IT’S NOT EASY coming into an NCAA Championships as the prohibitive favorite, but that’s what happens when you’re sitting second on the all-time collegiate list, a scant 3 centimeters behind an Olympic gold medalist. That’s where Minnesota’s Anthonett Nabwe found herself after dropping a 254-9 (77.64) bomb earlier this season at Drake. Note, no pressure, but the person ahead of her on the ATL, Olympic and 2-time world champion Cam Rogers, also won three NCAA titles during a sensational career at Cal.
Those kinds of expectations can weigh heavy like a grand piano, especially for someone like Nabwe who, until this year, had never made it out of regionals in the hammer.
But a solid opener can be just the thing to calm the nerves, and Nabwe delivered with a 238-5 (72.68) toss that was farther than any of her competitors had thrown, save one.
That was Texas State’s Elísabet Rut Rúnarsdóttir (7th in ‘23, 1st in ‘24) who snuck into Eugene as quietly as a former champion could, overshadowed like everyone else in the field by Nabwe’s historic mark and by the loss of her ‘25 season to a medical redshirt. She’d recovered well enough to post a 239-1 (72.89) PR at Mt. SAC, but seemed to have little chance of keeping pace if Nabwe got rolling.
Consecutive fouls, however, kept Nabwe within reach, and Rúnarsdóttir reeled her in with a PR 240-1 (73.19) in round 3.
They remained in 1st and 2nd going into the final round, when Nabwe uncorked her best toss of the day, a 240-0 (73.15) effort that left her juuuuust short.
For Rúnarsdóttir, it was sweet redemption after a year in the wilderness. Her coach, John Frazier, says the injury might have been a “blessing in disguise” for the Icelander as it gave her time to “work on a lot of things physically and mentally.” The setback forced them to go back to basics in their approach to the throw.
Rúnarsdóttir has embraced the Texas climate to the extent that, according to Frazier, she “complains about being cold if it’s not 80 degrees out.”
She agrees that the break from competition did her some good. With time to ponder, she “finally realized that when I try to throw far, I have my worst competitions. But when I go in thinking about my cues, then I have great competitions. That’s been the biggest thing for me, and I had to learn it the hard way.”
It’s a lesson that served her well in Eugene and one that she’ll need to keep in mind in ‘27, as 7 of the top 8 finishers have eligibility remaining.
This was just the second time an NCAA women’s long throw comp was settled by a single inch. In the previous instance UCLA’s Chaniqua Ross took the 2002 discus crown with a 182-0 (55.48) effort ahead of 181-11 (55.45) by Nebraska’s Becky Breisch.
WOMEN’S HAMMER RESULTS
(June 11)
1. *Elísabet Rut Rúnarsdóttir’ (TxSt-Ice) 240-1 (73.19) PR (CL) (7, x C)
(229-0, 230-6, 240-1, 228-10, f, 230-9) (69.80, 70.26, 73.19, 69.74, f, 70.34);
2. *Annie Nabwe’ (Mn-Lbr) 240-0 (73.15)
(238-5, f, f, 224-7, f, 240-0) (72.68, f, f, 68.47, f, 73.15);
3. **Marie Rougetet’ (MsSt-Fra) 228-8 (69.71)
(221-7, f, 228-8, 223-9, 226-0, f) (67.55, f, 69.71, 68.21, 68.88, f);
4. *Hadley Streit (Mn) 228-0 (69.50)
(210-1, 223-4, 219-8, 228-0, 219-4, f) (64.05, 68.07, 66.97, 69.50, 66.86, f);
5. *Jordan Koskondy (Il) 227-2 (69.24) PR
(215-7, 223-6, 216-3, 227-2, f, 223-3) (65.71, 68.13, 65.92, 69.24, f, 68.04);
6. *Lara Roberts’ (TxSt-Aus) 226-6 (69.05)
(f, 226-6, 222-9, f, 218-11, 216-1) (f, 69.05, 67.90, f, 66.73, 65.86);
7. Kali Terza (KennSt) 225-5 (68.72)
(f, f, 219-4, f, 225-5, 219-2) (f, f, 66.85, f, 68.72, 66.80);
8. **Valentina Savva’ (Cal-Cyp) 225-1 (68.60)
(219-9, f, 225-1, 215-3, 222-11, 224-9) (66.99, f, 68.60, 65.60, 67.95, 68.51);
9. Phethisang Makhethe’ (Il-SA) 224-5 (68.40); 10. *Giavonna Meeks (Tx) 215-11 (65.81); 11. ***Charlotta Sandkulla’ (Va-Fin) 215-1 (65.57); 12. ***Burklie Burton (OkSt) 214-2 (65.28); 13. **Mariana Pestana’ (VaT-Por) 212-10 (64.89); 14. Oluwatomilayo Akintunde (Il) 207-8 (63.31); 15. Rachel Neaves (OkSt) 207-7 (63.29); 16. **Catalina Rodriguez’ (Al-Col) 207-1 (63.12); 17. *Janiya Cesar (FlInt) 206-6 (62.94) PR; 18. Ellie Roan (BU) 205-9 (62.72); 19. *Angela McAuslan-Kelly’ (Prin-GB) 202-2 (61.63); 20. ***Norah Lind’ (Aub-Swe) 202-0 (61.58); 21. Imani Washington (Fl) 198-5 (60.49); 22. Kennedy Clarke (Ok) 197-6 (60.20); 23. *Kendra Dye (Clem) 193-11 (59.10); 24. *Kosi Umerah (NC) 184-0 (56.08).
