Razorbacks rack up 45 points alone from 800, mile, 3,000 and DMR to repeat as champions from 2019; Oregon’s Nelson and Kentucky’s Steiner achieve collegiate records, BYU’s Wayment earns second win, USC’s Roberts triumphs again in 400, with Texas Tech’s Usoro prevailing on triple jump tiebreaker

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Phil Ponder photos

For as well-rounded as the Arkansas women’s track and field team has demonstrated itself to be this season, qualifying athletes in 13 events for the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships and scoring in 10 of them, when it came to achieving a goal two years in the making Saturday, the Razorbacks again relied on going the distance to secure another title.

Facing a two-point deficit against Texas A&M entering the 3,000 meters, Arkansas responded with veterans Lauren Gregory placing second, Katie Izzo securing fourth and Abby Gray finishing fifth to accumulate 17 points and make it impossible for the Aggies to rally for victory, even with a win in the 4x400 relay, which they accomplished.

Arkansas added a third-place finish in the final event by clocking 3 minutes, 28.07 seconds and finished the three-day meet at Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville with 68 points, securing back-to-back national titles after last year’s meet was canceled in Albuquerque, N.M., as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

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It marked the third national indoor championship overall for the Razorbacks under coach Lance Harter, the other coming in 2015, also at their home venue.

Arkansas has now won titles in four consecutive seasons, including the 2019 indoor and outdoor championships, followed by the cross country crown, the last trophy presented to a winning school before Saturday due to the cancellation of both 2020 indoor and outdoor track and field finals, along with the postponement of the cross country meet until Monday in Stillwater, Okla.

Texas A&M, despite 26 points from Tyra Gittens – including titles in the pentathlon and high jump – and another title in the 4x400 in 3:26.68 behind the fastest split in world indoor history of 49.54 seconds by freshman Athing Mu to overtake USC (3:27.91), finished runner-up for the second time in program history with 57 points. The Aggies, who had Jania Martin, Charokee Young and Tierra Robinson-Jones running the first three legs on the relay, also took second at home to Tennessee in 2009.

Arkansas didn’t win a single event, unlike the Oregon men capturing six titles to win a fifth national team championship with 79 points, but the Razorbacks also relied heavily on the distance events just like the Ducks, producing a combined 45 points from the 800, mile, 3,000 and distance medley relay.

Oregon junior Kemba Nelson made it a Ducks’ sweep of the 60-meter crowns, clocking a collegiate record 7.05 to join freshman Micah Williams as champion.

Nelson eclipsed the collegiate indoor all-time mark of 7.07 shared by former NCAA champions Hannah Cunliffe of Oregon and Aleia Hobbs of LSU, who won in 2017 and 2018, respectively. She also elevated to the No. 5 all-time indoor Jamaican competitor.

Kentucky junior Abby Steiner equaled the collegiate indoor 200 record of 22.38 achieved in 2018 by Harvard’s Gabby Thomas. Steiner, who took over as the world indoor leader this year, matched the No. 2 all-time American indoor mark and equaled the No. 5 indoor competitor in history with her performance.

Brigham Young fifth-year senior Courtney Wayment joined Gittens as the only multiple-event winners among female athletes, following her impressive anchor Friday on the victorious distance medley relay to capture the 3,000 title Saturday in 9:01.47, with Gregory (9:01.67) taking second, 5,000 champion Joyce Kimeli of Auburn finishing third in 9:02.79, followed by Izzo (9:03.85) and Gray, who ran a personal-best 9:05.52.

Wayment became the only female athlete in BYU history to win multiple indoor championships.

Colorado fifth-year senior Sage Hurta won the mile in a personal-best 4:30.58, with Arkansas receiving 14 points from the second- and third-place finishes of seniors Krissy Gear (4:32.37) and Kennedy Thomson (4:33.95).

Hurta, who has also won the DMR title in 2017 and a cross country team crown in 2018, became the Buffaloes’ first female athlete to win the indoor mile since Emma Coburn in 2013.

Baylor senior Aaliyah Miller equaled the second-fastest indoor 800 in collegiate history, clocking 2:00.69 to capture her first championship.

Miller matched the time of 2019 outdoor champion Jazmine Fray of Texas A&M, and trails only the 1:58.40 achieved Feb. 27 at the Big 12 Indoor Championships by Mu. Shafiqua Maloney took third for Arkansas in 2:01.22, just behind Clemson senior Laurie Barton (2:01.21).

USC senior Kaelin Roberts repeated as 400 champion, running a personal-best 50.84 to prevail against Mu, who ran 51.03. Mu had run 50.52 this season, but Roberts followed her 2019 victory to become the first female athlete to win back-to-back titles since Courtney Okolo of Texas in 2015-16.

Baylor freshman Ackera Nugent nearly matched her World U-20 indoor record in the 60-meter hurdles, but the Jamaican athlete still prevailed in 7.92, denying Texas senior Chanel Brissett an opportunity to secure back-to-back titles. Arkansas got another big lift from sophomore Daszay Freeman running a personal-best 7.99 and Brissett took third in 8.01.

The lone female field event on Saturday’s schedule produced the first women’s triple jump final in Division 1 indoor history to be decided on the best second mark after Texas Tech senior Ruth Usoro, representing Nigeria, and Texas A&M Deborah Acquah, who competes internationally for Ghana, both had efforts of 46-10 (14.27m).

Usoro secured the title based on a fifth-round performance of 46-7.50 (14.21m) after forcing the tie with her sixth-round effort. Acquah, who didn’t jump in the third, fourth and fifth rounds after taking the lead on her second jump, only had a second mark of 45-4.25 (13.82m).

The triple jump competition also made history with three athletes all surpassing the 14-meter barrier, as Florida State freshman Ruta Lasmane, a Latvian athlete, took third with a sixth-round effort of 46-5.25 (14.15m).

Usoro is the No. 2 all-time collegiate indoor performer, Acquah is third and Lasmane ranks eighth.