History Continues To Be Made On Day 2 At NCAA DI Indoor T&F Championships

Welcome to Day 2 of the 2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

We saw a collegiate record in the pentathlon from Tyra Gittens of Texas A&M on Day 1.

What will Day 2 bring? Stay tuned.

Harrison Jumps Into The Record Book … Again

Remember back in 2019 when JuVaughn Harrison of LSU became the first man in the near 100-year history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships to sweep the high jump and long jump at the same meet?

Well, Harrison did it again on Friday and is the only man to do so indoors, as well. Harrison made it look easy, too.

With his 2.30m (7-6½) winner in the high jump and an incredible 8.45m (27-8¾) in the long jump, Harrison became the only man in world history to achieve both of those marks indoors. Yes. WORLD history.

If you want to talk collegiate history, Harrison soared into elite company. Harrison is now the second-best performer in meet history and the third-best performer in collegiate history with that 8.45m (27-8¾).

Davis Returns – With A CR

The wait for Tara Davis of Texas could not have been rewarded more.

After 2 years away from collegiate competition, she jumped farther indoors than any collegiate woman in almost 20 years – all the way to 6.93m (22-9), a new collegiate record.

The old mark of 6.91m (22-8) had been held jointly by Elva Goulbourne of Auburn in 2002 and Whitney Gipson of TCU in 2012.

It was a welcome return to the meet for Davis – she last scored in 2018, when she was third in the long jump and sixth in the 60-meter hurdles as a freshman at Georgia.

Men of Oregon Shine In DMR; Top-4 Under MR

Oregon already demolished one DMR record this year.

The Ducks figured they might as well go take down another.

Oregon crushed its own meet record in the DMR on Friday as it got the baton around in 9:19.98 and took nearly seven seconds off the previous best set in 2016. It was also the second fastest mark in collegiate history, behind the Ducks’ own all-time world best of 9:19.42 from earlier this season.

It wasn’t like Oregon was alone, though. The Ducks had company in the form of Ole Miss, which finished second in 9:20.75 for what is now the second-fastest mark in meet history and the third-fastest mark in collegiate history. Behind the Rebels were Texas (9:23.73) and North Carolina (9:25.80), who also went under the previous meet record.

Kiptoo Doesn’t Mind Singing Solo

Wesley Kiptoo of Iowa State led from the gun in the 5000 meters and didn’t let up.

When Kiptoo eventually slowed down, it was when he crossed the finish line in a meet-record 13:23.77. That took down a nine-year-old all-time best formerly owned by Lawi Lalang of Arizona at 13:25.11.

Kiptoo also won by nearly six seconds as Eric Hamer of Colorado State took runner-up honors in PB 13:29.60. Hamer and the next nine finishers all set PBs as Kiptoo pulled them along with his brisk pace.

Gittens Gets Another

Just a day after a CR in the pentathlon, Tyra Gittens carved out some more history in one her best events, the high jump.

The Texas A&M senior won the high jump at 1.90m (6-2¾), becoming the first man or woman in meet history to complete a combined event/high jump double (She set a collegiate record in her pentathlon triumph on Friday).

Gittens’ victory in the high jump made her this year’s first woman with two victories.

If other matters weren’t pressing, Gittens would likely have continued, but she settled for the title and then set focus on a heated long jump, an event in which she claimed third place at 6.68m (21-11).

With a pair of victories and a third-place finish, Gittens has scored 26 points by herself, which is the third-most by a female athlete in a single meet behind Carlette Guidry in 1988 and Elva Goulbourne in 2003.

Bulldogs Take Bite Out Of Heptathlon History

No teams had finished 1-2 in the heptathlon in meet history.

That was before today.

Georgia’s Karel Tilga and Kyle Garland swept the top-2 spots of the podium in all-time fashion. Tilga finished with 6264 points to become the second-best performer in collegiate history, while Garland amassed an even 6200 and slid into the No. 4 spot in collegiate history behind Ashton Eaton, Tilga and Trey Hardee.

Garland entered the 1000 – the final event of the multi – in first place, 38 points ahead of Tilga. But Tilga proved to be a stronger 1000-meter runner, turning five laps in 2:36.32, compared to a 2:45.53 effort for Garland, which amounted to a 102-point swing.

Terry Is Cooking In The Sprints

Twanisha Terry is so fast she’s goes by “TeeTee” to keep things short. At 7.09, she can go by anything she wants.

Terry’s 7.09 in the prelims ties her for No. 5 all-time on the list of collegians.

One of the greats she’s now in company with is a Trojan legend, Angela Williams – when she ran 7.09 it earned her a silver medal at the 2001 World Indoor Championships.

TeeTee also qualified for the 200-meter final.

Also entering the all-time Top-10 was Kiara Grant of Norfolk State – her 7.11 ties her for No. 9. It’s also the fastest by a woman for an HBCU program.

BYU Is Bright In DMR

With Courtney Wayment on the anchor, BYU was untouchable in the distance medley relay.

The Cougars made it look easy with a school-record 10:52.96, the sixth-fastest program in history. The time was even faster than the 10:53.95 BYU recorded last year on an oversized track.

Wayment’s anchor on the 1600 was a big key, as her 4:32.90 split followed solid legs of 3:21.92 by Olivia Hoj on the 1200, 52.41 by Alena Ellsworth for the 400 (fastest of the race) and 2:05.74 from Lauren Ellsworth on the 800 (Alena and Lauren are sisters).

Wayment got the stick about even with host Arkansas, then took control to open a gap that gave the Cougars a win by more than 4 seconds as Arkansas (10:57.19), Florida State (10:59.16) and Oklahoma State (10:59.75) also came in under 11 minutes.

We’ll get another look at Wayment in Saturday’s 3000-meter final – she’s the fastest entrant at 8:54.90 in a race featuring no less than six sub-9 runners that includes Hoj (8:56.91). The 3K field also sports Auburn’s Joyce Kimeli, who’s doubling back from a Friday win in the 5000 meters (15:48.98).

That Was Just The Semifinal!

The record book continues to be rewritten in the men’s mile.

On Friday afternoon, the first section of the semifinal round saw all eight runners go sub-3:58.50 with Cole Hocker of Oregon leading the way at 3:56.57 for the fastest non-final mark in meet history. Not only that, but Hocker is now the sixth-best performer in meet history.

Behind Hocker, Tom Dodd of Michigan went 3:57.00 to become the seventh-fastest performer in meet history. Then came Sean Dolan of Villanova at 3:57.20 and Waleed Suliman of Ole Miss at 3:57.64 as they are now the ninth- and 10th-fastest performers in meet history.

Benjamin Nibbelink of Virginia Tech did not qualify for the final at 3:58.34.

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