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Coming into the day, the battle for the 10,000-meter national title was viewed as a two-woman race.
Mercyline Kirwa, however, had other plans.
The Iowa State freshman from Kenya unleashed a devastating kick with 200 to go and sprinted away from a pair of collegiate distance stars to claim her first NCAA title, winning in 31 minutes, 54.88 seconds June 11 at the outdoor track and field championships at Hayward Field.
"Today, I was like, 'I can run with them and maintain their pace,'" Kirwa said. "'If they go fast, I'll just follow them.'"
Indeed, she did.
Kirwa closed the race with a blistering final 400 split of 1:01.84.
New Mexico sophomore Pamela Kosgei, the meet record-holder, was second in 31:56.49. Brigham Young University freshman Jane Hedengren, the collegiate record-holder, took third in 31:57.94.
The stage was set Thursday for a highly anticipated showdown between Kosegi and Hedengren. Their back-and-forth battle during the 2026 outdoor season has been one of the sport's top storylines; Kosegi swept the 5K and 10K outdoor titles as a freshman in 2025.
Hedengren has burst onto the scene this spring, setting collegiate records in both the 5K (14:50.5) and 10K (30:46.8).
At the bell, Hedengren appeared to be moving comfortably as she stepped into the lead. But when Kosegi and Kirwa made their move at the 200 mark, Hedengren was not able to match them.
"No, never," Hedengren said when asked if she made a deliberate decision to let Kosegi and Kirwa go. "I want to do the very best I can. You always fight to the finish; it would be a disservice to yourself not to make the most of the gift. Definitely tried to fight through that line; the opportunity that maybe I could get back to them and have a strong finish. I was definitely expecting a hard close."
The back-and-forth battle between University of Washington pole vault stars Amanda Moll and Hana Moll generated another thrilling chapter this week.
Over the past three years, the twin sisters from Olympia, Wash., have rewritten the collegiate record book. Between indoor and outdoor competitions, they own the 12 best marks in collegiate history. In their latest showdown, Amanda got some long-awaited bragging rights — and another collegiate record in the process.
Amanda won the NCAA pole vault title with a personal-best mark of 15 feet, 10 1/2 inches. Hana took second (15-6 1/2).
Coming into the meet, Hana had the all-time collegiate outdoor record after vaulting 15-10 on May 17.
As is typically the case, the sisters were the last two competitors standing after the rest of the 24-woman field failed to clear 15-4 1/2.
Now, both Amanda and Hana have their sights set on what could be a big summer.
"We're in for (the July 3-4 Prefontaine Classic at Hayward)," Hana said. "I think that will be a really good meet to try to jump those really high bars that we've been wanting to all season, just the way the competition is structured. ... We're looking at other Diamond Leagues in Europe, if we're still feeling like we have energy at the end of the season. We'll see."
For the second day in a row, a major college record fell at Hayward.
During the first heat of the 100 prelims, Georgia freshman Adaejah Hodge smashed the NCAA record with a personal-best time of 10.63. It is the fastest sprint ever by a collegiate woman, eclipsing Sha'Carri Richardson's previous record of 10.72 from 2019.
Hodge, a British Virgin Islands national, now owns the fifth-fastest time in world history. Only Florence Griffith Joyner (10.49), Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.54), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.60) and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (10.61) have run faster.
"It's just business at the end of the day; this is just day one," Hodge said. "We still have to come back on Saturday for day two. So, I didn't wanna get caught up in times or anything. It was mainly about execution today."
One of the top sprinters in the nation was unable to advance in the 200 prelims.
South Carolina junior JaMeesia Ford, the reigning 200 national champion, pulled up with an apparent lower-body injury during her preliminary heat and did not finish the race.
Earlier in the day, Ford qualified for Saturday's 100 final, placing seventh in a season-best 11.02. She also anchored her team to a fourth-place preliminary finish in the 4x100 (42.44).
Jarrid Denney is a sports reporter for The Register-Guard. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jarrid_denney
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Iowa State's Mercyline Kirwa orchestrates upset, wins NCAA 10k title
Continue reading...
Mercyline Kirwa, however, had other plans.
The Iowa State freshman from Kenya unleashed a devastating kick with 200 to go and sprinted away from a pair of collegiate distance stars to claim her first NCAA title, winning in 31 minutes, 54.88 seconds June 11 at the outdoor track and field championships at Hayward Field.
"Today, I was like, 'I can run with them and maintain their pace,'" Kirwa said. "'If they go fast, I'll just follow them.'"
Indeed, she did.
Kirwa closed the race with a blistering final 400 split of 1:01.84.
