IF YOU’D MADE a list before the meet of the most overwhelming individual favorites, discus titan Alida Van Daalen would have been atop or at least very high on the list.
The Florida senior came into the East Regionals 2 weeks earlier leading the NCAA qualifiers list at 218-10 (66.70), 15ft ahead of Joyce Oguama and nearly 20 or more ahead of anyone else. But then, she made jaws really drop in Lexington with a mighty 227-5 (69.31), No. 3 in collegiate history. That surpassed even the 69.17 she threw in the extremely friendly environment of Ramona in April.
So when Van Daalen entered the cage for the first event of the women’s final day, everyone knew if she came even within 20ft of her PR, she would probably be unbeatable. And maybe she gave the field some hope in the first round, throwing only 188-1 (57.32). Arizona State’s Inés López — formcharted as Van Daalen’s biggest challenger — had opened with a near-PR 196-9 (59.96) for the early lead.
However, that advantage — and the title hopes of the field — were short-lived. In round 2, the Dutch Olympian whirled a mighty 207-0 (63.09) and the competition for the top of the podium was effectively over.
But Van Daalen’ was far from done. In round 3, she unleashed a thundering yell and sent the platter flying farther than it ever had before at these championships: 216-6 (65.98). With the DT the only event going at that point, the announcer was able to declare the record almost immediately and the Gator raised her arms in triumph and yelled again. The previous meet record of 215-11 (65.82) by Cierra Jackson — who stunned the field in ’25 — only lasted a year.
“I promised Jorinde I’d take it back for our country,” Van Daalen’ cracked afterward, referring to compatriot Van Klinken who set an MR when she captured the first of her three titles for Arizona State in ’21.
The Gator then finished with three more throws that also would have won: 212-3, 215-7 and 207-10 (64.70, 65.70, 63.36). Meanwhile, López fouled three straight and could never get back beyond 187. Alabama’s Oguama matched her in the fourth round and finished runner-up off her second-best effort of 188-8.
It was a very satisfying finish to Van Daalen’s 4 years in Gainesville, a first NCAA title following 3rd-3rd-2nd the previous 3 years. Each season, she returned home and represented Netherlands internationally, competing first in the ’23 Worlds in Budapest as a 21-year-old, then Paris and Tokyo the following two campaigns, advancing to her first global final last September.
But ’26 has been a revelation, especially with the monster throw in Lexington that is the longest in the world outside of Ramona this year.
“I feel like a lot of people have had so much against throwers going to Ramona because of the wind,” Van Daalen’ said. “But I always say everything that I do at Ramona I want to be able to do it outside of Ramona without wind or in the stadium. I think I’m very capable of that and I think I proved it at Regionals.”
Van Daalen also reflected on remaining patient and overcoming adversity. “A lot of people didn’t know in the first years of coming to college here… I wasn’t really in a good headspace, like I definitely had the pressure and the PTSD and throwing was terrible. Now we’ve built up everything and I feel like this is the first year that I feel completely healthy, completely myself and it has shown throughout this season.”
Last fall she was recovering from a torn labrum in her right shoulder. “I started throwing in January a little bit, but very small and I was like, ‘Nah, maybe I’ll redshirt this year and have time to come back. And then all of the sudden, we went through the roof and I was like, ‘You know what, I’ll just roll with it,’” she laughed.
“If you would tell my freshman year [self] that I would throw 10m further in 4 years than what I was doing at that moment, I think she would have fainted. I’m very proud of what I have accomplished the last 4 years, with such a great team behind me. Everything came together physically and mentally.”
WOMEN’S DISCUS RESULTS
FINAL (June 13)
1. *Alida Van Daalen’ (Fl-Neth) 216-6 (65.98) (MR)
(188-1, 207-0, 216-6, 212-3, 215-7, 207-10) (57.32, 63.09, 65.98, 64.70, 65.70, 63.36);
2. *Joyce Oguama’ (Al-Ger) 196-9 (59.98)
(179-5, 188-8, f, 196-9, f, f) (54.70, 57.51, f, 59.98, f, f);
3. Inés López’ (AzSt-Spa) 196-9 (59.96)
(196-9, f, f, f, 184-4, 187-0) (59.96, f, f, f, 56.19, 57.01);
4. ***Alicia Khunou’ (Or-SA) 188-5 (57.44)
(166-7, 181-8, 188-5, 175-6, f, f) (50.77, 55.38, 57.44, 53.50, f, f);
5. Klaire Kovatch (CoSt) 187-0 (57.01)
(184-0, 182-6, 174-11, 185-7, f, 187-0) (56.08, 55.64, 53.31, 56.56, f, 57.01);
6. **Layla Giordano (Prin) 186-10 (56.94)
(174-9, 181-3, 186-10, 174-1, 176-5, f) (53.27, 55.24, 56.94, 53.07, 53.78, f);
7. ***Marie-Josée Bovele-Linaka’ (Or-Fra) 185-10 (56.65)
(185-10, 178-6, 182-1, 178-6, f, f) (56.65, 54.40, 55.50, 54.40, f, f);
8. *Abigail Martin’ (TxAM-Jam) 184-2 (56.15)
(f, 177-5, 184-2, 168-8, f, 183-8) (f, 54.08, 56.15, 51.43, f, 55.98);
9. Sofia Sluchaninova’ (Ks-Rus) 183-6 (55.94); 10. **Princesse Hyman’ (LSU-Fra) 183-2 (55.83); 11. Ava Roberts (UMBC) 183-2 (55.82); 12. **Chesni Scott (Ok) 181-8 (55.39); 13. ***Nadjela Wepiwe’ (Harv-Ger) 181-3 (55.25); 14. Jamora Alves’ (StJ-Grn) 180-3 (54.95); 15. Summer Mosley (CSUN) 179-1 (54.59); 16. *Reese Garland (USC) 178-10 (54.51); 17. *McKenzie Davis (TxT) 178-9 (54.48); 18. Akari Isaac (Fl) 178-3 (54.33); 19. *Gracelyn Leiseth (Fl) 177-1 (53.98); 20. Kaiah Fisher (BYU) 174-6 (53.20); 21. Amelia Flynt (Nb) 171-0 (52.13); 22. *Calea Jackson’ (Mia-Bah) 170-1 (51.84); 23. **Camryn Massey (Aub) 163-8 (49.90); 24. **Morgan Hallett (OhSt) 159-1 (48.49).
