LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, May 15–17 — It’s rare that Oregon’s vaunted distance runners need to redeem themselves, but they thought it was necessary and then did so convincingly to clinch their team’s first Big 10 outdoor title.
Trailing Illinois 92-86 with just the 5K and 4×4 remaining, Oregon put 5 in the top 8 of the 5K for a whopping 24 points that iced the championship for Jerry Schumacher’s squad and gave it 110 while Illinois stayed put. Four other individual titles buoyed the Oregon onslaught.
Oregon’s Dalia Frias took the win in 16:58.74 over Washington’s Julia David-Smith (16:58.99) but vital to the Ducks’ cause was the 3rd from Şilan Ayyıldız and 4th from Diana Cherotich. Those two could breathe a sigh of relief after both had surprisingly DNFed in the late, weather-delayed 10K on Friday night. Anika Thompson, Oregon’s only 10K scorer, was 7th and 1500 champ Juliet Cherubet 8th.
“The slow pace felt just like a workout in the beginning and we were all sticking together,” said Frias. “It was kind of stressful because so many people were just clipping each other. So just try to stay calm, that was our plan and see what was left the last 300.”
Schumacher had confidence in his distance bunch. “The women in the 5K had something to prove,” he said. “They weren’t going to let us down.”
The women’s win capped a big day for Oregon in its second year in the conference. The men had already clinched their team title, so it made Oregon the first school since the Wisconsin teams of 1996-97 to sweep the men’s and women’s XC, indoor and outdoor meets.
“It feels really special,” said Schumacher, a Wisconsin alum who guided the Badgers to an NCAA XC title during his 11-year tenure there. “Winning championships is hard.”
It’s harder than ever in this new iteration of the Big 10, as every coach would attest. With Northwestern now competing on the women’s side, there were 18 teams in the women’s meet. It’s not easy being B1G, which makes it a lot tougher to put points on the board. Following Oregon and Illinois in the top third were USC (90), Washington (88). Nebraska (81) and Minnesota (76).
While distance races can be tough and grueling, there’s no less pressure in the shorter stuff, either, and USC junior Madison Whyte was more than up to the challenge, accounting for 25 points for the Trojans.
On a busy Sunday, she started the day with the third leg on USC’s winning 4 x 100 (42.85) and ended with a 51.42 anchor carry on its victorious 4×4 team (3:28.52). Both relay times set meet records. In between, Whyte successfully defended her 400 title of last year in 51.01 and then took the 200 in a windy 21.78. After “resting” during the two 5K races, she was ready to rock in the 4×4.
“I’ve been the third leg on the relay in then 4 x 100, so I think that has really helped me strengthen that up,” Whyte said. “The 400 has been getting me right with the lactic acid, so I’m good.”
Penn State’s Hayley Kitchings broke her own 2-year-old meet record of 2:02.54 in the 800 with a solid 2:01.77. Her race plan was simple: “Just attacking it,” she said. “Everyone was going to be dealing with the wind today, so I knew I had to be strong on the back straight and I would get the push on the end.”
Nebraska hurdler Kelsie Belquist found the track at her school’s spanking-new, state-of-the-art facility to her liking with a 56.11 win in the 400H. “It’s amazing,” she enthused. “It really is God’s blessing. I’ve gone through so much the past two years, trying to get back to what I love so to get to do that in front of a home crowd is just amazing. You could definitely feel the wind, but it’s nothing [we] are not used to. We practice in this every day.”
Another notable winning effort over the course of the 3-day meet came from a late spring arrival on the Oregon campus, soph triple jumper from Uzbekistan, Sharifa Davronova. She recorded a meet record 46-4¼ (14.13) on her first jump.
Washington pole vaulter Hana Moll jumped 15-10 (4.83) to break her own meet record. Nebraska shot putter Axelina Johansson’s meet record throw of 65-6 (19.97) easily outdistanced her competitors, and UCLA high jumper Valentina Fakrogha cleared 6-2¼ (1.89), also a meet record.
Brianna Selby won the fifth of USC’s championships on Sunday, taking the 100 in a windy 10.74 and beating teammate Dajaz Dafrand (10.90). It was just the basics for Selby, she said, “Honestly, just executing the first 30 [meters] and then accelerating from there.”
