trip to Hayward Field in less than a month. 

“I was just happy to be here,” she said about getting the standard. “I knew I could do it and so it was great that I could execute that today.”

This will be Echikunwoke’s first ever time on this world stage. She was initially going to compete for Nigeria at the Tokyo Olympics, but the Nigerian team was disqualified due to negligence from its Athletics Federation.

As an Ohio native, the 25-year-old is eligible to represent the U.S. at the world championships. Echikunwoke couldn’t have been more excited to go alongside these three women.

“They're so amazing, I've gotten to compete with them a couple of times, and it's been awesome,” said Echikunwoke. “Everybody's so sweet and I'm just excited for all of us to really go show out.”

These top-three finishers will be joined by Price as she receives an automatic bid to Oregon22 as the reigning world champion in the hammer throw.

The American record holder launched her two best throws of the season with a 73.07m (239-8) and a 72.99m (239-5) on her sixth and first attempts, respectively. These two throws were a welcome sight as she has been dealing with injuries since the Olympic Trials last year. 

“About a week before trials, I was at practice and I just felt a little pain in my foot,” said Price. “I just thought it was a muscle pull.”

“I took off the shoes and I had about a baseball-sized swelling on top of my foot and I knew something was wrong.”

A MRI scan revealed a snap on the tip of Price’s fibula near her ankle and a fractured talus along with three torn tendons in the right leg. On top of that, she was already dealing with a torn labrum in her right hip.

“I never really had a moment to take that in and assess it,” she said about her injuries. “Because immediately when I got home (from the Olympics), I went straight to surgery.”

10 months ago, Price underwent ankle reconstruction surgery and had a hip reshaping surgery a month later. Despite these hurdles, she has managed to work her way back as she began “hard” throws in March earlier this year.

“There's moments that you know, you're hitting a new level, but like in my head, I know how to do that,” said Price. “But my body hasn't quite got to that.”

Even with the individual progress at nationals, Price couldn’t be more excited to be a part of history again with this special group of hammer throwers..

“Having four women for the first time ever in United States in the women’s hammer throw is so exciting,” she said.  “And I cannot wait to rewrite history again with these ladies.”

The road to worlds runs through Hayward Field, 2022 USATF Championships kick off Thursday

Allyson Felix at the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships press conference. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Cassie Cole and Joe Zochert

The best American track and field athletes have arrived in Eugene, Oregon, and they’re ready to make history. The Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships start on Thursday and several competing athletes spoke with the media at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Felix’s Finale

One of the storylines of the 2022 track and field season is five-time Olympian Allyson Felix retiring from the sport following the season. She is competing in the 400-meter dash this weekend with the hopes of joining Team USA at the World Athletics Championships next month.

Felix has been a professional athlete for nearly 20 years, earning seven Olympic gold medals and 12 World Championship gold medals. For Felix, her legacy has changed over her illustrious career as she found new ways to challenge herself.

This year, Felix wants to create a larger social impact in the track and field community. As a mother and a runner, it’s fitting that she is making an impact in the way of childcare. A recent partnership between Felix and Athleta ensures that 20% of every shoe sale through Felix’s company, Saysh, will be used to provide athletes and coaches at the USATF Championships with free childcare.

“Being able to have childcare here is really the reason that I came back,” said Felix. “I'm so excited to have that in my partnership as a mother and being able to offer that to that group, so I hope all of that is a part of my legacy.”

This opportunity to help provide childcare at this event was one of the main motivators for Felix as she determined whether to return this season.

“I still felt like there was a few things that I could push for,” said Felix. “And that was kind of the final decision-maker, like, okay, if we could go after this childcare thing and if it happens, then I'll come back.”

With plans for the 400m this week and possibly Worlds on the horizon, Felix’s professional athlete career is reaching the end of its journey. She and Athleta plan to have a street race in Los Angeles this August to commemorate her career.

“I’m really looking forward to just the celebration of that,” said Felix.

A New Chapter for Morris

Pole vaulter Sandi Morris is looking to make her outdoor comeback after she suffered an injury at last year’s Olympic Games. The 2022 Indoor World Champion is excited to be back at Hayward Field to compete for a spot on Team USA.

With any injury, Morris said, “you can either let it get you down and hold you down, or you can use that as motivation to make a big comeback.” She explained that her unsatisfying results at the Olympics has helped her focus on consistency and improvement in the pole vault.

“I wanted to go out there and let the world know Sandi Morris hasn’t gone anywhere,” said Morris. “I’m here. I’m going to go out there, I’m going to compete, I’m gonna give it my all every single time.”

Morris also discussed her training regimen at Wednesday’s press conference. Morris notably switched to a new coach after the Olympics and now trains under Brad Walker, who also works with 2020 Olympic gold medalist Katie Nageotte. Her choice in coach has “definitely raised a few eyebrows,” Morris said.

“In the end I decided there were way more pros than cons,” she said, explaining her decision to work with Walker. Morris believes that despite training with one of her top competitors in the sport, the balance that her coach provides them both has given her new insight and attitude in her event. She credits her improvement this season to the energy that comes from her training group.

“The power of two Olympic medalists is greater than the power of one,” Morris said.

Preparing for Worlds

The USATF press conference on Wednesday also included two-time Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu, gold medalist Michael Norman, Olympians Cole Hocker and Chrisitan Coleman, and World Indoor competitor Josette Norris. The athletes discussed their individual events and their hopes for the weekend.

