The 2023 Health - Injuries delivered seven collegiate records and multiple national records across different event groups. The meet hosted by the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, brought the best collegians from around the country together for a historic championship.
In the team competition, Arkansas swept both the men’s and women’s NCAA titles. In the women’s championship, the Razorbacks upset previously top-ranked Texas by putting up 64 points against the Longhorns’ 60, a nailbiter competition that came down to the last race of the meet. In the late session, the men’s squad dominated the field with 63 points, well ahead of runner-up Georgia’s 38 points. The programs’ indoor sweep is the first time since 2016 that a school has won the men’s and women’s NCAA indoor championship.
Here are all the highlights from two days of thrilling indoor track action.
Razorbacks shatter the collegiate record in the 4x400-meter relay
Arkansas secured the women’s team title with a record in the last event of the competition. The Razorback quartet blasted a winning time of 3:21.75, thanks to lead-off leg Amber Anning (51.47), second leg Joanne Reid (50.52), third leg Rosey Effiong (50.57), and NCAA 400-meter champion Britton Wilson, who anchored the team with a blazing 49.20 last 400 meters.
Britton Wilson breaks the American record in the 400 meters
Before contributing to the Razorbacks’ winning relay, the Arkansas sophomore obliterated the American and collegiate record while beating the woman who broke it just weeks ago. In the second of two heats of the women’s 400-meter final, Wilson tracked down Talitha Diggs of Florida, who set the previous record of 50.15 at the SEC Indoor Championships in February. With less than 100 meters remaining, Wilson passed Diggs right before the turn and claimed the win in 49.48. Only Olympic bronze medalist Femke Bol has run faster indoors.
Julien Alfred almost breaks two world records
In two stellar performances, the senior from Texas achieved the best ever one-day sprint double, according to World Athletics. First, Alfred lowered her own collegiate record in the 60 meters, winning the NCAA crown in 6.94, which is tied for No. 2 on the DAA Industry Opt Out alongside Aleia Hobbs’ personal best. Moments later, she won the 200 meters in 22.01, which came close to Merlene Ottey’s 21.87 world indoor record set 30 years ago.
Stanford’s Roisin Willis and Juliette Whittaker go 1-2 in the 800 meters
The freshman teammates ran together until passing early race leader Michaela Rose of LSU to sweep the top two spots on the podium. Both runners returned for more hardware after contributing to the Cardinal’s DMR victory on Friday night.
In her first ever NCAA 800-meter final, Willis blew through the finish line first in 1:59.93, a personal best and meet record. Whittaker followed for second in 2:00.05, also a personal best.
Katelyn Tuohy adds two more titles to her medal collection
On night 1 of the NCAA championships, the two-time collegiate record-holder shut down the competition in the women’s 5,000-meter final, winning the distance title in 16:09.65. Racing at altitude didn’t seem to phase Tuohy in the slightest as the North Carolina State standout added a third NCAA crown to her resume. Behind Tuohy, Alabama teammates Hilda Olemomoi and Mercy Chelangat finished second and third in 16:11.08 and 16:11.63, respectively.
The next day, Tuohy returned to the convention center and claimed another decisive victory in the women’s 3,000 meters, winning her fourth NCAA title in 9:10.07, almost three seconds ahead of runner-up Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame. Both results mark a major progression for Tuohy, who finished second in both races a year ago.
Jasmine Moore breaks the collegiate record three times in one night
The triple jumper from Florida had the meet of her career on Saturday. After breaking the collegiate record twice before in the same competition, Moore smashed the mark yet again on her final attempt, claiming the NCAA crown in 15.12 meters.
Stanford holds off Arkansas to win the distance medley relay
On Friday night, the Cardinal and Razorbacks rallied the crowd with a stellar competition in the DMR. After establishing a massive lead thanks to solid runs from the first three legs, Stanford’s Juliette Whittaker started the anchor leg with a big advantage. But Lauren Gregory of Arkansas wouldn’t let the rival squad win so easily. The senior moved from fourth to second, passing Oklahoma State and UCLA while making up a massive gap to catch Whittaker. Gregory nearly passed her on the homestretch by splitting 4:31.36 on the 1600-meter leg, but Whittaker managed to hold her off to claim the relay title for Stanford in 10:56.34, a facility record.
