Hibbert, Lemonious win NCAA titles as Razorbacks finish 2nd

AUSTIN – Arkansas’ quest for the NCAA Outdoor championship came up short by four points as Florida claimed the team title with 57 points while the Razorbacks total reached 53.

Jaydon Hibbert and Phillip Lemonious each won individual titles on Friday evening at Mike A. Myers Stadium while Rojé Stona placed second in the discus.

Those 28 points, combined with the 24 points earned in the first two days, had Arkansas leading with 52 points over the Gators 47 with the 4 x 400m relay remaining.

With Florida winning the final event with a collegiate record of 2:57.74, the Razorbacks needed to finish third to capture the team title by two points while a fourth-place finish would result in a tie for the national championship.

Arkansas placed eighth in 3:03.66 to add a single point to its overall score. The Razorback foursome included Connor Washington, Ayden Owens-Delerme, Lance Lang (46.73), and Chris Bailey (44.78). The first two legs combined for a split of 1:32.15, which had Arkansas in ninth place at that stage.

Finishing behind Florida and Arkansas in the team title chase were Stanford (44), LSU (43), Arizona State (41), Texas Tech (34.5), Georgia (28), Alabama (27), Washington (26.5), and BYU (22.5).

Lemonious defeated the field in the 110m hurdle race with a determined run and it resulted in a winning time of 13.24 (1.8 wind), just off his career best of 13.21 from 2021. The close finish had Houston’s De’Vion Wilson runner-up in 13.26 while Syracuse’s Jaheem Hayles clocked 13.28 for third.

The first Arkansas title in the NCAA 110m hurdles came in 1948 with Clyde Scott while the second title was claimed by Omar McLeod in 2015. Lemonious, who placed third in 2021, collected the third Razorback victory in the event.

Hibbert won the triple jump on his first-round leap of 57-7.5 (17.56) into a -0.3 wind. The mark bettered the facility record of 56-2.5 (17.13) by TCU’s Du Mapaya in 2019.

Hibbert just missed the NCAA meet record by a centimeter. That mark of 57-7.75 (17.57) by SMU’s Keith Connor in 1982 stood as the collegiate record until it was broken by Hibbert in winning the SEC title.

Runner-up to Hibbert was Miami’s Russell Robinson with a mark of 55-7 (16.94), a distance of two feet, while third place went to Florida State’s Jeremiah Davis with a 54-8.25 (16.67).

A pair of Razorbacks in the event include Carey McLeod, who was 11th (52-5.5 | 15.99) and Ryan Brown in 12th (52-1.75 | 15.89). The distance needed to make the final three rounds of competition was 52-10 (16.10).

With the victory came a bit of NCAA history for Hibbert, who also won the NCAA Indoor title as a freshman.

Hibbert is the first Arkansas freshman to win the NCAA Outdoor title, and just the fourth freshman ever. He joins Charlton Ehizuelen of Illinois (1974), Will Claye of Oklahoma (2009), and Emmanuel Ihemeje of Oregon (2021).

Ihemeje also won the NCAA Indoor title as Hibbert becomes only the second freshman to achieve that feat.

Hibbert becomes the seventh Razorback to win the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor meet and claims the 13th title while earning the 28th All-America honor. The most recent Arkansas winner in the outdoor triple jump was Melvin Lister in 2000.

With Arkansas sweeping the NCAA Outdoor long jump and triple jump titles with different individuals it’s the first time since 1992 with Razorbacks Erick Walder and Brian Wellman. Of the 14 times it’s been done at the NCAA Outdoor meet, this is the seventh time for Arkansas jumpers.

To have sweep the NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor long jump and triple jump in the same year, Arkansas accomplished a rare feat. It’s only been done seven times and the Razorbacks have done it six times, most recently in 1997. Florida is the only other school to do it once.

Stona held the lead in the discus for a pair of rounds when he delivered a throw of 215-0 (65.55) into the humid night air. Arizona State’s Turner Washington, who led the field with a 210-1 (64.03) in the first round and improved to 210-9 (64.25) in round three, delivered a final round 217-3 (66.22) for the victory.

Collegiate record holder Mykolas Alekna, runner-up in 2022, placed third with a throw of 207-5 (63.25). Defending champion Claudio Romero of LSU finished fourth at 205-7 (62.67). Razorback Ralford Mullings placed 16th with a toss of 189-3 (57.68).