On the first day of the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon from Hayward Field, the Auburn Tigers set a collegiate record for the 4×100, and reigning NCAA Champion Ja’Kobe Tharp set a new world record for the 110 meter hurdles.
An NCAA Record for Auburn
The events on the track started just after 5pm Pacific Time on Wednesday with the 4x100m relay with three heats for the 24 teams competing for a spot in the final. In the first heat, the squad from Arkansas crossed the finish line first with a respectable 38.32-second showing. It was in the second heat, however, that the Tigers from Auburn lined up ready to show why they were the number 1 ranked team coming into the Championship meet.
The team of Azeem Fahmi, Kanyinsola Ajayi, Austin Kresley, and Tyler Davis cleanly made their way around the track to become the newest record holders of the one-lap relay. The cruised to a 37.75-second finish, bettering the previous record of 37.90 seconds set by LSU in 2023. The 4x100m final is scheduled to take place on Friday, June 12 at 5:02pm Pacific Time.
Ja’Kobe Tharp sets a World Record
Just an hour later, the 110 meter hurdle perlims come up on the schedule, with Ja’Kobe Tharp seeded as the #2 hurdler coming into the championships. Top hurdler Kendrick Smallwood of Texas was scheduled for heat 1 and Tharp in heat 2.
In the first heat, Smallwood set the tone with a 13.02-second showing, just .04 seconds off the NCAA record, previously set by Grant Holloway in 2019. For Smallwoord, it was a new personal best and the fastest time run in the nation this year.
In the second heat, Tharp lined up in lane 5, the defending 110mH NCAA Champion. His personal best: 13.01 seconds. His best time this year: 13.04. After a clean start, Tharp’s lead was developed after just the second hurdle and continued to grow from there. The official time across the finish line: 12.75 seconds. Not only did Holloway’s NCAA record go down, but Aries Merritt’s world record of 12.80 seconds from 2012 is no more.
The men’s 110 meter hurdle final will take place on Friday, June 12 at 5:42pm.
Day 1 NCAA Champions
Though the fireworks were in the prelims, six NCAA Champions were crowned on Wednesday on Day 1:
- Angelo Mantzouranis, Minnesota – Hammer Throw (75.78m)
- Ben Smith, Oregon – Shot Put (21.04m)
- Tafadzwa Chikomba, Kansas State – Long Jump (8.37m)
- Habtom Samuel, New Mexico – 10000m (27:51.31)
- Chinecherem Prosper NNamdi, Texas A&M – Javelin Throw (82.26m)
- Dyson Wicker, Nebraska – Pole Vault (5.85m)