Other good distance performances came as runners braved the elements. Washington’s Chloe Thomas won the thunderstorm/tornado-threatened late Friday night 10K in 32:59.51, noting that “when you’re waiting that long for the race the best thing is just to stay relaxed and have fun, and then ramp up to get the adrenaline flowing when we knew the race was going to start.
Michigan State steepler Katelyn Stewart-Barnett claimed the win in her specialty Saturday afternoon going away in 9:44.32. “I am really proud of it,” she said. “In this heat and wind here, everybody runs in the same conditions, and it’s very easy to get in your head about it.”
BIG 10 WOMEN’S RESULTS
Teams: 1. Oregon 110; 2. Illinois 92; 3. USC 90; 4. Washington 88; 5. Nebraska 81; 6. Minnesota 76; 7. Ohio State 55; 8. UCLA 44½; 9. Purdue 34½; 10. Iowa 29; 11. Penn State 25; 12. Michigan 24; 13. Wisconsin 23; 14. Michigan State 19; 15. Rutgers 13; 16. Indiana 9; 17. Northwestern 6.
100(3.8): 1. **Brianna Selby (USC) 10.74w (a-c: =10, x A; =2, =2 C);
2. Dajaz Defrand (USC) 10.90w; 3. *Taylor Snaer (UCLA) 11.06w; 4. *Sophia Beckmon (Il) 11.11w; 5. Marie-Eloise Leclair’ (PennSt-Can) 11.12w.
200(6.0): 1. *Madison Whyte (USC) 21.78w (a-c WL, AL, CL) (a-c: 10, x A) (a-c: 2, 2 C);
2. *Taylor Snaer (UCLA) 22.07w (a-c: 10, x C);
3. Dajaz Defrand (USC) 22.28w; 4. **Laila Campbell (OhSt) 22.53w; 5. Christine Mallard (USC) 22.54w; 6. **Rachael Uvieghara (USC) 22.65w.
400: 1. Whyte 51.01; 2. *Alexia Smith (Pur) 51.50; 3. **Damaris Mutunga’ (Ia-Ken) 52.02; 4. **Chioma Nwachukwu’ (Ia-Ngr) 52.47.
800: 1. *Hayley Kitching’ (PennSt-Aus) 2:01.77; 2. **Veronica Hargrave (In) 2:03.54; 3. *Grace Kombetto (Il) 2:04.37; 4. ***Emmry Ross (Mi) 2:04.80; 5. *Rosemary Arthur (Ia) 2:04.83.
1500: 1. *Juliet Cherubet’ (Or-Ken) 4:16.53; 2. *Berlyn Schutz (Nb) 4:17.46; 3. Aniya Mosley (OhSt) 4:18.11; 4. Chloe Foerster (Wa) 4:19.85; 5. Wilma Nielsen’ (Or-Swe) 4:20.28.
St: 1. Katelyn Stewart-Barnett’ (MiSt-Can) 9:44.32; 2. Katie Castelli (OhSt) 9:57.59; 3. *Zoie Dundon (Mn) 10:07.50.
5000: 1. *Dalia Frias (Or) 16:58.74; 2. *Julia David-Smith’ (Wa-Fra) 16:58.99; 3. Şilan Ayyıldız’ (Or-Tur) 17:00.55; 4. **Diana Cherotich’ (Or-Ken) 17:01.10; 5. Kylie Finger (Wi) 17:02.32; 6. *Ali Weimer (Mn) 17:04.72.
10,000: 1. Chloe Thomas’ (Wa-Can) 32:59.51; 2. Weimer 33:07.71; 3. ***Abby DeVeau (Wa) 33:18.23; 4. Anika Thompson’ (Or-Ire) 33:47.18.
100H(4.9): 1. Aaliyah McCormick (Or) 12.43w (a-c: 8, x C);
2. Janela Spencer’ (OhSt-Jam) 12.52w; 3. Micaela De Mello’ (Or-Bra) 12.63w; 4. **Celeste Polzonetti’ (UCLA-Ita) 12.83w; 5. **Sofia Cosculluela’ (Wa-Spa) 13.16w; 6. *Jailya Ash (Ia) 13.20w.
