2021 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships – Final Site | Day 4 Coverage

It’s the fourth and final day of competition in Eugene, Oregon!

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You can watch all of the action LIVE on ESPNU starting at 6 pm ET!

We’re about to find out which women will star at Hayward Field.

When it comes to the race for a team title, Southern California is set up extremely well, despite not being on the scoreboard. The Women of Troy have 13 entries tonight, which could amass a total of 120 points, if they get the most out of them (wins, 1-2-3 sweeps, etc.). If USC does win, it would be its second team title in the past three years.

Georgia (7 entries, 86 possible points), LSU (7 entries, 76 possible points), Florida State (nine entries, 75 possible points) and several others are trying to make sure the Women of Troy don’t top the podium at the end of the night.

Bookmark this page as we’ll update it throughout the night.

Women’s 4×100 Relay

Southern California and LSU waged a huge battle in the last NCAA meet in 2019, and the two sprint powerhouses put on another thriller.

One big constant was Twanisha “TeeTee” Terry anchoring the Women of Troy to victory, 42.82 to 42.84.

Three of USC’s foursome returned with Angie Annelus and Lanae-Tava Thomas running the second and third legs.

Terry got the baton in second place but made up just enough ground on LSU anchor Thelma Davies to win in the final strides.

Women’s 1500 Meters

Anna Camp of BYU surged ahead of Colorado’s Sage Hurta heading into the homestretch and closed hard to take the win in 4:08.53 for the eighth-fastest performance in meet history. That is also the first 1500 title for BYU since 2000. It was the second personal best Camp set in the event after running 4:09.22 in the semifinal rounds.

Hurta held on for a runner-up finish in 4:09.42 and held off Stanford’s Ella Donaghu, who finished third in 4:09.66.

Women’s Steeplechase

With how the semifinals went, we knew the finals were going to be even better.

It didn’t disappoint.

Staying close to the front of the pack the entire race, Mahala Norris of Air Force had an incredible kick to win in 9:31.79, edging Joyce Kimeli of Auburn by 0.05 seconds in the closest finish in meet history for the women’s steeplechase. Norris’ winning time also makes her the sixth-best performer in collegiate history. That is just the third title ever won by the Falcons at the outdoor meet.

Kimeli finished second in 9:31.84 and Katie Rainsberger of Washington moved up to the front of the pack and held on for a third place finish in 9:32.12. They now rank No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, on the all-time chart.

Women’s 100 Hurdles

Anna Cockrell continued Southern Cal’s winning ways, winning in 12.58 to follow USC’s 4×100 victory. Cockrell took control early and continually added to her lead with each hurdle to win by 0.24 seconds.

Two freshmen finished 2-3 – Rayniah Jones of Central Florida edging Baylor’s Ackera Nugent, 12.82 to 12.84.

The race unfortunately had an empty lane as LSU’s Tonea Marshall, the seasonal leader at 12.44, did not start.

Women’s 100 Meters

Sha’Carri Richardson’s 10.75 collegiate record from 2019 survived. Barely.

Cambrea Sturgis of North Carolina A&T bolted to an early lead and held off TeeTee Terry of Southern California in a pair of blazing times – 10.74 and 10.79. 

Unfortunately, an aiding wind of 2.2 m/s negated any record consideration, but the times rate as the No. 1 and No. 4 fastest ever by a collegian under any conditions.

Alabama’s Tamara Clark (10.88) and Kemba Nelson of Oregon (10.90) also ran sub-11 times.

Women’s 400 Meters

Another race, another amazing performance from Athing Mu of Texas A&M.

This time it was 49.57 as Mu shaved 0.11 seconds off the collegiate record she set just two weeks ago in the West Preliminary Round. It was her third-straight lap under 50 seconds – there have only been six total by all collegians in history.

Two others ran sub-51, with Florida freshman Talitha Diggs (50.74) and Kyra Constantine of Southern California (50.87) each setting PRs.

While Mu had the race in control early, plenty of important team points were up for grabs for the Aggies and Southern Cal. USC went 3-4-7 for a total of 13, while A&M scored 14.

Women’s 800 Meters

It was a three-woman race heading into the final 100 meters. Laurie Barton of Clemson had a slight lead with Michaela Meyer of Virginia and Gabrielle Wilkinson of Florida right behind.

Meyer used a final kick to move ahead of Barton and take home the win in 2:00.28. Not only did her winning time make her the eighth-best performer in final site history, she solidified her spot as ninth-best performer in collegiate history.

Barton crossed the finish in 2:00.65 for runner-up honors and Wilkinson finished third in 2:01.20.

Women’s 400 Hurdles

History is made!

Anna Cockrell of Southern California successfully completed the 100H/400H double.

Already capturing the 100H crown earlier, she claimed her second title of the weekend after winning the 400H in 54.68. Cockrell became the second woman in meet history to complete the double (2010 The Bowerman winner Queen Harrison was the first).