“The Olympic Trials was my first time seeing Hayward Field,” said Norris, referencing the Trials last year where she finished eighth in the 5000m. “I came in excited but unsure of what was going to happen…I just feel a lot calmer [this year] and just more experienced going into this outdoor season. 

Mu, who hasn’t raced much this season compared to last year as a collegiate and professional athlete, isn’t worried about how her 800m race will go this week.

“Coming into this meet, you just gotta make sure you relax,” said Mu. She said that despite an abundance of competitive events this year, she knows she’s in good shape and prepared for her event. “You just have to stay at ease and take it day by day, race by race,” Mu said.

As the country’s best athletes prepare for a long weekend of competition, excitement for the World Athletics Championship is growing. Knowing that this world-class competition will be held on U.S. soil for the first time adds even more energy to the athletes as they compete for a spot on Team USA.

“You can’t even put into words how much it’s going to mean,” said Morris. “It’s a historic moment.”

NSAF introduces showcase long jump and javelin competition at Nike Outdoor Nationals

Spencer Young wins the inaugural javelin showcase at the 2022 Nike Outdoor Nationals. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Cassie Cole and Joe Zochert

All eyes were on the field this weekend at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. On the final two days of the Nike Outdoor Nationals, athletes in the boy’s long jump and girl’s javelin had the opportunity to compete in a special exhibition event. These two field events were rebranded as “showcases.”

The format of these showcases was intended to create a new atmosphere for the event. After three traditional rounds of attempts, the final eight in the event were seeded 1 through 8 according to their best marks. These eight then competed in a head-to-head bracket to advance to the next round. Those who lost were moved to the consolation bracket, where they could continue competing against the remaining athletes.

Cathedral Phantoms Elite’s Jai Banks-Chambers thought that this new format brought a refreshing sense of competition to the event.

“It was definitely exciting. It built on the competition and it allowed for us to gradually get better,” said Banks-Chambers, who finished third in the long jump bracket. “People started popping up for the jumps as the competition became more steep so it was an overall fun experience.”

“It helps you get a better respect for your competitor and it helps to build the competition,” said Banks-Chambers.

The winner of the long jump showcase, Tristan Goodly, thought that having the head-to-head matchups made them focus on the individual jumps more than the event itself.

“It just changed my mindset. And you don't worry about the rounds in front of them. You just worry about the round that you're in right now,” said Goodly. “You have to get further than the guy that you're competing against.”

Trinity Spooner, fifth-place finisher in the girl’s javelin bracket, agreed that there was a heavy focus on individual rounds.

“You gotta be consistent and it pays,” Spooner said. Despite finishing fifth in the showcase on Sunday, Spooner won the girl’s javelin championship the day before with a personal best of 49.37m (161-11). The South Beauregard junior acknowledged that consistency is key for athletes to continue to the next round of the winner’s bracket.

“[The showcase] puts it in a different kind of competition because in a regular meet, that one throw matters. Just one throw, that’s all it takes,” said Spooner.

In contrast, a showcase competition requires multiple, consistent throws. Spooner did throw the furthest distance in the showcase competition on Sunday, but she had already moved to the consolation bracket by then. “It’s kind of difficult to be consistent like that,” Spooner added.

Fountain Hills’ Quinton Patterson, who placed fifth in the long jump showcase, saw how brackets can affect the outcome of an event but still bring out the best in the competitors.

“It was pretty cool. But at the same time, you could pop off the best jump and be last place because of the bracket style,” said Patterson. “I think it gave us clutch opportunities and puts more pressure on us to make it more competitive.”

The bracket format of the long jump and javelin weren’t the only factors contributing to the events’ energy. Once the first three rounds of the competition were completed, all events on the track were paused to turn the crowd’s attention to the field. The entirety of Hayward Field had their eyes on the long jump and javelin.

Having the crowd’s undivided attention is unusual for field events, which usually occur concurrently with events on the track or just with other events happening on the field. For javelin showcase winner Spencer Young of Marlborough High, the support of the crowd made a big impact on the event and its athletes.

“Having that moment when the crowd is supporting you and you feel like, ‘Wow, I’m not just here to throw, I should be having fun too,’” said Young. “I think it’s a great way to educate people and build crowd morale and make the athletes happier too. We do so much to get here.”

Spooner felt the same way: the showcase format and putting eyes on the javelin competition was beneficial to the athletes and their morale.

“It makes me feel special, especially as a javelin-only person. Normally we’re kind of pushed on the back burner,” said Spooner. “It brings a different level of respect to us as athletes. We feel special, like everybody else.”

The attention was rejuvenating, but also a bit nerve-wracking at times.

“It’s you and [the crowd is] following you as you’re throwing, after, and watching you. And you’ve gotta be very conscious of what you’re doing and what you’re thinking,” Spooner said.

“You feel like an ant,” she added.

After the inaugural showcase competitions in the long jump and javelin this weekend, the verdict is clear: it’s a fun event, albeit a bit different from what athletes are used to doing.

“I like it, but the traditional way is just tradition. It's just how it is,” said Goodly. He believes that the showcase should be reserved for special events.

For Spooner, introducing the javelin showcase to more competitions would be “pretty incredible.”

“I feel like it’s more crowd-engaged—everybody’s into it, it’s a bigger focus, it’s different. And difference always stands out.”

