Tag: Washington Huskies Track and Field

Nathan Green and Joe Waskom have practically lived at Hayward Field in Eugene this month.

As two of Washington’s three national champions in the mile since 2022, Green and Waskom ran in both the NCAA Outdoor semifinal and final on June 5 and 7 at Hayward. Waskom won the title, the Huskies’ fifth consecutive between indoor and outdoor.

Their decorated collegiate seasons earned them an invite to the US Olympic Trials, also at Hayward, alongside Luke Houser, the third national champion. Green, Waskom, and Houser advanced out of the first round of heats comfortably – Houser qualified at No. 2, Green at No. 4, and Waskom at No. 14.

In the semifinals on June 22, Houser could not find the same form and finished No. 16, but Green qualified at No. 4 and Waskom grabbed the final automatic qualifying spot in No. 12, setting up for Monday’s Olympic Trials final.

Green’s semifinal time also set a school record, as he ran a blazing 3:34.49 in a fast heat that included the No. 2 runner in the world, Yared Nuguse.

The final was even faster, as Nuguse took an early lead to control the race from the front. No. 15 in the world Hobbs Kessler sat on Nuguse’s shoulder through three laps as the pack stayed mostly together. With a lap to go, kick specialist Cole Hocker made his move, flying to the front and making it a two-man race between he and Nuguse.

Green and Waskom, running from closer to the back of the pack, had strong kicks of their own to try to get into position for the third and final spot, but Kessler and Vincent Ciattei separated from the rest of the field to make that a two-man race as well.

When the dust settled, Hocker finished in 3:30.59, the fastest time in US Olympic Trials history. Nuguse was just behind in 3:30.86. Kessler edged out Ciattei for the final spot on Team USA in 3:31.53, shutting the Huskies out of the Olympic team in the fastest Trials race ever.

Green finished at No. 5 in 3:32.20, a two-second personal best after his 3:34.49 record in the semis. Waskom was No. 7 in 3:33.74, also well below Green’s semifinal record, tying the in-season collegiate record. Green moved to No. 7 on the all-dates NCAA list, which includes times run by a college athlete regardless of time of year.

The Huskies still have a number of chances at the Olympic team when the Trials resume on Thursday. Nine current and former Huskies are set to compete on either Thursday or Friday, with finals scheduled for Sunday if any of them are to advance.

Sophie O’Sullivan closed the Washington Huskies track season on Saturday, finishing No. 12 in the women’s 1500m finals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

O’Sullivan stayed in the back of the pack during a strategic first two laps, trying to conserve energy for what turned into essentially a 400m race. The senior swung out wide at the start of the final lap, trying to recreate the magic men’s 1500m champion Joe Waskom produced on Friday night. O’Sullivan managed to climb up to No. 6 but lost steam on the backstretch and gave those places back up to finish No. 12.

It’s still a remarkable result for the Australian, who did not race outdoors until the Pac-12 Championships. Maia Ramsden of Harvard won the event in 4:06.62, less than a second off the meet record.

Washington finished with 14.5 points in team scoring, all coming from the 3-4-5 finish in the pole vault on Thursday. It’s the most points the Husky women have scored since 2012, which put them at No. 20, their fourth top 25 finish in five years.

O’Sullivan’s second team All-America was Washington’s ninth honor of the postseason. Six Huskies received first team All-America honors, with O’Sullivan, Luke Houser, and Nathan Green making the second team. Washington also had three All-America Honorable Mention athletes.

Joe Waskom brought things full circle in his final race as a Husky.

Two years ago, the NCAA Championships were at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Washington hadn’t won a national title in a track event since 2007. But Waskom upset the rest of the field that evening, kicking off Washington’s streak of dominance in the mile.

Nathan Green and Luke Houser were in the final that year, too. Houser won the indoor mile in 2023, then Green beat out Waskom for the outdoor title last season. It rotated back to Houser for the indoor title this season, and so it was only natural that things swung back around to Waskom on Friday night.

Waskom sat at No. 7 with 200 meters to go after being boxed in a bit by a tightly contested pack. He had to take the long way around, moving to the outside to get a clearer picture of the group in front of him. From lane three, Waskom found another gear as the rest of the pack began to fade.