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New Mexico sophomore Pamela Kosgei, the meet record-holder, was second in 31:56.49. Brigham Young University freshman Jane Hedengren, the collegiate record-holder, took third in 31:57.94.
The stage was set Thursday for a highly anticipated showdown between Kosegi and Hedengren. Their back-and-forth battle during the 2026 outdoor season has been one of the sport's top storylines; Kosegi swept the 5K and 10K outdoor titles as a freshman in 2025.
Hedengren has burst onto the scene this spring, setting collegiate records in both the 5K (14:50.5) and 10K (30:46.8).
At the bell, Hedengren appeared to be moving comfortably as she stepped into the lead. But when Kosegi and Kirwa made their move at the 200 mark, Hedengren was not able to match them.
"No, never," Hedengren said when asked if she made a deliberate decision to let Kosegi and Kirwa go. "I want to do the very best I can. You always fight to the finish; it would be a disservice to yourself not to make the most of the gift. Definitely tried to fight through that line; the opportunity that maybe I could get back to them and have a strong finish. I was definitely expecting a hard close."
You must be registered for see images attach
Amanda Moll reclaims collegiate pole vault record
The back-and-forth battle between University of Washington pole vault stars Amanda Moll and Hana Moll generated another thrilling chapter this week.
Over the past three years, the twin sisters from Olympia, Wash., have rewritten the collegiate record book. Between indoor and outdoor competitions, they own the 12 best marks in collegiate history. In their latest showdown, Amanda got some long-awaited bragging rights — and another collegiate record in the process.
Amanda won the NCAA pole vault title with a personal-best mark of 15 feet, 10 1/2 inches. Hana took second (15-6 1/2).
Coming into the meet, Hana had the all-time collegiate outdoor record after vaulting 15-10 on May 17.
As is typically the case, the sisters were the last two competitors standing after the rest of the 24-woman field failed to clear 15-4 1/2.
Now, both Amanda and Hana have their sights set on what could be a big summer.
"We're in for (the July 3-4 Prefontaine Classic at Hayward)," Hana said. "I think that will be a really good meet to try to jump those really high bars that we've been wanting to all season, just the way the competition is structured. ... We're looking at other Diamond Leagues in Europe, if we're still feeling like we have energy at the end of the season. We'll see."
You must be registered for see images attach
Georgia's Adaejah Hodge shatters NCAA 100 record
For the second day in a row, a major college record fell at Hayward.
During the first heat of the 100 prelims, Georgia freshman Adaejah Hodge smashed the NCAA record with a personal-best time of 10.63. It is the fastest sprint ever by a collegiate woman, eclipsing Sha'Carri Richardson's previous record of 10.72 from 2019.
Hodge, a British Virgin Islands national, now owns the fifth-fastest time in world history. Only Florence Griffith Joyner (10.49), Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.54), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.60) and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (10.61) have run faster.
"It's just business at the end of the day; this is just day one," Hodge said. "We still have to come back on Saturday for day two. So, I didn't wanna get caught up in times or anything. It was mainly about execution today."
South Carolina sprint star JaMeesia Ford suffers apparent injury, fails to qualify in the 200
One of the top sprinters in the nation was unable to advance in the 200 prelims.
South Carolina junior JaMeesia Ford, the reigning 200 national champion, pulled up with an apparent lower-body injury during her preliminary heat and did not finish the race.
Earlier in the day, Ford qualified for Saturday's 100 final, placing seventh in a season-best 11.02. She also anchored her team to a fourth-place preliminary finish in the 4x100 (42.44).
Individual title winners from NCAA track and field championships
- Texas State junior Elisabet Rut Runarsdottir claimed her second NCAA national title in the hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 240-1. Rut Runarsdottir was also the national champion in 2024.
- On her first attempt of the day, Stanford senior Alyssa Jones leapt into the record books. Jones won the NCAA long jump title with a personal-best mark of 23-2. In the process, she surpassed the previous meet record set by LSU's Shelia Echols in 1987 (22-9 1/4).
- Nebraska senior Axelina Johansson captured her fourth NCAA title with a dominant win in the shot put and set a new meet record in the process. Her winning throw of 65-4 1/4 was well ahead of USC's Ashley Erasmus, who took second (59-6 1/4). Johansson won the 2023 NCAA outdoor shot put title and also claimed indoor titles in 2025 and 2026.
- Rice senior McKyla Van Der Westhuizen won the javelin at 199-8. Bucknell's Evelyn Bliss was second (197-9).
Jarrid Denney is a sports reporter for The Register-Guard. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X @jarrid_denney
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Iowa State's Mercyline Kirwa orchestrates upset, wins NCAA 10k title
Continue reading...
