Hoppel remains unbeaten to compete indoor and outdoor 800 sweep, with Fahy and Nuguse also securing dramatic distance victories; Hall, Mapaya and Montgomery also capture titles

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

AUSTIN – No matter what the 11,037 fans in attendance at Mike A. Myers Stadium came to watch Friday night, they were treated to a significant showcase in every aspect of track and field at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

Hurdling heroes? Florida junior Grant Holloway and Kentucky junior Daniel Roberts produced the greatest battle in collegiate history, both running equal to or bettering the 40-year-old record of 13.00 seconds held by Maryland’s Renaldo Nehemiah.

Distance drama? Wisconsin senior Morgan McDonald and Stanford senior Grant Fisher delivered another exceptional chapter in their year-long series, this time in the men’s 5,000-meter final, one of four thrilling conclusions on the final lap, along with Notre Dame’s Yared Nuguse in the 1,500, Stanford’s Steven Fahy in the 3,000 steeplechase and Kansas’ Bryce Hoppel in the 800.

Dynamic doubles? It happened both on the track and the infield, with Texas Tech junior Divine Oduduru running the second-fastest all-time wind-legal sprint double to sweep the 100 and 200 meters, along with LSU sophomore JuVaughn Harrison achieving a historic combination of horizontal and vertical jumping success.

And clutch championship efforts? Perhaps none more exciting than Texas Christian sophomore Chengetayi Mapaya capturing the triple jump title on the final attempt of the competition.

From the opening race, where Florida set the collegiate record by running 37.97 seconds in the 4x100-meter relay, to the final showdown – Texas A&M running the No. 2 time in Division 1 history with its 2:59.05 victory in the 4x400 relay – there were no shortage of memorable moments to decide the men’s individual and team champions.

After joining Raymond Ekevwo, Hakim Sani Brown and Ryan Clark in eclipsing the collegiate record in the 4x100 relay, Holloway was back at it 30 minutes later, running a wind-legal 12.98 seconds to hold off a late surge from Roberts (13.00).
Holloway ran equal to the No. 9 performer in U.S. history and Roberts elevated to the No. 13 all-time American. Holloway matched the No. 18 all-time global performer and Roberts ran equal to No. 22.

Holloway closed out his night with a 43.75-second anchor to help the Gators place second in the 4x400 relay in 2:59.60, giving Florida 50 points and a second-place team finish, securing its 11th consecutive podium appearance.

Texas Tech relied on Oduduru’s 100 and 200 double in 9.86 and 19.73, along with Eric Kicinski winning the discus throw title in 205-2 (62.53m) to capture its first national team championship with 60 points.

“It was really good. It was a good day just to have everybody here, have my parents here, but most of all, I finally broke the collegiate record, so it was really good. It hasn’t hit me yet, but it probably will in about two or three weeks,” Holloway said. “We did what we had to do. We’ve been training since August and everything is paying off. We broke the collegiate record in the 4x100, and I came back in 30 minutes and broke the collegiate record in the hurdles. Then, 40 minutes, later I split 43.7 on the 4x400, so that’s a great day.

“I can’t be mad that we didn’t win the team title, but at the same time, it’s just one of those things where you’ve got to be thankful for what you’ve got.”

McDonald also expressed great pride for his first outdoor 5,000 title in 14:06.01, holding off Fisher in 14:06.63. Fisher led 13:13.02 to 13:13.10 entering the final lap, before McDonald closed in 52.91 prevail against the 2017 national champion.

“It’s hard to put into words. I’ve been looking forward to this one for so long, and I’ve been at home for the last two, and I’ve been watching, being like, ‘I think I can win that.’ It’s been frustrating. This one’s been and on my mind for so long, and it’s just amazing,” McDonald said. “There’s always the goal, but I didn’t know I was really going to get here, so I was really nervous for this one, so to have it done, to know it could happen, it feels incredible.”

McDonald joined Washington State’s Gerry Lindgren (1966-67), UTEP’s Suleiman Nyambui (1980-81), Oregon’s Galen Rupp (2008-09) and fellow Ducks standout Edward Cheserek (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16) as the only athletes in Division 1 history to win the cross country national title, along with championships in indoor and outdoor track in the same school year.

McDonald lost to Fisher in the 3,000 at the NYRR Millrose Games in February, but prevailed in three NCAA finals, winning in cross country, the indoor 3,000 and again in Friday’s 5,000.

“I go into a race thinking I can beat everyone. So regardless of pace, that’s not even a factor in my head,” McDonald said. “I was just saying, ‘Stick on Grant, save a bit for that last 100,’ and with how good Grant is, the times come.”

After edging Fisher on the anchor leg of the indoor distance medley relay final, Notre Dame sophomore Yared Nuguse demonstrated another strong sprint finish in the 1,500 to prevail against Michigan State senior Justine Kiprotich by a 3:41.381 to 3:41.384 margin.