Rounding out the top-3 finishers were Shannon Meisberger of Arizona and Andrenette Knight of Virginia. Meisberger crossed the line in second with a time of 55.70, while Knight was right behind in 55.81 for third. 

Women’s 200 Meters

Cambrea Sturgis completed a stellar 100/200 double. This time the wind reading was legal, meaning the North Carolina A&T sophomore is the No. 4 collegian ever at 22.12.

Sturgis needed to run fast to overtake Alabama’s Tamara Clark, who entered the homestretch a clear leader. She held on until Sturgis passed her in the final steps. Clark, who ran 22.13 two weeks ago, finished in 22.17.

The only other race in meet history with a pair of sub-22.20 racers came in 2019, when Angie Annelus of Southern California outdueled Sha’Carri Richardson of LSU (22.16 to 22.17). Annelus, fifth today, had also won the 2018 title.

Women’s 5000 Meters

Champions run in the Henes family.

Elly Henes of NC State made her move with 200 meters left to go and didn’t look back. She used a strong finish to hold off Katie Wasserman of Notre Dame to take home the crown in 15:28.05.

The last athlete to win the 5000 for the Wolfpack at the NCAA Championships? Henes’ mother and coach, Laurie Henes, who captured the title in 1991.

Wasserman finished second in a personal best effort of 15:28.68, while Bethany Hasz crossed the line in 15:30.57 for third.

Women’s 4×400 Relay

Athing Mu once again dominated, closing out yet another collegiate record with a superb split of 48.85. Texas A&M’s final time of 3:22.34 shattered the old CR of 3:23.13 set by Oregon in 2017, with Mu’s contribution the fastest ever recorded by a collegian.

The Aggies were by the only fast foursome. Southern California (3:24.54) and UCLA (3:25.01) followed with additional all-time Top-10 collegiate performances – USC =No. 6, UCLA No. 10.

All nine finalists ran sub-3:30 for the first time in history. The meet’s previous high was seven back in 2017.

Women’s High Jump

Rachel Glenn figured to have a duel with a Texas A&M jumper. After all, the South Carolina freshman matched the Aggie’s Tyra Gittens and Tamara Distin to win the SEC meet on misses last month, as all three cleared 1.89m (6-2¼).

Distin, who finished third at that meet on misses with a then-PR, took control here as she was the only one of the three – again, the final three in the competition – to clear 1.90m (6-2¾) on a first attempt.

Glenn followed with a second-attempt clearance, while Gittens could go no higher.

With the bar set at 1.93m (6-4) – a PR for both – Glenn clinched the title with a first-attempt make. That made her just the third freshman to win this title, joining Tanya Hughes of Arizona (1991) and Destinee Hooker of Texas (2006). The winning height for Glenn tied her for No. 6 in meet history.

Women’s Triple Jump

In a battle between Ruth Usoro of Texas Tech and Jasmine Moore of Georgia, Usoro proved to be victorious.

Moore leaped to an early lead with a Round 1 effort of 13.96m (45-9¾) before fouling her next three jumps. Usoro opened up with a pair of jumps landing at 13.85m (45-5 ¼) in the first two rounds to sit in second. She took over the lead in Round 3 with an eventual winning leap of 14.19-46-6¾).

Moore didn’t go down quietly, as her competition best came in Round 6 at 14.13m (46-4¼); however, it was not enough to take back the lead she previously held for two rounds. Michelle Fokam of Rice finished in third with a personal best effort of 14.04m (46-¾) that came in Round 2.

Women’s Discus

Big throws were looked for, but it was Iowa’s Laulauga Tausaga who took a surprising lead in Round 2 at 63.53m (208-5), moving her to No. 3 in meet history.

That held up as by far the leader until Jorinde van Klinken of Arizona State came to life in Round 5. Mired in second at 60.56m (198-8), she improved to 63.41m (208-0) to threaten Tausaga, the defending champion.

In Round 6, van Klinken unleashed the winning effort of 65.01m (213-3). That added more than two feet to the meet record set by Seilala Sua in 1999.

For van Klinken, it was her farthest effort in a Sun Devil uniform and makes her No. 4 on the all-time collegiate list. Tausaga rates as No. 10.

Women’s Heptathlon (Day 2)

No matter how one counted, Tyra Gittens of Texas A&M was going to score a lot of points. As the meet’s only scorer in three individual events, her 24 points led the way among individuals.
In the heptathlon, she was also on a different level, amassing 6285 points to win by 218 over Miami’s Michelle Atherley (6067).

Gittens had just one PR in the meet – a javelin throw of 41.24m (135-4) – and strapped together a series of solid efforts to give her the meet’s No. 5 score in history.

The 7-eventer also featured a Hayward Field heptathlon javelin record of 49.92m (163-9) by Washington’s Ida Eikeng, who finished fifth with a PR 5920.