Nick Symmonds returns to racing at Hayward Field, with a twist

Nick Symmonds races his YouTube subscribers at Hayward Field following day two of the Nike Outdoor Nationals. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Joe Zochert

The crowd stuck around after day two of the Nike Outdoor Nationals competition was over as two-time Olympian Nick Symmonds took the stage to invite everyone to participate in one of his YouTube videos.

This event was a bonus addition to the “Nick Symmonds Classic” as Symmonds and his team handed out raffle tickets to everyone in attendance. If Symmonds called your number, you would then have the opportunity to race him for tickets to the World Championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in July.

Spring Lake’s Carter Phillips was one of the participants in the event who won tickets. As a fan of both Symmonds’ running and social media career, Phillips believes that these videos have brought the running community closer together.

“I love what he does for the running community,” Phillips said. “You know, racing kids and parents of all ages, he’s just great for the sport.”

Phillips’ sentiments about the event are exactly what Symmonds has cultivated on his channel as he tries to highlight the inclusive community of track and field through focusing on fitness.

“I think it's because we have such an inclusive community, I always say everybody's welcome at my events,” Symmonds said. “There's going to be prizes and it's going to be fun. We're going to cheer each other on. There's very little negativity, it's just about fun with fitness. That's what the whole channel is about.”

After launching his YouTube channel in 2017, he discovered that creating these videos brings him the same excitement that racing brought him.

“I'll be honest, it's just so addicting to create something that people are excited about and that's how I used to feel about running,” he said.

Symmonds started the YouTube channel to continue the media attention that his company, RunGum, gained over his running career.

“When I retired, I realized all that earned media was going to disappear,” Symmonds said. “ I'm like, ‘how are we gonna get eyeballs on our brands?”

Since his humble beginnings of talking to a phone while filming, Symmonds has created a team that has helped find a focus for their content to create popular videos.

“It wasn't until like, 2019, that we really found our niche and started making videos that consistently get a million views,” he said.

With this team, Symmonds’ channel has gained over 795,000 subscribers on YouTube and has created a positive environment for people to have fun and enjoy fitness.

One of the crew members, Nicolas “Dolfin” Rodriguez, believes that having fitness as a key component of the videos has made the channel more relatable to viewers.

“He does it with fitness and everyone can relate to fitness at some level,” said Dolfin. “The wide audience and then just being positive, encouraging and then taking some risks, you know, giving away some money doing some crazy stuff, I think that's why (his videos work).”

Ryan Ewert, who has worked with Symmonds since 2018, has seen the channel grow by making the sport of track and field more accessible to those who may not be as familiar.

“I think track is kind of a tough sport to watch, especially if you're not familiar with all the different lingo, I think he makes it really accessible and he makes it fun,” said Ewert.

“A big component of these videos is anyone can participate. It's a sport that’s a lot about time. You don't have to run fast to be out here. We're just trying to have a fun time.”

Even with the positive environment, Ewert credits Symmonds’ relatability with the fans as a reason why the channel continues to receive such high engagement.

“Nick can carry a conversation with anyone, I think he's really charismatic and friendly,” Ewert said. 

Nike runner Cooper Teare also believes that Symmonds’ knowledge of the sport and ability to add an element of fun to his events is what makes his videos successful.

“Nick knows how to unite this sport and get people excited about it,” Teare said about the videos. “He kind of takes your average events and takes them to the next level and he has fun doing it.” 

With his current platform and influence, Symmonds has found a way to continue to be present in a community that he has been a part of since he was 13-years old.

“I never wanted to say goodbye to that, I knew that the track community was going to be important to me forever,” he said. “I just didn't know how I was going to interact with them.”

“It allows me to be creative. It allows me to stay in shape. It allows me to make money. It allows me to interact with my fans. I'm like, ‘I get paid to do this.’ I would do this absolutely for free.”

With his continued presence in the running community and ability to grow his brand, Symmonds plans to continue producing this content as long as he can.

 “I'll literally just keep making YouTube videos until people stop watching them,” he said. “I’ll do this till the day I die. I can't imagine anything else.”

Fast 800m Caps off Day 2 of 2022 Nike Outdoor Nationals

Union Athletics Club’s Charlie Hunter runs 1:47.50 at Hayward Field on Friday. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Cassie Cole

Runners in the men’s 800m invitational had big goals in mind at Friday’s Nike Outdoor National championships. The Road to OR22 continued at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon as middle-distance runners competed against the clock.

The focus of Friday evening’s event was on Australia's Charlie Hunter and Will Sumner of Woodstock High School in Georgia. Hunter, a former Oregon Duck, was aiming to run the 800m world qualifying standard to compete for Australia at the World Athletics Championships this summer. Sumner’s goal was to break the national high school record of 1:46.45.

Hunter and Sumner were joined by former Ducks Travis Thompson, Matt Wisner, and Reed Brown, who helped pace the race but dropped off during the second lap. Fans were also on the track, lining the home stretch to cheer on the runners. 

The track was also set up with pacer lights timed to the standards that Hunter and Sumner were hoping to beat. Although the race took off at a fast pace, neither runner was quite able to keep with the lights.

“I didn’t feel great today, just kind of from the get-go it was hard to settle in and never really did,” Hunter explained after the race. He finished with a time of 1:47.50, two and a half seconds off from the qualifying time of 1:45.20.

Hunter credits part of his result to having a busy month. After racing nearly every week for the past several weeks, he’s beginning to feel a bit tired.

