Track Recap: New Mexico Freshman Pamela Kosgei Competes 5,000/10,000 Double; Sophie O'Sullivan Dominates 1,500 Meters; Roisin Willis Wins 2nd NCAA 800 Title; JaMeesia Ford Wins 200

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

Tim Healy/Kim Spir photos

INTERVIEWS | RESULTS

EUGENE — There was no need for an anxious countdown as Doris Lemngole stormed down the home stretch.

The Alabama sophomore broke the collegiate record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by 12 seconds, running an astonishing 8:58.13, the fastest time in the world this year. 

Coming into the race, she did not think she would be able to break the nine-minute barrier, but with a lap to go, she realized it was in reach. Even after running at collegiate record pace for six and a half laps, she found another gear, closing in 67 seconds to sneak under.

“Coming towards the finish line,” Lemngole said, “I didn’t believe that I was under nine minutes.”

Lemngole set the collegiate record earlier this year at the Wake Forest Invitational, running 9:10.13. Since then, she says, her improvements have been less on the fitness side and more on the technique side; she’s become more efficient getting over the barriers.

Seeing those improvements gives her plenty of confidence, as does the knowledge that she’s now the 11th-fastest woman of all-time in the event. She said she looks forward to racing in a more competitive field to test her limits. 

The only person who even tried to challenge her on Saturday was Lexy Halladay-Lowry. The BYU senior hovered about a half second behind Lemngole for five laps before falling off pace ever so slightly. She was rewarded for her efforts; despite losing by over 10 seconds, she still dipped under Lemngole’s previous collegiate record, running 9:08.68. 

All of the top seven finishers recorded personal bests. NC State’s Angelina Napoleon finished third in 9:16.66, just off of Lemngole’s previous meet record from last year.

Sophie O’Sullivan Completes Husky Sweep

Friday, Nathan Green emphatically stated that Washington is the best mid-distance program in the country — a claim that’s been parroted by many in the track world for the last several years. “Anybody who says otherwise can go check the facts,” Green said, “because I’m telling you right now, we are.”

The women’s 1,500 meter final on Saturday gave Green’s argument even more credence; Sophie O’Sullivan won by over a second in 4:07.94, a much wider margin than Green enjoyed in his race. 

Given the depth of the field, O’Sullivan was pleasantly surprised at how convincing her victory was.

“I just kind of really thought that someone was gonna close on me there,” O’Sullivan said, “so I was probably kind of running a bit scared and just running as hard as I could, and then I finished and looked around, and I was like, ‘Actually, that was not too bad.’”

She didn’t take any chances in terms of positioning; she went out towards the front of the pack at the beginning, took the lead in the second lap, and stayed put. 

“I felt like I just (had to) hold my position in the inside lane and not let everyone box me out and then have to find a way out,” O’Sullivan said. “Because I do that sometimes, and I can always find a way out, but it’s a bit messy and people don’t love it.”

O’Sullivan had open track for the entire race, and she started to pull away with 200 meters to go. She put together a 58.4-second close, while NAU’s Maggi Congdon, who was on her shoulder for most of the race, only managed a 59.7.

Last year, O’Sullivan finished last in the 1,500 final. 

“You know what they say, if you’re not first, you’re last,” O’Sullivan said. “So, I guess if you’re not last, you’re first.”

Second place belonged to Virginia’s Margot Appleton, who enjoyed a similarly stellar kick to O’Sullivan’s. She moved up from 10th place to seventh place at the bell and then picked off five more people in the last lap, running 4:08.99 overall.

Congdon finished third in 4:09.31, followed by the Oregon duo of Silan Ayyildiz and Klaudia Kazimierska.

Roisin Willis keeps the title in Cardinal red

For about 600 meters, it looked like the women's 800 meters final would be the Michaela Rose show. The LSU senior got out hard, coming through 200 meters in about 27 seconds and 400 meters in 56 seconds. 

“I kinda forgot all about the (patience) that my coach was telling me about,” Rose said. “I just felt the adrenaline and knew I had it in me, and I think I blasted that 200 way too fast.”

Rose maintained a fairly sizable lead through the back stretch, but her hot early pace came back to bite her. First, BYU’s Meghan Hunter came up on her with about 150 meters left, but that wasn’t the final move. That honor belonged to Willis, who charged past the leaders with about 50 meters left. She broke the meet record, running a personal best of 1:58.13, third-fastest in collegiate history.

“I was visualizing it in my head, I feel like for the last six months, but really in the past 24 hours,” Willis said. “Just visualizing, visualizing me crossing that line first.”

This performance was a long time coming for Willis. She last earned an NCAA title in her freshman year, and she hadn’t run a personal best since her senior year at Stevens Point WI. 

More importantly for her, though, her win kept the NCAA 800 meter title in Palo Alto for the second straight year. Last year, Juliette Whittaker won while Willis finished second.

“I really wanted to win for Stanford today,” Willis said. “We’ve had quite a legacy in the last couple of years. I wanted to come out here and show up for my team.”

Makayla Paige (UNC) finished second in 1:58.97, followed by Hunter (1:59.03) and Rose (1:59.47).

More Distance Dominance For Kosgei, New Mexico

The Lobos will leave Eugene with three NCAA trophies from the distance events, and two of them belong to Pamela Kosgei. She won the 10,000 meters on Thursday, breaking Parker Valby’s meet record in the process, and she won the 5,000 meters on Saturday, running 15:33.96.

Kosgei switched up her strategy from the 10,000 to the 5,000; while she was enthusiastic to push the pace early in the former, she wanted to save for a kick in the latter.

“In the 10,000, I was feeling like, ‘Let me go in like eight laps,’” Kosgei said, “but today, I said, ‘Let me stay with them.’”

That strategy almost backfired; Boston University’s Vera Sjoberg came flying around the final bend and momentarily caught Kosgei, but Kosgei pulled away in the last stretch. Sjoberg finished second in 15:34.77.

Aaliyah McCormick Gets Lone Win For Ducks, JaMeesia Ford Just Misses Double

Savannah Sutherland’s collegiate record in the 400=meter hurdles was certainly the best hurdle performance of the day, but Aaliyah McCormick’s win in the 100-meter hurdles drew even louder cheers from the crowd at Hayward Field. The Oregon junior ran 12.81 for the win, taking home the title in an event no Duck woman had ever won before.

JaMeesia Ford of South Carolina, meanwhile, was three thousandths of a second away from pulling off the 100/200 double. She took second in the 100 meters, losing by three thousandths of a second to USC’s Samirah Moody, 11.136 to 11.139. In the 200, she got her revenge against the Trojans, beating all three of their finalists and running 22.21 for the win.

USC earned the win in the 4x100 meter relay, though, running 42.22, while South Carolina finished second in 42.40.

Aaliyah Butler and Dejanae Oakley went 1-2 for Georgia in the 400 meter dash, running 49.26 and 49.65, respectively. Those times are the two fastest in the NCAA this year, and Butler’s was the fifth-fastest in NCAA history.

The Bulldogs added 10 more points in the 4x400 relay, cementing their dominant team win with 73 overall points.