Lokedi takes down 1988 standard, earns eighth career All-America honor; Ewen sweeps indoor and outdoor shot put titles, with Orji adding long jump crown to triple jump legacy and Stanford pair of Little, Gray taking top two spots in javelin

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

EUGENE – With less than two laps to go in the 5,000 meters May 26 at the NCAA West Regionals, Kansas junior Sharon Lokedi was tempted to try to match the kick of Missouri senior Karissa Schweizer.

But Lokedi instead decided to show restraint and simply qualify for the Division 1 Outdoor Championships, knowing she would get another chance to showcase her closing speed against Schweizer at Hayward Field.

That moment came with 600 meters to go Thursday night in the 10,000 final and Lokedi was more than ready to not just surge past Schweizer, but capture her first NCAA title.

Lokedi covered the final lap in 68.6 seconds and prevailed in a personal-best 32:09.20, not only smashing a 30-year-old championship meet record, but elevating to the No. 11 performer in collegiate history.

“At 200, the only thing I could think was in workouts, you could just hear coach (Stanley Redwine) screaming, ‘Go for it. This might be you winning nationals. This might be you going for it,’” said Lokedi, who led six women under the 1988 meet record of 32:28.57 held by Sylvia Mosqueda of Cal State Los Angeles.

“I just kept telling myself, ‘Sharon, you can do this.’ With 200 to go, there was nothing that could stop me and I went out and did it and it feels pretty amazing. I’m just so glad my coach kept telling me that throughout the season.”

Louisville freshman Dorcas Wasike moved up from sixth to second in the final 800, clocking 32:11.81, with Schweizer – looking to add her first career 10,000 title to a resume that includes NCAA championships in cross country, as well as the 3,000 and 5,000 – placing third in 32:14.94.

New Mexico senior Alice Wright sprinted the final 50 meters to place fourth in 32:17.92, edging defending champion Charlotte Taylor of San Francisco in 32:17.95 and becoming the first female athlete in Division 1 history to earn four All-America honors in the 10,000.

Notre Dame sophomore Anna Rohrer, who had the fastest career time in the field at 31:58.99 before a back injury slowed her last year, also ran faster than the previous meet record by placing sixth in 32:26.24.

Lokedi, third last year in 32:46.10, finally added her name to that prestigious list of champions, making her eighth career All-America honor her most memorable.

“It feels great because everybody out there is a champion and it’s just who is willing to go for it. Competing with those athletes is just a great honor and being with them and seeing them all compete and just trying my best to be a part of them, it feels incredible,” Lokedi said. “I was dying inside because this is just so hard, but you just have to be stronger and you just have to be ready to feel that much pain. At the end, I knew if I ended up winning, it would just be pure joy and I won’t feel this much pain and it will all go away. I’m really grateful.”

Stanford junior Mackenzie Little needed only one throw to win her first career NCAA javelin title, producing a first-round effort of 198 feet (60.36m) to elevate to the No. 5 performer in collegiate history and No. 20 in the world this year.

“It was 100 percent (coach) Zeb Sion,” said Little, who improved from fourth place last year.

“He is the most fantastic coach. He individualizes the training for all of us, and he knows us all so well. We have such a positive training environment and such a strong throws squad. As you can see, it’s just phenomenal, and we have all improved. He’s been a huge part of that.”

Perhaps even more impressive was sophomore Jenna Gray taking runner-up with a nine-foot personal best, taking the early lead competing out of the first flight before placing a strong second at 187-11 (57.29m), helping the Cardinal make history by becoming the first women’s program to have teammates take the top two spots in the NCAA javelin final.

“This is absolutely unbelievable. If you had told me in March that this was going to happen, I would not have believed you,” said Gray, who became a first-team All-American in both indoor volleyball and javelin.

“I’m incredibly proud of (Mackenzie) because she completely deserves it and I can’t thank her and coach Sion enough for pushing me and getting to train with both of them every day has been an absolute dream come true.”

Even before she attempted to make history with a fourth outdoor triple jump title Saturday, Georgia senior Keturah Orji won her first career outdoor long jump championship with a fourth-round effort of 21-10.75 (6.67m), marking the third year in a row the Bulldogs have secured the crown, following Chanice Porter in 2016 and Kate Hall last season.
Orji became the fourth female athlete in Division 1 outdoor finals history to capture career championships in both the long jump and triple jump.

“I’ve been here with Chanice winning the title and I’ve seen Kate win it also, so it’s nice to get my own and I’m really happy to score 10 points for the team and help us,” Orji said. “This was my last time long jumping as a collegiate, so I wanted to take it. I didn’t put much pressure on myself, but I just wanted to go out there and perform.”

Arizona State senior Maggie Ewen matched her indoor shot put title with an outdoor championship with a second-round mark of 62-10.75 (19.17m), giving her three career individual crowns, along with last year’s hammer throw.

“It felt great. You know, hammer didn’t go the way we wanted it to (May 26 at the West Regionals), so to be able to come out and win the shot put just really made up for it,” Ewen said. “We can just go and have fun and attack it with no reservations.”

Stanford leads after the first day of women’s competition with 25 points, followed by Florida at 17 points, with Georgia and Ole Miss tied at 14.