“Physically I’m probably in shape to run well under the standard, but if you’re not mentally prepared to go at that daunting pace, you’re not gonna do it,” said Hunter. He discussed the importance of mental preparation for a race and what he does to prepare himself:

“Just convincing myself that I deserve to be here and that I can run these quick times,” Hunter said. “Really a lot of self-talk, pumping myself up.”

Although Hunter was unable to run the standard on Friday, there’s still hope for him to compete in the World Athletics Championships next month. He may have one more race to try for 1:45, but even if he doesn’t have any more competitions between now and Worlds, he hopes that his ranking among Australian middle-distance runners may qualify him for the team.

Making the Australian team is doubly important for Hunter, considering the location of the competition. The world championships will be held at Hayward Field, right in Hunter’s backyard. Competing at Worlds would be the pinnacle of a long journey of competing in the state of Oregon.

“This is one of those chapters in your career that you’ll cherish forever,” said Hunter. “I went to school here, I live down the road—it doesn’t get better than that.”

In contrast, Sumner is just at the beginning of his running journey at Hayward Field. The senior from Woodstock, GA will be competing in the boy’s 800m championship on Sunday as well as the U20 Outdoor Championships 800m race next week. For Sumner, Friday’s run was more of a learning opportunity than a record-breaking race.

“It may not have gone as I wanted to, but either way it was just really cool to be a part of it,” said Sumner. “More [about] just getting the opportunity to run with the best people in the world.”

After Thompson, Wisner and Brown stepped off the track, Sumner turned his attention to following Hunter.

“It’s a little weird; it’s almost like running in practice,” said Sumner about his two-man race. “I thought if I could just stick with [Hunter] as long as I could, I’d run fast.” Sumner finished the race with a time of 1:48.41.

Although Sumner didn’t beat the high school record on Friday, he has more opportunities coming his way in the next week. It may seem like a lot of racing, but Sumner feels confident about what he has in store.

“I don’t think this is the last of me for the season,” said Sumner. “Hopefully when U20s come around, I’m ready to go.”

Olympic Day guests pave the way for future generations

Madeline Manning Mims poses for a photo with young fans at Olympic Day on Saturday. Photo by Kate Walkup

By Kate Walkup

Youth currently participating in track and field or other sports may not understand the importance or impact Title IX has had on their athletic careers and the vital role the athletes who came before them played in making an even playing field for all. However, four female track athletes shared their stories of triumph and hardship throughout their athletic careers with the up-and-coming generation of athletes on Saturday.

Madeline Manning Mims, Chandra Cheeseborough, Mechelle Lewis Freeman and Nicole Commissiong lined the panel at TrackTown USA’s Olympic Day, inspiring a group of K-8th graders and their parents just before the women’s NCAA championship finals got underway at Hayward Field. 

In 1968, Manning Mims won her first gold medal—in an event she had no intention of even trying. Manning Mims ran her first 800 meters in a competition when she was in high school. At a meet in Canada, the other girls decided to run the 800 instead of the 400 meters, which was the race that had been originally scheduled to occur. Despite the change in event, Manning Mims proceeded to break the 800 world record. 

“The myth in women’s sports when it came to women was that women of color were not able to run longer distances because they were built with fast twitch muscles,” Manning Mims said. “They didn’t expect me to win. That wasn’t even in their mind.” 

Manning Mims went on to participate in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics before the US boycotted the 1980 Olympics. 

Over 50 years separated the two American gold-medal performances in the 800 meters at the Olympic Games. Manning Mims won gold in 1968, followed by Athing Mu in 2021. 

“I cried, I was so happy [when Mu won],” Manning Mims said. 

Cheeseborough made her Olympic debut at the 1976 Olympics and continued her Olympic career through the 1984 Games. In Los Angeles, Cheeseborough made history when she became the first woman to win gold in both relays. 

Relays had always been one of Cheeseborough’s specialties. When Cheeseborough was in middle school, she participated in the boys’ relay, holding off the other teams’ anchor. 

“I decided to run the 400 just to work on my 200 for the Olympic Games, and I broke an 11-year-old record,” Cheeseborough said. “So, that’s how I got into running the 400.” 

As a former Oregon Duck and PAC-10 (12) champion, Commissiong has spent endless hours at Hayward Field training and competing. The 1993 Canadian Games runner-up in the 200 meters and 400 meters now works as the Chief Civil Rights Officer and Title IX Coordinator for her alma mater. 

The most recent Olympian of the group, Lewis Freeman, competed in the 2008 Olympic Games and has continued to work to create more opportunities for rising athletes in the sport of track and field. Lewis Freeman has used her expertise and knowledge that she’s gained from competing in the sport as a way of educating the new generation of athletes about gender inequities that once existed and have been erased since Title IX, as well as those areas that still need to change. 

Through the four track athletes’ stories, young girls looking to be the next 800 stars were able to hear about what their predecessors had to go through in order to make track and field a place where they too can compete on the track and race for records and gold medals.  

Whether the kids in the audience go on to become the next American to win the 800 at the Olympic Games, choose to pursue a career that promotes equality throughout athletics much like the paths Lewis Freeman and Commissiong took, or simply appreciate sports as a form of entertainment, one thing is for certain—the ability to participate in their respective sports will no longer be taken for granted. 

Its ‘Gator Hour’ at the NCAA’s, Florida sweeps team titles

The Florida Gators capture their first ever women’s outdoor title at Hayward Field on Saturday. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Joe Zochert

The 2022 NCAA Track and Field Championships have come to an end on Saturday after four action-filled days at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.  