“I really dug down and thought about why I’m doing this, and my motivation pushes me through it, and for me, that’s always been my teammates watching from home. I know they’re cheering me on, and I didn’t want to let them down,” Nuguse said. “It was pretty intense. I definitely knew that going in. You’re here and you’ve never done any individual feat like this. It was definitely exciting, but I knew in the end, if I just gave it my all I was going to be comfortable, and I did, and I’m happy with the result.”

Notre Dame had never captured a 1,500 title since the distance was adjusted in 1976, with its only championship previously coming from Charles Judge in the mile in 1926.

Stanford also secured its first steeplechase crown in program history, with fifth-year senior Steven Fahy overcoming a fall over the final barrier to regroup in time to prevail in 8:38.46. Indiana’s Daniel Michalski led entering the last lap, but fell over the final water barrier, allowing Fahy to gain the advantage.

“I think falling over that last barrier is a perfect way to sum up my time at Stanford. Nothing’s going to come easy, and it’s not always going to happen the way you think it’s going to or the way that you envision it,” Fahy said. “If you keep your nose in it and you really believe that you’re going to get there, and if you put in that work over those years, that’s why all this happens.”

All that has happened all year for Hoppel is success and triumph, with his personal-best 1:44.41 to rally past Texas A&M’s Devin Dixon (1:44.84) in the 800 not only elevating him to the No. 5 all-time collegiate performer, but securing a sweep of indoor and outdoor national titles.

Hoppel remained unbeaten in 19 races this year, including all 12 finals, as he followed UTEP’s Emmanuel Rotich in 2017 by capturing both indoor and outdoor championships.

“Winning the championship in the first time around at indoors, that just felt like nothing else,” Hoppel said. “Now, I have a little bit more to grasp and kind of know how it feels, but it’s still like no other feeling. Undefeated to go along with it, that’s just an incredible, storybook ending, so it was a lot of fun.”

Both the 400 and 400 hurdles finals also had come-from-behind victories, with Houston’s Kahmari Montgomery rallying past Trevor Stewart in the one-lap sprint to win by a 44.23 to 44.25 margin.

South Carolina’s Quincy Hall surged over the final hurdle and stormed past Texas Tech’s Norman Grimes (48.71) to capture the 400 hurdles crown in a personal-best 48.48. Hall became the Gamecocks’ first champion in the event since Johnny Dutch in 2010.

After winning the long jump Wednesday with a leap of 26-11 (8.20m), LSU sophomore JuVaughn Harrison made history Friday with a personal-best clearance of 7-5.25 (2.27m) in the high jump to prevail against reigning champion Tejaswin Shankar of Kansas State based on fewer attempts.

Harrison became the only athlete in Division 1 history, regardless of gender, to capture the high jump and long jump titles in the same year.

“Last year, I went out early in both (the high jump and long jump), then to come in second in indoor (in the high jump) and not make it to finals in indoor for the long jump, it was a great experience. I’m very grateful I was able to come out here and win both of them,” Harrison said. “I was in a very good rhythm for me, I knew early on it was going to be a great night.”

Harrison cleared the opening six heights on his first attempt, with Shankar needing two tries to clear 7-5.25.

Mapaya led the triple jump competition after three rounds, before Florida State’s Armani Wallace gained the advantage in the fourth round at 55-9 (16.99m). Indoor champion Jordan Scott of Virginia then set the stage for the dramatic finish by taking over the lead with a sixth-round effort of 55-9.75 (17.01m).

Mapaya responded on the event’s final jump with a personal-best 56-2.50 (17.13m) to secure TCU’s first triple jump in crown in program history.

“I went in there and just wanted to win it for my grandfather, who passed away three days ago,” Mapaya said. “I think it gave me some power. Every time I jumped, I wanted to do it for him. I have this saying, ‘Believe it and do it,’ so I just went out there and I did it. The crowd was amazing. They really lifted me up, especially on that last jump. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

In the only women’s final on the schedule, rescheduled from Thursday, Stanford senior Mackenzie Little repeated as the javelin throw champion with a first-round effort of 195 feet (59.44m).

Little became the sixth female athlete in Division 1 history to capture back-to-back championships. She also joined Lauren Fleshman in the 5,000 (2001-03) and Alicia Craig in the 10,000 (2003-04) as the only Stanford female athletes to secure titles in consecutive years.

Little and teammate Jenna Gray, who finished fourth with a fourth-round effort of 179-9 (54.79m), became the first teammates in Division 1 history to both place in the top four in consecutive seasons. It was the fourth career All-America first-team honor for both athletes, with Gray earning two of them as a member of the Cardinal women’s volleyball team.