After Early Hiccup At 14-4.75, Hana Moll Uses 'Boost Of Adrenaline' And Tops Out At 15-8.50; Georgia Gets Needed Points In Throws To Take Team Lead Into Saturday

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

Photo by Ken Martinez

INTERVIEWS | LIVE RESULTS

EUGENE — Most of the fans at Hayward Field likely expected to see a Moll twin win the women’s pole vault on Thursday. They might not have expected it to be Hana, though.

Washington’s Hana Moll came into the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships ranked second in the country behind her sister, Amanda, the reigning indoor champion and indoor/outdoor collegiate record holder. She enjoyed a stellar day when it mattered most, though, clearing 4.79 meters (15-8.50) to break the outdoor collegiate record and claim her first outdoor title.

“It’s just my hope that either one of us takes it home,” Moll said, “so the fact that that was me… it was a very exciting day. It was just my day. I was on, and I accomplished what I have really been working on all season.”

Moll had one of the cleanest series of anybody in the field, only recording two misses en route to her win. Both of them came at 4.39 meters (14-4.75); after clearing that height on her third attempt, she got some new momentum, which carried her to four straight first-attempt clearances.

“It was definitely a survival jump,” Moll said. “But it gave me a big boost of adrenaline, so that was a plus.”

Her sister, meanwhile, struggled early on and relied on a string of third-attempt clearances to make the podium. She placed third with a final height of 4.49 meters (14-8.75).

“Those are never the most fun bars to clear,” Moll said, referring to third attempts. “But they are kind of the most rewarding.”

The fact that she cleared those bars was, from her perspective, the most encouraging part of her performance. She said one of the biggest areas of growth for her in the past year was learning how to deal with competitions where she’s not in her groove.

“Like this meet, when I was going into it, I didn’t have the best practice right before,” Moll said. “So when I’m going in, I’m not fully confident in myself. (I’ve practiced) learning how to navigate that and make the right choices for the competition.”

Overall, Moll’s season was one of the best by a collegiate pole vaulter in recent memory. As mentioned earlier, she broke the indoor and outdoor records and won the indoor national title, and she didn’t lose to anyone without the last name Moll until the West Regional, where she placed third.

She and Hana will come back to Hayward Field to compete at the USATF Outdoor Championships in July, hoping to earn a joint trip to Tokyo.

“That would mean a lot to me,” Hana Moll said.

Chloe Timberg of Rutgers took home second place, also clearing 4.49 meters (she had fewer misses than Moll). This was the last meet of Timberg’s collegiate career, and she was satisfied with it; she cleared her highest bar of the outdoor season.

“This was the first time this year that I think I really put together a good meet outdoors,” Timberg said. 

Georgia leads Day 1 with 26 points

The Bulldogs are well on their way to earning their first championship in program history. They scored 26 points on Thursday thanks to a slew of impressive performances by throwers.

Stephanie Ratcliffe kicked off the action for the Bulldogs by claiming her second NCAA title in the women’s hammer throw, recording an NCAA-leading mark of 71.37 meters (234-2). That was Ratcliffe’s furthest throw since the 2023 season, when she won her first title.

Ratcliffe said she dealt with a cycle of injuries last year that kept her from getting into top form. She bounced back from her first injury and represented Australia at the Paris Olympics, throwing 70.07 meters in the qualifying round — an experience she described as “incredible, amazing” — but subsequently got another injury, delaying her training for the 2025 season. Now, she says, she’s back on track.

“I feel like we’re super healthy now,” Ratcliffe said, “finally building… really good end to my collegiate season and my collegiate career, and a great start to keep building for the international season.”

Last year at this meet, Ratcliffe fouled on all three of her throws. Bouncing back from that performance earned her a massive sigh of relief, especially upon seeing her first throw go inbounds. 

“I know it wasn’t a great mark,” Ratcliffe said, “but it not going into the cage was really nice. And then, when I threw 71 (meters), I was like, ‘Okay, we’re good.’ And then I really wanted to keep building from there.”

Manuela Rotundo and Lianna Davidson finished second and fourth in the javelin, putting 13 more points on the board for Georgia. Kelsie Murrell-Ross added the remaining three with her sixth-place finish in the shot put.