With two collegiate records set and six athletes capturing Outdoor titles after winning Indoor titles earlier this year, this final day had plenty of highlights.

Florida Sweeps NCAA Titles

Florida scored 74 points to win their first outdoor women’s title in program history after winning the men’s championship just the day before.

Florida has become just the seventh school to sweep both titles at the Indoor and Outdoor NCAA Track and Field Championships since 2015.

The day started with Texas as the favorite to win, but within an hour the Gators won three team titles and placed second in two more events to rack up a quick 46 points. Florida head coach Mike Holloway pointed out how this phenomenon has happened with the five titles his men’s teams have won.

“We've done it on the men's side so many times, we call it the ‘Gator Hour’,” said Holloway. “We're not on the scoreboard, then all sudden, boom, we're up at the top.”

The Gators were led by Anna Hall and Jasmine Moore as the two scored 18 and 20 of their team’s 74 points, respectively to help Florida to their championship.

Hall highlights that her teammates seized the moment and that the coaching staff helped get the team ready for this title sweep.

“I think we were ready coming into this meet,” said Hall about her team’s culture. “Our coaches do an amazing job of peaking everybody at the right time. You notice the Gators always seem to PR when the lights are big.”

Anna Hall’s Versatility

The Florida sophomore was nothing short of dominant on Saturday as she scored 6385 points over seven events to win the heptathlon and ran a 54.76 to place second in the 400m hurdles.

The plan to compete in both events was Hall’s idea as a way to score more points for the team.

“I thought I could score more points than that,” she said as she was scheduled to only compete in the heptathlon at the Championships.

Coach Holloway was nothing short of impressed with Hall's determination and ability to compete in nine events over three days.

“That just speaks to who Anna is and I think she understands now how hard of a task it is and I'm glad that she didn't try to really go for the second lap [of the 800m],” said Coach Holloway about Hall’s workload. “She just stayed on her feet and got the victory.”

“But at the end of the day that just speaks to who she is, the competitors she is and how much she will do to help her team.”

Moore’s Season gets More Perfect

Hall’s teammate Jasmine Moore was also a key cog of the championship team as she won the triple jump with 14.32m (46-11.75).

Moore not only won the outdoor titles in both the long and triple jump, the sophomore also won the Indoor titles in the two events as well.

“Being able to execute and finish it off, it's just so rewarding,” she said about this feat.

The Florida men winning the title on Friday helped provide motivation for Moore to win the triple jump.

“It was really exciting to watch the boys do it and watch them all do really well yesterday,” she said. “So just having that in mind and then to just come out here and just stay focused and just finish it off.”

Steiner’s Big Day

Junior Abby Steiner had a Herculean-like effort with 16 individual points and 18 points in relays to help Kentucky place third with 50 points. Steiner placed third in the 100m with a mark of 11.08 and helped the 4x100m team place second with a time of 42.55.

Even with a dominant third leg in the Wildcat’s 4x400m victory, Steiner set a college best in the 200m with a time of 21.80. The 22-year-old beat out LSU’s Favour Ofili, who finished second in 22.05. Ofili also lowered the college best earlier this year with a time of 21.96.

Steiner’s road to this meet is incredible as last year she wasn’t even competing at the championships.

“It's just incredible looking back on the journey and even just looking back on the meet from last year,” she said.

To get under 22 seconds for the first time, Steiner is grateful that everything seems to be coming together at the right time. She plans to compete for a spot at the World Championships in July.

“That was really satisfying to see it all come together at the right time,” she said.“The race execution, I was really proud of. I’m just looking forward to keeping the momentum going and hoping to make my first Worlds team in a couple of weeks.”

Kentucky’s Abby Steiner wins the 200m national title running a collegiate record 21.80 on Saturday. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

Wayment Clocks Top-Five Time

BYU’s Courtney Wayment crushed the college best in the 3,000m steeplechase with a blistering 9:16.00. The senior beat Courtney Frerichs’ college record from 2016 by a whole eight seconds.

With three Indoor titles, Wayment has patiently waited to get her first Outdoor title. 

“I've been patient a really long time and I've had a lot of highs and lows so I'm really grateful for this moment,” she said her win.

Even with the rain and running alone on the final couple of laps, Wayment’s time landed her among  the top-five times for women’s American steeplechase. The other four are Frerich, Jenny Simpson, Emma Coburn and Colleen Quigley.

“It's pretty special,” she said about the accomplishment. “Hopefully that means good things in the horizon.”

Nail Biter in the 1500m

Ole Miss’ Sintayehu Vissa was victorious in an epic 1500m, clocking 4:09.42 in a race that featured a wild last 300 meters. The sophomore barely outkicked Colorado’s Micaela Degenero, who finished second with a 4:09.62.

For Vissa, this was redemption as Degenero beat her in the mile Indoors earlier this year.

“When I saw her I was like, ‘I don't want to repeat again,’” said Vissa about Degenero’s kick.

With a chance to win her first Outdoor title, Degenero regrets not finishing her strong move on the final curve.

“My one mistake would have been when I came up on Sinta with 150 to go, I should have just flown by her,” she said after the race.

“But I thought maybe I could save something for the last 100 and that was my mistake and you know, you learn something from every race. ”

Photo Finish in 100m

In a shocking 100m finish, Texas’ Julien Alfred out-leaned Oregon’s Kemba Nelson for the title. Both Alfred and Nelson finished at 11.02 and the race went to the monitor as Alfred was eventually declared the winner at 11.015 and Nelson placed second with a time of 11.020.

