The NCAA Division I Championships have already been putting on a show. The first two days of competition have seen numerous records go down, and we are only half way done.
LEO NEUGEBAUER, DECATHLON
Leo Neugebauer (Texas) won his second consecutive NCAA decathlon title in impressive fashion. His 8961 points is a German national record, world lead, and places him firmly at number six all time. En route to the title, he broke Bryan Clay’s decathlon discus world record, launching the disc 57.70 meters, besting the previous record by nearly two meters. Neugebauer’s discus personal best is 58.70 meters, which he threw not in a decathlon competition. So what we’re saying is that there is good likelihood more records are to come.
RHEMA OTABOR, JAVELIN
Nebraska’s Rhema Otabor is now javelin’s greatest collegian. She threw a record 64.19 meters (210′ 7″) to defend her NCAA title. The previous record of 62.19 meters (204′) was held by Maggie Malone, set in 2016. Otabor’s title clinching throw came in the fifth round after four consecutive attempts in the mid-to-high 56 meter range. It was in that fifth round that she overtook Texas A&M’s Lianna Davidson (60.70m) for the win.
CHLOE TIMBERG, POLE VAULT
Chloe Timberg, a junior from Rutgers, set a meet record with a 4.71 meter jump, which was also the best in the nation on the year. The prior meet record was held by Demi Payne from 2015 (4.70 meters), and just two centimeters shy of the collegiate record held by Olivia Gruver (2019).
PARKER VALBY, 10000 METERS
Parker Valby and national records – has there ever been a better pair? Valby already holds the collegiate records for the 10000 (31:46.09), set in April of this year with a time of 30:50.43, and to earn this NCAA title, she also came away with the meet record, previously held by Sharon Lokedi (32:09.20, set in 2018). Important to note, Alabama’s Hilda Olemomoi also ran under the previous record, also finishing in 31:51.89. In fact, five of the the five finishers after Parker all came away with personal bests in this race.
Video Recaps of Individual Finals: Day 1 | Day 2
For full NCAA Division I Championship results, click here (via ncaa.com)