Missouri’s Valentina Barrios Bornacelli won the javelin with a massive personal best, throwing 62.00 meters (203-5) to take the lead on her final attempt. Her previous best was nearly 13 feet shorter at 58.20 meters (190-11).

Mya Lesnar of Colorado State, daughter of WWE champion Brock Lesnar, won the latter with a throw of 19.01 meters (62-4.50). 

One of the most surprising wins of the day was that of Louisville’s Synclair Savage in the long jump. Like Bornacelli, she threw down her best mark on her last attempt, soaring 6.72 meters (22-0.75) to jump from fifth to first place.

On her fifth jump, she said, she had been distracted by the heats of the 200 meters, which threw her off her game. Going into her final attempt, though, her coach gave her a last-minute pep talk.

“You can’t let that distract you,” he told her. “This is your last one. This is your last one with the Cards. You gotta get everything out of your head and just deliver.”

Sitting on the bench before her jump, she reminded herself of last year, when she had to redshirt due to injury. This was her shot at redemption, and she knew she had to make it count.

“I gotta make this moment memorable,” she told herself. “I know I can.”

Peyton Bair wins decathlon

Mississippi State’s Peyton Bair won the only men’s event of the day, the decathlon, with 8,323 points. He dominated the sprint events, winning the 100 meters by over three tenths of a second and the 400 meters by almost double that margin. His time of 46.00 in the latter would have earned him 16th place in the open 400 meter prelims.

Even after a stellar first day, though, Bair said he was still fully locked in. It wasn’t until he threw 57.87 meters (189-10) in the javelin, a personal best, that he felt relief. At that point, he led by over 400 points, and only the 1,500 meters remained.

“Probably one of the best series I’ve had in the javelin,” Bair said.

Brad Thomas of UC Santa Barbara finished second overall, the highest finish by any athlete ever in school history at the NCAA Championships. 

Track semifinals highlights

JaMeesia Ford put her South Carolina team on her back in the sprints, qualifying for the finals in four events: the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay. Ford earned the fastest qualifying times in both of her individual events, and she led the Gamecocks to top-three times in both relays.

Ford’s performances in her finals will go a long way in determining how the Gamecocks fare against the other USC — Southern California. Right now, Georgia is the favorite for the first place trophy, but both USCs could be in contention if things go south for the SEC champions. The Trojans qualified three women in both the 100 meters and 200 meters; in a best case scenario, they could earn 48 points from those two events.

The Bulldogs’ Aaliyah Butler and Dejanea Oakley went 1-2 in the heats of the 400 meters, and they led their 4x400 squad to the second-fastest time in the heats. Butler and Oakley are near locks to put major points on the board on Saturday, but if they don’t, their team’s title chances could slip away.

Michaela Rose made a strong statement in her heat of the 800 meters, breaking Suzy Favor’s 35-year-old meet record with her 1:58.95 performance. The LSU senior took fourth in this event at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, but she made it clear, she’s going for the win and the collegiate record on Saturday.

Three other women — Duke’s Lauren Tolbert, BYU’s Meghan Hunter and UNC’s Makayla Paige — broke two minutes in the heats.

The Big Ten — the Pacific Northwest contingent, that is — had a good showing in the 1,500, putting five women into the final. Washington’s Sophie O’Sullivan ran the fastest qualifying time of the field, winning the second heat in 4:09.39. Her teammate, Chloe Foerster, grabbed the last time qualifying spot. Oregon’s trio of Silan Ayyildiz, Klaudia Kazimierska and Mia Barnett all advanced as well.

Doris Lemngole of Alabama blazed through the 3,000 meter steeplechase semifinals, winning her heat by 11 seconds with a time of 9:26.44. NC State’s Angelina Napoleon won the second heat in 9:36.19, followed closely by BYU’s Lexy Halladay-Lowry in 9:36.24. Northern Arizona’s Karrie Baloga also advanced, running 9:37.93 to take third place in the first heat.

UCLA’s Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck ran the fastest time in the 100 meter hurdles semifinals, clocking a personal best 12.71 to win the first heat.

Michigan’s Savannah Sutherland ran the fastest qualifying time in the 400 meter hurdles by nearly a second, clocking a 54.13 to easily win the first heat.