Despite this close contest, Alfred was confident she was going to be victorious even before the race.

“I will say I won before the race to be honest, I think going in there,” she said about the 100m. “Because I was already so confident I was going to win and my coaches saying to me, ‘It's already yours.’”

The sophomore added invaluable points to her team’s second place finish of 64 points along with leading the 4x100m relay team to victory with a time of 42.42 over Kentucky.

For Nelson, despite the loss, she is content with the way the race went after getting fourth place at last year’s NCAAs.

“I think my goal was to like, just try to get better that and second, I'll take it,” said Nelson about the result.

Schoffield Wins 

Boise State’s Kristie Schoffield ran a personal best 2:01.09 to best a stacked field in the women’s 800m. The first time NCAA champion was ecstatic with the win as she knows that track and field is ‘winner takes all.’

“You can run every single race leading up to this perfect and you still have to be perfect on the day,” she said about winning the 800m.

For Schoffield, having people around you is how she has managed to deal with the nature of this sport.

“It sounds so cheesy, but it is literally everyone who's around you and who's supporting you, and who tells you every single day that you know like we believe in you,” said Shoffield.

Kristie Schoffield wins the NCAA women’s 800m title on Saturday, running a new lifetime best 2:01.09. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

Champions Galore

100m Hurdles

LSU’s Alia Armstrong ran a 12.57 in the 100m hurdles to win her first NCAA title. Armstrong beat out USC’s Jasmine Jones and Kentucky’s Masai Russell as they placed second and third, respectively. 

The sophomore has vastly improved since last year as she did not qualify for last year’s finals after running a 13.17 in prelims.

5,000m

N.C. State’s Katelyn Tuohy won the 5,000m with a mark of 15:18.39 as she escaped Florida’s Parker Valby in the homestretch. It is the sophomore’s first ever NCAA title as she placed second in both the 3,000m and 5,000m at the Indoor Championships earlier this year.

400m Hurdles

Arkansas’ Britton Wilson convincingly won the 400m hurdles with a time of 53.86 for her first ever NCAA title. Wilson went on to help the Razorbacks get third in the 4x400m relay to end the night as the sophomore contributed 10 points individually and helped score six points in the relay. 

Discus

Arizona State’s Jorinde Van Klinken won the discus title with a throw of 62.16m (203-11) on her fifth attempt. It is the senior’s second NCAA title as she won last year’s discus throw as well.

Oregon’s Jaida Ross made it to the finals after throwing 53.84m (176-8) on her second attempt. Ross made it to the final flights in both the shot put and discus.

400m

Florida’s Talitha Diggs set a new personal best in her victory in the 400m with a time of 49.99. The sophomore also won the Indoor title earlier this year with a time of 50.98.

Diggs’10 points in the 400m was part of ‘Gator Hour’ when Florida scored 46 points en route to the team championship.

High Jump

Texas A&M’s Lamara Distin took home the title in the high jump with the 1.95m (6-4.75) after getting second place in the event last year to Rachel Glenn, who placed third this year with a height of 1.86m (6-1.25).

The junior has completed a successful 2022 track and field season as Distin also won the NCAA Indoor Title in the high jump earlier this year with a 1.92m (6-3.5).

Gators eat up competition, win 2022 NCAA Men's Title

Joseph Fahnbulleh leads the way to victory for Florida, capturing the 100m and 200m titles to help secure the team title for the Gators on Friday. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

By Cassie Cole and Joe Zochert

Day three of the 2022 NCAA Championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon crowned individual and team champions on the men’s side.

Good Day for Gators

To say that the University of Florida had a good day three would be an understatement. The men’s team won the national team title after taking first place in three events on Friday.

Florida’s day started off with a second place finish in the 4x100m relay, which included sophomore Joseph Fahnbulleh. Fahnbulleh then went on to compete in the 100m and 200m, where he finished first in both events.

Fahnbulleh, nicknamed “Bullet” by his peers, ran a personal best of 10.00 in the 100m. He ran another personal best and collegiate lead of 19.83 in the 200m. For Fahnbulleh, Friday’s wins were a testament to his improved strength and confidence over the last year.

“A year ago I was still scared, a year ago I had something to prove,” said Fahnbulleh. “A year ago I was getting beat every meet by Terrance Laird and I was tired of it. Shoutout to Terrance—really good athlete.”

“This year I had something to prove—saying I’m still the best, I am still here, I have not left.”

For Fahnbulleh, Florida’s success at the NCAA Championships has been less about his own personal achievements and more about what he can do for the team. He explained that he felt motivated to leave his teammates with “something to hold onto” from this year’s championship.

“The program has given so much to me, I just wanted to give back,” Fahnbulleh said. “I was just happy that I could give that to them in the way that I can best.”

Fahnbulleh may have finished day three with two championship titles, but he knows that the work doesn’t stop there.

“It’s easy getting to the top, but it’s hard staying there,” said Fahnbulleh. “People want to beat you; you have to do that 1% extra to make sure that you don’t get beat.”

Florida wrapped up their stellar day of wins with first place in the 4x400m relay. The relay team, which already holds the collegiate record in the event, added a facility record and meet record to their accomplishments after finishing in 2:58.88.

Florida coach Mike Holloway knew before the relay that his team would win. “We’re the best team in the country,” he reminded his athletes. “I know the meet’s over, but let’s be the best team in the country.” 