The Hayward Field crowd was prepared to give an ovation for their hometown favorite, Oregon’s Elliott Cook. But Waskom powered past Cook with mere meters to spare and finished in 3:39.48, snatching the title back for the Huskies.

WHAT A FINISH. JOE WASKOM WITH THE 3:39.48 ON THE OUTSIDE!!!!!

💻 ESPN+ #NCAATF x @UWTrack pic.twitter.com/MbMMAMZevG

— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 8, 2024

Green and Houser were in the final this year, too. Houser ran from the front for most of the race, but setting the pace turned out to take too much of his energy at the end, and he faded to No. 12. Green held on to the peloton and finished at No. 10, only 1.5 seconds slower than Waskom.

None of Washington’s trio entered the meet with the fastest qualifying times – the Huskies were seeded No. 8, No. 10, and No. 14 entering the prelims on Wednesday. But Waskom told ESPN after the race that their qualifying times don’t really matter:

People always love fast times. It’s what gets media attention. But in our reality we don’t really care much for all that publicity stuff. We care about getting this title today. Our prep was for any single race plan…if it was 3:34 today we all could have done it, if it was 3:55, we were ready for anything, and I think that’s what makes us go five in a row. We were ready for anything on this day.”

Washington becomes the first program since Villanova in 1979-81 to win three straight outdoor 1500m titles. The Huskies also finished No, 15 in the team score, landing in the top 15 for the third straight year for the first time since 1977-79. Head coach Andy Powell has also now coached half of the last 14 outdoor 1500m champions between his time at Oregon and this current streak.

Miler Sophie O’Sullivan closes the season for the Huskies women on Saturday evening.

Washington Huskies javelin thrower Chandler Ault set his fourth personal best in the last two months at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Wednesday, finishing his final collegiate season with a flourish.

The Princeton transfer followed a No. 15 finish at last year’s NCAA Championships with a PR of 243-3 in early April, breaking that a few weeks later with a 251-1 at Fresno State. That throw put him at No. 2 in school history, which Ault quickly remedied by throwing a 254-3 at the Pac-12 Championships to win the final Pac-12 title and break the school record.

Ault was seeded No. 3 entering Wednesday’s javelin after a strong throw at Fayetteville’s West regional meet. 2022 national champion Marc Minichello from Georgia, seeded No. 4, jumped out to an early lead with a throw of 264-9 in round two, leaving the rest of the field chasing him.

In round four, Ault threw 250-4 to jump from No. 6 to No. 2, an indication of how far ahead Minichello was. Ault ended up being the only one to get within shouting distance with a record-shattering 260-2 in round five to secure a No. 2 finish and Washington’s first podium place of the year.

Minichello and Ault were the only throwers to go over the 250-foot mark, let alone 260 feet. Miami’s Devoux Deysel rounded out the podium with a throw of 246-6.

In the pole vault, No. 7 seed Max Manson navigated a crowded field to tie for No. 8 and eke out a first team All-American honor. The senior cleared each of the first three bars on his first attempt, but was unable to join the seven men who cleared the 5.52m height in round four. Because Manson had not missed a jump before faltering at the height, he tied with four other jumpers in the same situation to share the final scoring position. The unique circumstances earned Washington one-fifth of a point – eighth place is usually worth one point.

Two other Huskies were named All-America Honorable mentions on Wednesday. Senior hurdler Jonathan Birchman, who dipped under 50 seconds for the first time in a stellar race from the outside lane in Fayetteville, couldn’t replicate that magic from lane 9 in Eugene and finished No. 20 overall in 51.05. Long jumper Prestin Artis, the Pac-12 champion, finished No. 19 with a jump of 24-1 3/4.

Decathlete Jami Schlueter picked up 4,075 points in the first of two days of the event, finishing the day at No. 7. Schlueter kicked things off with a PR in the 100m, running a 10.79 that was good for No. 7 and 908 points.

A No. 12 finish in the long jump (838 points), No. 6 finish in the shot put (763 points), and No. 10 in the high jump (731 points) had him at No. 5 overall. His shot put of 47-9 3/4 was an inch away from his PR, while his high jump of 6-3 1/2 tied a season best. Schlueter struggled in the 400m, finishing No. 17 for 875 points to drop him to seventh on the day.

