Gittens' Pentathlon CR Highlights Day 1 Of 2021 NCAA DI Indoor T&F Championships
Tyra Gittens of Texas A&M broke the collegiate record in the pentathlon to headline the first day of 2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships at Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Gittens’ record of 4746 points comes five years to the day since Kendell Williams of Georgia scored 4703 points at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships to set the previous all-time best. Gittens and Williams are the only pentathletes with scores of 4700 points or higher.
Gittens was on fire from the start, clocking a PR 8.27 as the fastest in the 60-meter hurdles.
Afterwards, Gittens acknowledged the hurdles was a big key. “I knew I set myself up for a great meet, so I took advantage of that.”
Gittens didn’t let up.
She cleared a nation-leading high jump of 1.93m (6-4) and then followed with near-PRs in the shot put and long jump – the latter at 6.58m (21-7¼) .
With one event to go, Gittens needed to run just 2:31.63 or faster in the 800 meters to gain the CR, but she PRed by over two seconds at 2:28.22 for the victory.
Gittens, the season-long leader coming in with 4612 points, won by 345 points over Georgia’s Anna Hall, who claimed the SEC crown over Gittens two weeks ago when the Aggie faltered with a sub-par long jump.
Forrest, Mardal Win Weight Throw Titles
The women’s weight throw found some dramatic shifts in the lead.
Makenli Forrest of Louisville took command after the first three rounds with a PR 22.87m (75-0½) – that was a major move for Forrest, runner-up two years ago.
Forrest enjoyed the lead for all of one round, as Rachel Tanczos of Notre Dame took control in Round 4 by tying for the collegiate lead at 23.24m (76-3) in her first-ever NCAA final.
Tanczos continued to lead in Round 4 and Round 5, but Forrest dug in for her final heave, which also happened to be the final effort of Thursday’s competition. Forrest let it fly 23.26m (76-3¾) to snatch the victory away from Tanczos by just 2cm.
It was the closest win in the event since 2018, when Kaitlyn Long of Minnesota edged Cincinnati’s Annette Echikunwoke by 1cm, 22.30-22.29. Long’s winning effort of 76-5½ also came on her last throw.
Thomas Mardal left little doubt who was tops in the men’s competition. The Gator opened up at 24.46m (80-3), the farthest anyone had thrown all year and the best mark by a collegian since 2015. He followed with a heave of 24.41m (80-1), the second-farthest of the year.
Every other finalist improved in the final two rounds, but Mardal’s opener survived for a win of more than two feet. Arizona’s Israel Oloyede PRed at 23.79m (78-0¾) to capture the runner-up position.