The 4x400m relay team included 400m runner-up Champion Allison, who Holloway called “the glue” of the team. “Champion is an absolute fierce competitor,” he added. “He does everything you ask him to do.”

For Fahnbulleh and the rest of the Florida team, the NCAA team title is only the beginning of where the team will go.

“Just be humble and grateful you’re onto the next race,” said Fahnbulleh. “My mind is always on go.”

Bookend Titles

Kansas State’s Tejaswin Shankar won the men’s high jump after winning the title in 2018 as a freshman. The senior completed bookend titles for his collegiate career after clearing the height of 2.27m (7-5.25). Shankar outlasted Georgia’s Darius Carbin, who came in second with the height of 2.24m (7-4.25).

With Shankar’s collegiate career coming to a close on Friday, he holds the special distinction of winning the NCAA title at both the old Hayward Field and the newly-imagined facility.

Winning his second title four years after his first puts the achievement of being an NCAA champion into perspective

“Well, this is I feel like it means more, in 2018 I came I was like, Okay, well, I went to bed,” he said as he placed second in 2019 and 2021 in the high jump. “It didn't really sink in till like later next year when I got second.”

Following his collegiate success, Shankar hopes to compete for a spot on India’s national team at the World Championships despite still needing the qualifying standard of 2.33m.

If Shankar secures a spot on the team, he is looking forward to competing at Hayward Field once again.

“I think this is the most memorable place ever,” he said. “Every time I come into Oregon, it's just like a dream come true for me. It’s my favorite stadium in the United States. My favorite place to compete.”

Throwing Confidence

Claudio Romero of Virginia won the men’s discus with a winning throw of 66.17m (217-1). The junior came into the competition feeling unsure of how he would perform after finishing third in last year’s championships.

“This year was tough because I was going against the collegiate record holder, so I was kinda nervous,” said Romero. Cal’s Mykolas Alekna holds the collegiate record for the discus and finished in second with a close throw of 66.15m (217-0).

Romero was soon able to put his nerves at ease, however. His winning throw came on his second attempt of the competition, boosting his confidence for the rest of the event.

“I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be able to do it,” said Romero. “Came here, started throwing, started feeling confident.”

Romero, who grew up in Chile, is proud to represent his country at the NCAAs. He believes he is the first NCAA Champion that Chile has ever had. “It’s just a great feeling,” said Romero. “It’s a relief to be just good enough.”

4x100m Relay Upset

USC pulled off the upset in the 4x100m relay with a time of 38.49 over Florida, who finished in 38.52.

The Trojans came into this race with as their star sprinter Davonte Burnett is out with a hamstring injury.

“We're like, why not us?” said Brendon Stewart after this team win. “And no one really expected us to win because, you know, you got everybody ranked ahead of us.”

“We had no pressure on us. We trusted our training trusted each other mainly. We ran for Devonte today, so we're just going in here ready, ready to go to war.”

This USC Trojan’s 4x100m team also had success in the 4x400m relay with Johnnie Blockburger and Kasaun James.

James was confident in both relay teams that they could put together great performances in these title races.

“We put the pieces together and we said ‘you know, we can make it happen if we just believe in ourselves and believe in each other,’ and that's what we did,” said James about the relays.

Waskom’s Washington Win

Washington’s Joe Waskom won the 1500m final with a time of 3:45.58. The 1500 was a strong event for Washington, as Waskom was joined by fellow Huskies Luke Houser and Nathan Green.

“These boys are why I won today,” said Waskom, putting his arms around Houser and Green. “I believe in them, they believe in me. There’s a reason why there’s three of us out here today.”

Waskom credits much of his win on Friday to his team culture and friendship with his teammates. It all started in the waiting room, Waskom explained. Talking and laughing with his teammates calmed him down and prepared him for the upcoming race.

“I was relaxed, wasn’t even really thinking that much about the race at that point,” said Waskom. “They make me more confident.”

Although he had confidence, Waskom wasn’t planning on becoming a national champion this year.

“I thought I was gonna shoot for top five today and see what happens,” Waskom said “And I got to the last lap, I was feeling pretty good.”

“Pretty good” may not even begin to describe how Waskom was feeling from winning his race. After celebrating with his teammates, the sophomore could be heard yelling “I don’t believe it!” as he headed toward the recovery tent.

Immaculate Triple Jump

Chengetayi Mapaya won the men’s triple jump with a distance of 17.26m (56-7.5) for his second NCAA title in the event after winning in 2019.

Mapaya won a fantastic dual against Oregon’s Emmanuel Ihemejé, who placed second with a season best of 17.03m (55-10.5).

Mapaya was happy with the competition that Ihemejé brought as both got the Hayward crowd into the competition.

“It’s amazing, the energy is immaculate,” he said about his relationship with Ihemejé. “You know, you saw he’s loud. I'm loud. Got the crowd going and that's what it's about.”

“We have a good relationship. The two of us want to win on a win, you know, so he's just amazing. The two of us want to get it and we support each other you know, and you know, if you have beef, but it's good beef.”

Ihemejé also shares the same outlook as both let their results do the talking.

“Once, we are on the runway, it’s ‘me vs. you’,” Ihemejé said about his relationship with Mapaya. “He did a great job out there and congratulations to him.”