Washington’s trio of national champion milers were also in action on Wednesday in the preliminary heats of the 1500m. With only two heats of the event, all three Huskies were crammed into the second race, along with a handful of the stronger contenders in the event.

The runners did have the benefit of knowing the pace of the first heat, a relatively quick 3:39. But if the second heat cracked a faster pace, they could open up two extra qualifying spots based on time. So Luke Houser, the 2022 and 2023 champion in the indoor mile, set off at the front of the pack to lead for most of the race.

Houser’s pace proved to be more than enough. 11 of the 12 runners in the second heat finished in under 3:40, beating the 3:39.68 run by Villanova’s Liam Murphy, the fastest qualifier in the first heat. Six runners finished within four tenths of a second in a tight pack, with Nathan Green and Houser qualifying automatically in fourth and fifth place. Joe Waskom decided not to risk a late crash by pushing into the lead group, settling just behind them in 3:37.93 to earn the final time qualifier spot.

That sets up a blazing 1500m final on Friday, where one of the Huskies’ elite trio will look to bring home Washington’s fifth straight title in the mile.

The NCAA Championships continue through Saturday. Thursday’s events include the conclusion of the decathlon and the women’s field events and track prelims. Six Huskies will be in action throughout the day, including the No. 1 ranked pole vault trio of Nastassja Campbell, Amanda Moll, and Hana Moll.

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Washington’s top-ranked pole vault program stole the show on Day 2 of the NCAA West regional track and field prelims in Fayetteville, Arkansas. After three Huskies – freshmen Hana and Amanda Moll and senior Nastassja Campbell – swept the podium at the Pac-12 championship meet, all three advanced to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon in early June.

They proved to be the Huskies’ only national qualifiers of the day, although several women also advanced to the final rounds on the track.

The pole vault competition was fierce in Fayetteville, with 16 women vying for 12 spots as the bar was raised to 14-1 1/4. Junior Sara Borton, who was No. 5 at the Pac-12 meet, joined the trio in that top 16. She started with clearances of 12-11 1/2, 13-5 1/4, and 13-9 1/4 but faltered on what ended up being the qualifying bar and finished No. 16.

Amanda Moll didn’t enter the competition until 13-5 1/4, needing all three attempts to clear the height. But the freshman got better as the bar got higher, clearing 13-9 1/4 on her second attempt and breezing over the 14-1 1/4 bar on her first try to qualify easily.

Hana, Amanda’s twin sister, waited until 13-9 1/4 to come into the competition, clearing it on her first try. The NCAA Indoor champion took an extra try to get over the 14-1 1/4 mark, but safely qualified in only three jumps all day.

Campbell also joined in at 13-9 1/4, clearing it on her final attempt. Like Hana, she needed two attempts to get over the 14-1 1/4 bar, but any clearance at that height was good enough for qualification. 12 women remained clear after the mark, exactly the number set to advance to nationals.

In the throws, Kaia Tupu-South tossed a season-best 55-5 1/2 in the shot put, but finished five inches outside the top 12 and settled for a season-ending No. 15. Hammer thrower Beatrice Asomaning finished No. 30 with a throw of 184-11. Both will return on Saturday to throw the discus.

Javelin thrower Natalie Holmer needed a personal best in the final round at the Pac-12 meet to qualify for this meet. She tapped into that magic again on Thursday, launching a 159-7 throw that bettered her Pac-12 mark by a foot. It was her last throw as a Husky, as she finished No. 21, but moved her to No. 8 in school history in the event.

400m hurdler Kapiolani Coleman (No. 36), 10,000 meter runner Haley Herberg (No. 16), 800 meter runner Marlena Preigh (No. 32), and 1500 meter runner India Weir (No. 33) also missed the cutoff for advancement. Coleman could not find the stride that led to a 58.53 PR at the Pac-12 Championships and finished in 1:00.12.

Herberg failed to advance to her third straight outdoor 10,000 meter final, but finishes her Husky career with the indoor school record in the 5,000 meter and the second-fastest 10,000 meter time in Washington history. Preigh finished No. 6 in her heat in 2:08.28, and Weir finished No. 8 in hers with a time of 4:26.15.

