Alfred shines as Texas women win outdoor title

AUSTIN, Texas — Julien Alfred won the 100 meters, the 200 and ran the opening leg of the 4×100 meter relay for the Texas women and the Longhorns won their fifth team title in program history Saturday night at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.

Alfred won the 100 meters with a wind-aided time of 10.72 seconds to become just the sixth woman in NCAA history to win the event in back-to-back years — the first at Texas — and ran the fastest all-conditions mark in collegiate history to win the 200 in 21.73 and become the first woman since 2016 to win both the 100 and 200 and just the third in the last 25 years.

Texas finished with 83 points — a program record at the outdoor championships — 32 more than second-place Florida. Arkansas finished third with 46.

The Longhorns’ 4×100 meter relay team of Alfred, Ezinne Abba, Rhasidat Adeleke and Kevona Davis defended its 2022 title in 41.60, just 0.05 seconds off its NCAA record set Thursday in the semifinals. The win made Alfred the fifth woman in NCAA history, and the first since Texas’ Carlette Guidry in 1991, to sweep the three events.

Florida’s Jasmine Moore set the collegiate record to win the triple jump with a leap of 48 feet, 6 inches and beat out Ackelia Smith, who had a personal best of 47 feet, 8½ inches for the Longhorns.

Jorinde Van Klinken of Oregon won her third straight discus title and set a meet record with a throw of 215 feet.

Charity Griffith took first in the high jump with a personal best 6 feet, 4 inches to win Ball State’s first national title since 1999. No other participant cleared as high as 6-2.

Harvard’s Maia Ramsden went from fifth place to first on the final lap to win the 1500 meters in 4:08.60 and become just the third Ivy League athlete to win a title at the outdoor championships.

Freshman Pippi Lotta Enok of Oklahoma won the high jump (5 feet, 8 3/4 inches) and javelin (153 feet) to win the heptathlon title with a school record 6,165 points.

Ackera Nugent ran a 12.25 to win the 100 meter hurdles for Arkansas and edge out Kentucky’s Masai Russell 0.07 seconds.

The Longhorns’ Adelke set a meet record — and improved her own Irish national mark — to win the 400 meters in 49.20 — the second-fastest collegiate time ever.

Michaela Rose of LSU won the 800 meters in 1:59.83. She is the only woman in NCAA outdoor history to run sub-2 minutes three times in a career — and all three times were this season.

Michigan’s Savannah Sutherland ran a 50.45 to win the 400 meter hurdles, beating Russell by 0.21 seconds.

Parker Valby ran a personal best to win the 5000 meters — the penultimate event of the day — in 15:30.57 and lift Florida into second in the team standings.

Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame set a meet record in the 3000 meter steeple to win in 9:25.03, the third-best time in collegiate history and an improvement of more than 10 seconds on her personal best.

Paris People, Joanne Reid, Nickisha Price and Rosie Effiong of Arkansas won the 4×400 meter relay in 3:24.05.