Chasing Goals

Ahmed Jaziri won the men’s 3000m steeplechase final on Friday with a time of 8:18.70, a personal best for the athlete and a collegiate lead. The Eastern Kentucky junior knew from the start that this was going to be his race.

“I came up here with a huge confidence, good energy, positive energy,” said Jaziri. He finished 10th in last year’s steeplechase championship but felt better coming into the race this year. “I said this time, this time is mine,” Jaziri added.

Jaziri took the lead in the bell lap as he moved around Montana State’s Duncan Hamilton. Hamilton took the lead from the beginning of the steeple and held his position into the final lap. He finished second with 8:18.88, two thousandths of a second before Georgetown’s Parker Stokes.

“I was happy because I made it fast and that’s what works best for me,” said Hamilton, who didn’t realize he finished second until he was headed to recovery. “I gave it everything I have and I closed well, but it wasn’t quite enough to get the [win].”

Hamilton was satisfied with his results, however. He came into the season with two goals: to make the NCAA Championship and to make the Worlds team. With the NCAAs under his belt, Hamilton saw the finals as a good experience overall.

“These guys are super fit, so super fun racing against them.  So glad to have people with me and I’m proud of the day,” he said.

Redemption for Cunningham and Edwards Jr.

Florida State’s Trey Cunningham won his first NCAA title with a personal record of 13.00 in the men’s 110m hurdles.

The senior competed at the NCAA Championships his freshmen year in 2018 when Florida’s Grant Holloway won his second NCAA title. Cunningham hadn’t competed in a college championship race since after dealing with two torn hamstrings and a cancelled season in 2020.

With bad injury luck and a cancelled season, the 23-year-old has relied on his support system to get him through these rough patches.

“I got blessed. great family, great environment, people behind me that believed in me and didn't allow me to give up,” he said after his race.

Like Cunningham, LSU senior Eric Edwards Jr. has had a similar path in his collegiate career.

Edwards Jr. placed second with a personal best of 13.15. He feels content with the results after hitting a hurdle in the finals in 2019 and not making the finals last year.

The senior has relied on his faith through these hard times.

“It’s just a matter of fact that it’s God's timing and you know, just allowing him for me to be on the right path and just everything lined up,” he said about how he has relied on his faith.

“I'm so thankful to be here and to know that you've got this momentum now going into the rounds at USA’s.”

Florida State’s Trey Cunningham runs 13.00 top win the men’s 110m hurdles title on Friday. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

Back-to-Back Champ in 400m

North Carolina A&T’s Randolph Ross repeats as the 400m NCAA title winner with a season best 44.13. The junior beat out Florida’s Champion Allison, who placed second with a time 44.41.

Even with the title, the 2020 Olympian has an ambitious time that he plans to reach and knows that it’s a process.

“My ultimate goal is 42,” said Ross. “We are progressing day-by-day.”

World Representation

Moad Zahafi of Texas Tech finished first in the men’s 800m with 1:44.49. The Moroccan athlete came into the race with a big amount of confidence, and it seemed to pay off.

“I knew I can win, I knew I’m strong,” said Zahafi. “All respect, with all the guys around with me, I think I’m the strongest in the field.”

Zahafi will be competing for Morocco at the World Championships in July and is excited to be representing his country on an international stage. “My only goal now is to be in the [Worlds] final, and when I make the final I’m going for the medal, that’s my plan,” Zahafi said.

Mississsippi State’s Navasky Anderson also knows what it means to represent his country. The Jamaican athlete finished second with a time of 1:45.02, a personal record and a new Jamaican national record for the 800m. The previous record had stood for 45 years.

“It’s always something I had in the back of my head,” said Anderson, referring to the national record. “I’m just grateful that everyone worked out.”

Repeat Titles for Burrell

LSU’s Sean Burrell captured his second straight title in the 400m hurdles with a season best time of 48.70.

Even with the victory, the sophomore wasn’t content with his execution.

“Didn’t execute as planned, but just finished how I needed to finish and come out with the victory for my team,” he said.

His win was even more impressive as he was assigned to lane seven in the final. Despite the lane draw, Burrell trusted his competitiveness and training take over.

“At the end of the day, I feel as when I step on track doesn't matter what lane I get, I just have to compete,” said the two-time champion.

“At practice, we'll always practice hurdles seven to nine just to get the feeling of running on the outside.”

Olin Hacker celebrates as he becomes the NCAA 5,000m champion on Friday. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs

Like Father Like Son

Wisconsin’s Olin Hacker pulled out the victory in the men’s 5,000m with a dramatic finish in the homestretch. Hacker won his first NCAA title with a time 13:27.73 to outlast Michigan St.’s Morgan Beadlescomb, who placed second with a 13:28.38.

This win is redemption for Hacker after he fell last year in this same event and placed 19th. However, this past season has helped him forget that loss.

“I was so glad to be able to come out here this spring and get back on this track and get to run a good race like this kind of erases that memory.”

With this title, Hacker has joined his father, Tim Hacker, as an NCAA champion for Wisconsin. Hacker’s father won the 1985 NCAA Individual Cross Country Championships.

The possibility of joining his father as a champion has motivated him during his seven years wearing a Badgers’ uniform, and is an honor that Hacker cherishes.

“In the locker room, there's a wall with a picture of all the NCAA champions,” said Hacker. “My dad's there, (Chris) Solinsky, Morgan's (McDonald) there.”

“I look at that every day after my run, and I roll out and I was kind of thinking about that before this weekend. If I when I would be up there and it happened. It just does not feel real.”