Four Huskies did advance to the final rounds of regionals, held on Saturday. Pac-12 champion Chloe Foerster won her heat in 4:19.05 to automatically qualify at No. 9 overall in the 1500m. Sophie O’Sullivan joined her with an auto qualifying No. 2 finish in her heat, running the No. 17 fastest time at 4:20.35, a season best that could have been better because O’Sullivan eased up at the finish knowing she was through to the next round.

In the 800 meters, Wilma Nielsen and Samantha Friborg hit the top three in their respective heats, auto qualifying for the final rounds on Saturday. Friborg ran the No. 5 fastest time of the day, winning her heat in 2:04.09. Nielsen was the slowest qualifier of the day, but finished third in her heat to secure a spot in Saturday’s final heats nonetheless, running a 2:07.54 despite some early physicality as runners jostled for position.

Washington is now up to seven bids and counting for June’s NCAA Championships. Decathlete Jami Schlueter was joined by three Husky men on Wednesday. The events in Fayetteville continue Friday and Saturday with final heats on the track and selected field events.

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The weather in Fayetteville affected the start of the NCAA West regionals on Wednesday, but that didn’t stop the Washington Huskies from having a productive day in the field.

Javelin thrower Chandler Ault, long jumper Prestin Artis, and pole vaulter Max Manson all qualified for the NCAA finals in early June on the event’s first day, which centered around the men’s field events and preliminary rounds for track events.

Ault was the standout of the day, throwing 251-6 on his very first throw to virtually assure himself a qualification just minutes after the event began. His worst throw, a 236-7 in the third round, still would have been good enough to qualify. The senior, who also won the Pac-12 title in the javelin two weeks ago, qualified at No. 2 overall.

Sophomore Jack Olsen finished the javelin at No. 31, ending his season.

Artis was seeded No. 20 in the long jump, eight places away from the No. 12 seed he needed to advance to the championship rounds in Eugene. But much as he did when he flew to a Pac-12 title in Boulder, Artis shrugged off seeding and shot all the way up to No. 5 in the event to qualify.

The junior’s jump of 25-8 was his outdoor PR and the second-best mark in Husky history, behind a world record-breaking leap from Phil Shinnick in 1963. He’ll now have a chance to better his No. 5 finish from last year’s NCAA championships.

Manson, the Pac-12 silver medalist in the pole vault, separated from the rest of the field with a first attempt clearance of 17-9 1/4, the highest mark he’s hit all season. That proved to be the qualifying height, as four of the remaining sixteen competitors were eliminated. It was a bit of an upset for Manson, who came into the event seeded No. 17 but cleared four of his five jumps for a breezy qualification.

Simon Park, a junior from Eugene, ended his season tied at No. 33 with a jump of 16-7 1/2.

Jayden White thought he would be the first Husky to compete on Wednesday, but the storms in the area pushed the hammer throw from the early morning to the late night. White did not make his first throw until after 1:00 AM local time, finishing at No. 14, less than three feet behind the final qualifier.

On the track, the Huskies impressed once again in the 1500m. Wednesday was just the heats portion of the event, cutting the field from 48 to 24 before the finals on Friday. Three of Washington’s four qualifiers made the cut, with only Ronan McMahon-Staggs missing the time needed to advance.

Nathan Green and Joe Waskom finished with the two fastest times of the day as they cruised to auto qualifications. Green won his heat with a time of 3:39.97, while Waskom ran a season-best 3:40.32 to qualify at No. 2. Luke Houser, who owns back-to-back NCAA titles in the indoor mile, was second in his heat with a time of 3:42.49 to comfortably auto qualify as well.

After a standout performance at the Pac-12 championships, freshman hurdler Jonathan Frazier couldn’t recapture the magic he found in Boulder, finishing No. 26 in 51.65 in the 400m hurdles. Junior Matthew Wilkinson was right behind him, finishing in a season-best 51.67 for No. 27.

But the Huskies had a third hurdler in the mix. Jonathan Birchman was oh-so-close to a Pac-12 title before clipping a late hurdle in Boulder, but he took a solid step towards redemption on Wednesday with a No. 3 finish in his heat to advance to Friday’s final round.

