Jane Hedengren Completes Distance Sweep; Wilma Nielsen First To Repeat In Mile In 36 Years

By David Woods for DyeStat

Corbin Smith Photos

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After the premeet script called for Illinois vs. Oregon and Jane Hedengren vs. Doris Lemngole, the Georgia Bulldogs and Hedengren called for rewrite.

Sprint power led by freshman Adaejah Hodge carried Georgia to a team title, and staying power carried Hedengren to an historic double Saturday at the women’s NCAA Indoor Championships.

Georgia finished with 53 points, featuring 47 in sprints and hurdles. Defending champion Oregon was second with 44. 

Illinois, never higher than sixth before, scored all of its 42 points in the field and pentathlon in finishing third. Arkansas was fourth with 37.

“We tried to do what we always do: execute, 100 percent; effort, 100 percent. Not change anything,” Georgia coach Caryl Smith-Gilbert said.

Georgia scored nearly as many points at NCAAs as it did in finishing third in the SEC with 68.

It was the Bulldogs’ second indoor title following one in 2018, when the coach was Petros Kyprianou, who is now at Illinois.

After sitting out last season for what were described as personal reasons, Hodge was second in the 60 meters and emphatically first in the 200. Her world-leading time in the latter, 22.21 seconds, made her No. 4 and No. 6 on the all-time collegiate and world lists, respectively.

For all that, she acknowledged it was harder to finish second in the 60 behind Florida State’s Shenese Walker, 7.08 to 7.15.

“It boosted my confidence a lot,” Hodge said. “One misstep, and everything goes downhill. I had to fight for that one.”

Hodge, 19, of the British Virgin Islands, set national high school and under-18 world indoor records of 22.33 in 2023 while at Montverde Academy FL. She raced at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and she won silver and gold medals in the 100 and 200 at the World U20s that year.

She acknowledged she was “rusty” to begin the season before feeling more like her best self.

“I’m just so happy to be in Georgia. I’m so happy to represent the ‘G,’ “ Hodge said. “They did so much for me behind the scenes.”

Elsewhere for Georgia, Dejanea Oakley won the 400 in 50.47. LSU’s Ella Onojuvwevwo, of Nigeria, set an African of 50.28 in trials and was third in the final in 50.76.

With Oakley anchoring in 50.06, the Bulldogs were second to Arkansas in the 4x400 relay, 3:23.63 to 3:24.48. Arkansas set a facility record on its home oval.

Hedengren, 19, a BYU freshman, joined some distinguished company in completing a 5,000/3,000 double. Others to do so include Olympic medalists Molly Seidel (2016) and Sally Kipyego (2007).

Alabama’s Doris Lemnogle, after losing Friday’s 5,000, did not start the 3,000. In her absence, Hedengren set a front-running meet record of 8:36.61. She was seven seconds ahead of runner-up Pamela Kosgei of New Mexico, the 5K/10K champion at last June’s NCAAs.

Hedengren said Lemnogle’s absence “somewhat” influenced her race tactics.

“I mean, I felt great out there,” she said. “I love being able to do the double.

“That’s what we train for, right? Nothing outside my wheelhouse.”

Saturday’s other distance final was the mile, in which Oregon’s Wilma Nielsen sprinted the closing 200 in 28.48 to win a race in which the top six were separated by one second. It was a double win by Nielsen, who anchored the Ducks to victory in Friday’s distance medley relay.

Washington State's Rosemary Longisa was second in 4:40.21, the same time as third place, North Carolina State freshman Sadie Engelhardt.

Nielsen became the first repeat mile winner since Wisconsin’s Suzy Favor (1989-90).

“It’s crazy, back-to-back,” Nielsen said.

Another Oregon champion was Aaliyah McCormick, who followed her NCAA win in last year’s 100-meter hurdles with one in the 60-meter hurdles. Her time of 7.86 makes her No. 10 on the all-time collegiate list.

In field events:

>> Washington junior Hana Moll set a meet record of 15-9.75 (4.82m) in the pole vault, breaking the mark of 15-5 (4.70m) set by twin Amanda last year. Hana missed three times at 16-1.75 (4.92m). which would have broken Amanda’s collegiate record. Hana never missed until the winning bar.

“I mean, obviously, at World Championships and Diamond Leagues, that’s what everyone else is jumping at,” she said. “So if I continue jumping consistently, I’m going to be pretty successful at those levels.”

>> Swedish shot putter Axelina Johansson of Nebraska was one centimeter off the meet record with her distance of 64-1.75 (19.55m). She now heads to Torun, Poland, for next weekend’s World Indoor Championships.

>> Texas Tech’s Adeshina Temitope (Nigeria) won an all-Africa high jump duel, coming from behind to beat Illinois’ Rose Yeboah (Ghana). Yeboah was clean through 6-3.25 (1.91m) and seized the lead. Temitope went on to jump 6-5.5 (1.97m) to Yeboah’s 6-4.25 (1.94), PBs for both.

Contact David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com.