Kyle Garland smashes the collegiate record in the heptathlon
To kick off day 2 of the meet, the Georgia senior won the heptathlon with 6,639 points, just six points shy of Ashton Eaton’s world indoor record. Garland broke or almost broke his personal best in almost every event, highlighted by a 5.16-meter personal best in the pole vault. Both Garland and runner-up Ayden Owens-Delerme of Arkansas (6,518 points) combined to have a historic day in the multis. Both athletes broke the 6,500-point barrier and moved to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, on the DAA Industry Opt Out.
Washington claims three of top five spots in men’s mile
Led by a tactically sound effort from junior Luke Houser, the men’s mile featured an exciting showdown from start to finish. The Washington junior held his ground through the finish line despite a hard charge from runner-up Isaac Basten of Drake and third-place finisher Anass Essayi of South Carolina. Houser claimed the mile title in 4:03.33, just 0.03 ahead of Basten. Houser’s teammates, Joe Waskom and Nathan Green claimed the fourth and fifth-place spots, respectively.
Terrence Jones gets redemption in the 60 meters
A year after being disqualified because of a false start in the heats, the co-collegiate record-holder from Texas Tech dominated the men’s 60-meter final, winning the title in 6.46. The performance was a level ahead of the competition as runner-up Jordan Anthony of Kentucky followed in 6.55 and PJ Austin of Florida finished third in 6.56.
A controversial finish ends with a disqualification in the men’s 800 meters
While Navasky Anderson of Mississippi State crossed the finish line first, a yellow flag was raised by an official right away when it appeared that Anderson impeded Texas sophomore Yusuf Bizimana, who attempted to run past him on the homestretch. Later in the competition, race officials announced that Anderson was disqualified and Bizimana was crowned NCAA champion with a winning time of 1:46.02. His teammate, Crayton Carrozza finished second in 1:46.78.
Matthew Boling adds another NCAA title to his resume
The Georgia senior ran a personal best and facility record while winning the men’s 200-meter crown in 20.12. Boling now has four NCAA indoor titles and is the fifth-fastest collegian all time in the event.
Fouad Messaoudi upsets the collegiate record-holder in men’s 3,000 meters
Heading into the men’s 3,000 meters, many predicted Drew Bosley would defend his collegiate record set weeks earlier, but Messaoudi had other plans. The sophomore from Oklahoma State chased down Bosley all the way into the homestretch, where he passed the Northern Arizona sophomore right before the finish line. Messaoudi won the title in 7:48.10, just ahead of Bosley who finished second in 7:48.34. Jackson Sharp of Wisconsin placed third in 7:48.66. According to the USTFCCCA, the top six runners all ran under the previous collegiate all-time best at high altitude.
Jaydon Hibbert breaks the collegiate record in the men’s triple jump
The Arkansas standout took down the mark in the first round of the men’s triple jump final. Hibbert also set a world U20 record when he won the NCAA title at 17.54 meters.
Dylan Jacobs wins 5,000-meter title
On Friday night, Jacobs won the men’s 5,000-meter title in 13:37.59, a new facility record. For most of the race, the Tennessee senior bided his time behind Bosley, who attempted to drop Jacobs and the rest of the competition with several bursts of speed. But Jacobs’ patience paid off in the final moments. With 450 meters remaining, the NCAA 10,000-meter champion took the lead, and at the bell lap, he shifted gears to seal his victory. His final 200-meter split of 26.25 left the competition in the dust and gave him just enough time to celebrate while he crossed the finish line. Behind Jacobs, Casey Clinger of BYU finished second in 13:38.12, and Bosley placed third in 13:38.62.
Oklahoma State dominates the men’s DMR
The Cowboys came into the championship as collegiate record-holders and left as NCAA champions in the distance medley relay. Thanks to dominant performances from each leg, Oklahoma State broke the facility record and ran the fastest-ever time at high altitude, winning in 9:28.77. According to the USTFCCCA, the top six teams broke the previous best of 9:33.41 set by the University of New Mexico in 2018.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