The NCAA West regionals continue Thursday with the women’s field events and track preliminary rounds, with final rounds for track events happening Friday and Saturday.

Washington had never won a Pac-12 championship in track and field until last year, when the Huskies broke through to win the conference.

Now, Washington eternally reigns supreme. The Huskies men won the final Pac-12 title on Sunday night, earning back-to-back championships and ensuring that the Pac-12 trophy will forever reside on Montlake.

UW scored 150 points at the meet, edging out USC (141) and California (95) for their title. Washington won with its depth this year – whereas last year the Huskies set a program record with 7 individual titles, the team won only 3 gold medals en route to their first-place finish this time around.

The Huskies got off to a hot start on Friday, winning both of the first two events contested at Colorado’s Potts Field. Chandler Ault set a school and meet record with a 3-foot PR throw of 254-3 in the javelin, breaking Kyle Nielsen’s record by 10 inches. In the long jump, Preston Artis won the first individual title in the event for UW since 2006 with a jump of 25-6 1/4 in one of the strongest fields in recent memory.

Former Washington baseball pitcher Brice Crider and sophomore Jack Olsen added points in the javelin, finishing at No. 6 and No. 8, respectively.

Four Huskies made the 10k finals, led by redshirt freshman and budding star Evan Jenkins. The Camas, WA native separated from the pack late to finish in second, running a 29:40.61. Redshirt freshman Jamar Distel finished No. 5, senior Leo Daschbach was No. 7, and freshman Tyrone Gorze came in No. 10 to earn UW 14 points in the event.

Saturday brought five more podiums, led by a curse-breaking gold medal from Joe Waskom in the steeplechase. In 2021, Waskom misread where the finish line was in the event was and had to settle for second place. At the 2023 championships, Waskom lost a shoe midway through the race, costing him another chance at the title.

No such issues this time around. The senior, whose laces were double knotted just in case on Saturday, finished two and a half seconds in front of runner-up Sam Affolder, who powered past Colorado’s Kole Mathison to give the Huskies a 1-2 finish in the event.

Hammer thrower Jayden White came into the event ranked just seventh despite finishing No. 4, No. 2, and No. 4 in his first three Pac-12 championships. His season best of 225-4 in the fifth round put him at No. 5 on Saturday.

Pole vaulters Max Manson and Simon Park finished No. 2 and No. 3 behind Cal’s Skyler Magula, who beat out Manson via tiebreaker. Magula cleared 17-6 1/4 on his second attempt, whereas Manson required three tries. Decathlete Jami Schlueter added a No. 2 finish after spending most of the event in the lead, which he eventually ceded to Oregon’s Rafael Rapp.

In Sunday’s 1500m, where four Huskies made the finals. 2023 Pac-12 champion Nathan Green led the pack for UW, as he, Luke Houser, Waskom, and Ronan McMahon-Staggs finished in second, third, fourth, and fifth. The effort won Washington a combined 23 points in the event.

Green and Houser also finished No. 4 and No. 5 in the 800m to add 9 more points. Triple jumpers Trevontay Smith and Kunle Akinlosotu finished No. 3 and No. 4 to tack on 11 points.

Jonathan Frazier and Jonathan Birchman finished No. 2 and No. 3 in the 400m hurdles, both setting massive PRs of 49.87 and 50.00, respectively, along the way. Frazier also broke the UW freshman record by more than half a second and finished a surprisingly high 5th in the 110m hurdles.

With only two events to go, the Huskies needed three points to clinch the conference title over USC. That burden landed on the shoulders of Daschbach and Jenkins, UW’s finalists in the 5k.

Jenkins finished No. 8 with a time of 14:27.90, earning just one point. Daschbach, a senior from Arizona, delivered the rest, finishing in 14:20.30 and earning his career-best conference finish. The four points from the No. 5 finish clinched the title for the Huskies.

Washington now awaits the official announcement of the NCAA West Regional qualifiers, which comes on Thursday, where the team is expected to earn roughly a dozen bids.

The Washington Huskies are putting the track world on notice.

The Stanford Invitational and Texas Relays kicked off the 2024 NCAA outdoor track and field season Friday, giving Washington’s athletes their first opportunities to showcase their talents on an outdoor track since the Huskies men placed ninth in last year’s championships.