400H: 1. **Kelsie Belquist (Nb) 56.11; 2. *Sidney Green (Mi) 57.46; 3. *Abrielle Artley (Nb) 57.76; 4. **Kennedy Martinson (Mn) 57.90.
4 x 100: 1. USC 42.85 (Mallard, Defrand, Whyte, Selby); 2. Ohio State 43.71; 3. Oregon 43.80; 4. UCLA 43.91.
4 x 400: 1. USC 3:28.52 (Mallard, Cenci, Trepagnier, Whyte); 2. Purdue 3:30.30; 3. Nebraska 3:31.59; 4. Ohio State 3:31.83.
Field Events
HJ: 1. **Valentina Fakrogha (UCLA) 6-2¼ (1.89); 2. Rose Yeboah’ (Il-Gha) 6-1¼ (1.86); 3. ***Siun Quinn’ (Il-Ire) 6-0 (1.83).
PV: 1. *Hana Moll (Wa) 15-10 (4.83) (out CL) (x, 4 C) (14-6¼ [2], 15-¼ [2], 15-6¼, 15-10, 16-1¾ [xxx]) (4.43 [2], 4.58 [2], 4.73, 4.83, 4.92 [xxx]);
2. *Amanda Moll (Wa) 15-2¼ (4.63); 3. Emily Fitzsimmons (Or) 14-8¼ (4.48); 4. ***Veronica Vacca (Wa) 14-6¼ (4.43); 5. Mia Morello (Il) 14-2½ (4.33); 6. Anastasia Retsa’ (Il-Gre) 14-2½; 7. *Sofia Condon (Mn) 14-2½; 8. tie, *Arina Razina’ (Nb-Rus) & Paige Sommers (UCLA) 14-2½.
LJ: 1. *Celine Brown’ (Rut-Jam) 21-3¼ (6.48); 2. *Elizabeth Ndudi’ (Il-Ire) 21-2¾ (6.47); 3. Cosculluela’ 21-1½ (6.44); 4. *Sophia Beckmon (Il) 20-10½w (6.36).
TJ: 1. **Sharifa Davronova’ (Or-Uzb) 46-4¼ (14.13); 2. *Katharina Graman’ (Il-Swe) 44-6¼w (13.57) (44-3½/13.50); 3. **Cassandra Atkins (Or) 44-4¼w (13.52).
SP: 1. Axelina Johansson’ (Nb-Swe) 65-6¼ (19.97) (2, 2 C) (63-10½, 62-3¼, 61-3½, 61-1½, 64-6½ [x, 5 C], 65-6¼) (19.47, 18.98, 18.68, 18.63, 19.67, 19.97);
2. *Annie Nabwe’ (Mn-Lbr) 59-¾ (18.00); 3. **Ashley Erasmus’ (USC-SA) 58-10 (17.93); 4. Mine De Klerk’ (Nb-SA) 56-11½ (17.36); 5. Danni Langseth (Wi) 55-9 (16.99); 6. Amelia Flynt (Nb) 55-3 (16.84).
DT: 1. ***Marie-Josée Bovele-Linaka’ (Or-Fra) 193-7 (59.01); 2. Taylor Kesner (Wi) 189-7 (57.78); 3. Nabwe’ 189-5 (57.75); 4. **Morgan Hallett (OhSt) 185-5 (56.52); 5. *Reese Garland (USC) 184-11 (56.37); 6. **Britannia Johnson’ (Pur-Jam) 180-8 (55.06).
HT: 1. Nabwe’ 227-1 (69.22); 2. Phethisang Makhethe’ (Il-SA) 224-6 (68.42); 3. *Hadley Streit (Mn) 221-7 (67.55); 4. *Jordan Koskondy (Il) 212-6 (64.79).
JT: 1. *Ashley Schroeder (Wa) 179-6 (54.72); 2. Jana Lowka’ (Nb-Ger) 177-4 (54.07).
Hept: 1. ***JaiCieonna Gero-Holt (Il) 5994 (13.71w, 6-0/1.83, 46-11/14.30, 24.67w, 18-11¼/5.77, 134-5/40.97, 2:24.68); 2. ***Liisa-Maria Lusti’ (Or-Est) 5917; 3. **Meagan Humphries (Il) 5893.