Showcase they did, as eight Huskies took the top collegiate spot in their respective events between Friday and Saturday’s action.

The weekend in the field was highlighted by freshman triple jumper Trevontay Smith, who set a personal best by over a foot en route to a win in the event at the Stanford Invitational. Smith, a Yelm native and two-time Washington 3A state champion in the event, soared 51 feet, 6 1/4 inches on his final jump. The leap made Smith the third best triple jumper in Huskies program history one meet into his outdoor career, and is also the third best mark in the country this year.

Fellow freshman Roman Hutchinson placed ninth with a jump of 47 feet, 10 3/4 inches. Kunle Akinlosotu, a senior from Federal Way, finished sixth in the invitational section with a jump of 49 feet, 6 1/2 inches.

𝑯𝑼𝑮𝑬 𝑷𝑹 for the freshman in his first outdoor meet!

Trevontay Smith soars to 15.70-meters (51-6.25) in the triple jump to take 🥇 and just like that he climbs to #⃣3⃣ in school history!#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/4n48mey6hl

— Washington Track & Field and Cross Country (@UWTrack) March 30, 2024

Elsewhere in Palo Alto, hammer thrower Jayden White finished second in the invitational section to unattached thrower Kieran McKeag, formerly of Alabama and Minnesota. White’s throw of 67.33 meters was the best collegiate mark in either the invitational or collegiate sections of the event.

Javelin thrower Saydi Orange also finished atop the podium, as her throw of 49.62 meters beat the rest of the field by over a meter. It was a new personal best for the sophomore out of Renton by two inches. Orange is the fifth-best javelin thrower in program history.

Pole vaulters Hana and Amanda Moll were surprise attendees at Husky football’s pro day on Thursday, the pair arriving as Michael Penix Jr. began his throwing regiment at Dempsey Indoor. The delay in their practice session – the twins were seen waiting for NFL personnel to clear out before vaulting – did not deter Hana from setting a collegiate best in the event in Texas on Saturday.

Moll, who was the first freshman to win an indoor pole vault title with a jump of 15 feet, 1 inch earlier this month, set the Division 1 outdoor pace with a 14 foot, 9 inch jump that made her the third best outdoor vaulter in program history.

A third freshman star emerged for the Huskies on the track on Friday, as redshirt freshman Evan Jenkins destroyed both personal bests and school records on his way to a gold medal placement in the 10,000 meter in Palo Alto.

Jenkins, whose personal best coming into Friday’s race was 29:29.64, outsprinted Wil Smith of Gonzaga at the Stanford invitational to win the event in 28:04.58. The sweetness of such a massive personal best was amplified by a school record: Jenkins’ time beat the Huskies program record by seven seconds.

True freshman Tyrone Gorze finished 19th, behind a runner named Tom Brady for Michigan (no relation), but his 28:22.63 was still good for the fourth-best time in program history.

Little rain never slowed down a DAWG ☔️🐺

Evan posts our first 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅 of the outdoor season in his outdoor Husky debut 😳#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/MAkTS73YOX

— Washington Track & Field and Cross Country (@UWTrack) March 30, 2024

Elsewhere on the track, 400m hurdler Jonathan Birchman grabbed another gold for Washington, running a 50.61 that’s good for the fourth-best time in the NCAA this year. 1500m runner Chloe Foerster finished second but set a new outdoor best by 4 seconds, making her the sixth-fastest woman in Husky history. In the 5,000m, Leo Daschbach broke his personal best by more than 30 seconds to finish 3rd, in 13:40.06.

In Saturday’s session, Foerster returned to run the 800m, flanked by Wilma Nielsen and Samantha Friborg. The trio finished second, sixth, and eighth, respectively. Foerster broke her personal best by two seconds, crossing the line in 2:03.34, the fourth fastest time in school history. Nielsen’s 2:04.93 was 7th fastest, while Friborg cracked the top ten with a 2:05.69 that places her 9th.

In total, 8 Huskies set career bests in the two days of action, setting the stage for what could be a historic season on Montlake.

The NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships took place this weekend, providing Washington ample chances to continue their strong run over the last few seasons.

The Huskies answered in kind, with two locals taking home multiple individual national titles for the first time since the 2006 outdoor championships. Senior Luke Houser of Woodinville came away with the gold in the mile, while freshman and Olympia native Hana Moll took the title in the pole vault on Friday.

Houser’s title made it back-to-back championships for the senior, the first to achieve the feat in the mile since New Mexico’s Josh Kerr in 2017-18. Only three other Huskies have ever successfully defended a national track title: pole vaulters Scott Roth (2010-11) and Brad Walker (2003-04) and hammer thrower Scott Neilson, who won four straight titles from 1976-79.

Houser became the tenth back-to-back indoor mile champ in NCAA history with his time of 4:01.72, taking a lead on the rest of the pack with 800 meters to go. He continued Washington’s recent run of dominance in the distance event, marking the Huskies’ fourth straight title. The streak began at the 2022 outdoor championships with Joe Waskom (who finished 8th on Saturday), followed by Houser’s first indoor title last season and an outdoor championship from Nathan Green.

The hashtag is back … #MightyAreTheMilers

Luke Houser becomes the 10th man in NCAA history to win Back ✌️ Back Championships in the mile!

🏆🏆🏆🏆 Washington has now won the past 4⃣ Championships between the Mile and 1,500-meters.#GoHuskies x #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/VPUNb9QgUV

— Washington Track & Field and Cross Country (@UWTrack) March 9, 2024

On Friday, Moll became the first ever freshman to win an NCAA indoor pole vault title with a jump of 15 feet, 1 inch. A Husky legacy – her dad Eric rowed on Montlake – Moll came into the event as the American high school and U20 record holder and fell just two inches short of her personal best.

Her title was the first national championship since Katie Flood’s outdoor 1,500m gold in 2012 and marked just the second time a Husky woman took home the pole vault title. Kate Soma also won the event during outdoor season in 2005.

The freshman took three attempts at the Olympic Standard of 15 feet, 6 1/4 inches but fell just short of clearing it.

𝐒𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐀 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐌𝐀𝐍 🤩🏆

Hana Moll is the NCAA Pole Vault Champion!

💻 ESPN+ #NCAATF x @UWTrack pic.twitter.com/k1obt8lA5o

— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) March 9, 2024

Washington sent 16 athletes to the weekend’s championships, entering as the No. 5 men’s squad and No. 10 women’s team. Seven were named First Team All-Americans based on their results, including Houser, Moll, weight thrower Jayden White, long jumper Preston Artis, heptathlete Bruno Comin Pescador, miler Joe Waskom, and 800m runner Wilma Nielsen.

Pole vaulters Mathis Bresko, Max Manson, and Nastassja Campbell, 800m runners Nathan Green and Carley Thomas, miler Chloe Foerster, and Houser (in the 3000m) were also named Second Team All-America. Both distance medley relay teams also made the second team. The men’s squad of Evan Jenkins, Daniel Gaik, Ronan McMahon-Staggs, and Leo Daschbach finished ninth, while the women’s combination of Foerster, Anna Terrell, Marlena Preigh, and India Weir came in 11th.

White closed his record-setting Husky career with an eighth place finish in the weight throw on Thursday. Artis, a freshman, set a personal best by a full five inches on his first jump with a 26 foot, 3 inch leap that put him in fifth place after qualifying as the 15th of 16 competitors.

Nielsen’s 2:02.33 in the 800m final on Saturday came in a photo finish, as she was just 18 hundredths behind third place finisher Meghan Hunter from BYU. Still, her sixth place was the best finish in school history in the event. Comin Pescador’s fifth place finish in the heptathlon was also the best in school history, breaking a tie between the Spaniard and Jeremy Taiwo, who finished eighth in 2011.

The Husky men finished the event in tenth place with 20 points, their fifth top-10 finish in program history. It’s the second time in school history they’ve finished in the top-10 in consecutive seasons after placing fourth last year; they were also top-10 finishers in 2007-08.

On the women’s side, their 13 points were good for 17th place, the fourth-best finish in program history and best since 2016. It’s the first time in school history that the women have finished in the top-25 in consecutive seasons after finishing in 24th last year.

The Huskies now have a few weeks off before kicking off the outdoor season, scheduled to begin with the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto from March 29-30.