Georgia’s Adaejah Hodge breaks another record, leads Bulldogs to title

For the second time in three days, Georgia’s Adaejah Hodge took down a collegiate record.

This one carried a bit of extra weight with it.

Hodge, a freshman, won the NCAA outdoor track and field 200-meter national title in a personal-best 21.68 seconds, shattering former Kentucky standout Abby Steiner’s long-standing mark of 21.80, June 13 at Hayward Field. That performance set the tone for the Bulldogs, who won the national title with 50 points.

“I’ve been working for this all my life,” Hodge said. “I really wanted this one. So, I went out there and I got it.”

Earlier this week, Hodge generated plenty of fireworks when she took down the 100 collegiate record — and clocked the fifth-fastest time in world history — in 10.63. In Saturday’s final, though, Florida State’s Shenese Walker stole the show, winning in 10.88. Hodge was second (10.93).

Approximately 45 minutes later, Hodge came back and won her favorite event in dominant fashion. LSU’s Shawnti Jackson was second in 22.12, nearly half a second behind Hodge.

The frustration from her 100 loss wasn’t used for fuel, Hodge said. She didn’t need any extra motivation to bounce back.

Although she was running her sixth race in three days, she had plenty left in the tank.

“Actually, no, I wasn’t,” Hodge said when asked if she was upset about the outcome of the 100. “In track and field, you’ve got to learn how to compartmentalize. I think I did a great job of forgetting the 100, coming back and running my heart out in the (200). … It was definitely just about going back, like, ‘Hey, it is what it is. It’s all part of God’s plan. Move forward to the next event.’ That just shows my maturity in the sport.”

Hodge was far from the only athlete who etched her name in the record books on the final day of the meet.

Fellow Bulldog Dejanea Oakley toppled the 400 record in 48.79, toppling the previous mark of 48.89 set by Arkansas’ Nickisha Pryce in 2004. USC runner-up Madison Whyte (48.97) and Tennessee’s Javonya Valcourt (third, 50.16) also ran personal-best times.

Oakley was the 400 runner-up at the 2025 outdoor national championships.

“All I can say is that we’ve been working toward this,” Oakley said. “Even this morning, me and my coach were going through a visualization of this race. Just going, ‘You can get this collegiate record. Just go out there and do what you’ve been doing during practice and it will come.’ To see it actually come to fruition, like, I wasn’t surprised. We’ve been doing it in practice.”

Before the meet came to a close, Arkansas senior Sanu Jallow delivered another jaw-dropping, record-breaking run. The Razorbacks star smashed Athing Mu’s 800 collegiate record with a winning time of 1:56.85. Penn State’s Hayley Kitching took second in a rapid field; the top six finishers clocked personal bests.

“I didn’t want to just break it; I wanted to shatter the record,” Jallow said. “Breaking it is cool; like, ‘Oh my god, I broke the record!’ But I wanted to make a statement. I wanted to make it a stamp.”

Jallow joked that an 800 race doesn’t truly begin for her until the second lap. She put the rest of the field on notice from the get-go, splitting 55.03 over the opening 400.

From there, she dug deep and delivered a performance for the ages.

“It’s not that painful until you get to the last 150 (meters),” Jallow said. “That’s when the monkey starts jumping on you and you have to go after everything. I honestly felt good.”

Controversial finish in loaded 5,000 field

What was expected to be the highlight of the final day of the outdoor championships devolved into a nervy waiting game — and eventually heartbreak — for one of the great distance runners in collegiate history.

Alabama junior Doris Lemngole, a Kenyan national with five NCAA titles to her name, won in 15:11.71. In the moments following her victory, though, she was disqualified for ‘taking two-plus steps over the rail.’

Following a 45-minute appeal process, the decision was upheld. Lemngole was disqualified, and New Mexico sophomore Marion Jepngetich, who finished second in a personal-best 15:13.01, was declared the winner.

“I have nothing to say right now,” Lemngole said in a prepared statement. “It is what it is. I’m proud of myself, proud of my school and my career.”

Lemngole and an Alabama athletic spokesperson declined to answer further questions following the athlete’s statement.

BYU freshman Jane Hedengren, the 5K collegiate record-holder, was in the field but faded with 800 meters to go and finished ninth in 15:22.88. After orchestrating a thrilling 10k win on the opening day of the meet, Iowa State freshman Mercyline Kirwa took second in 15:13.72.

New Mexico sophomore Pamela Kosgei, the 2025 5K and 10K NCAA outdoor champion, was fifth in 15:15.88.

BYU’s Taylor Lovell nabs long-awaited steeplechase title

Brigham Young University has a rich history of producing national champion-caliber steeplechasers.

On Saturday, Taylor Lovell added her name to this list.

Lovell, a BYU senior, knifed through a strong wind and left nothing to doubt as she clocked a 3,000 steeplechase personal best of 9:21.03 to claim a long-awaited national title. She finished more than five seconds ahead of Notre Dame’s Sophie Novak, who placed second.

“I’m so proud,” Lovell said. “I have so many people before me and with me that I’m so grateful I get to keep doing it with them and continue that legacy.”

After finishing ninth in both 2024 and 2025, Lovell sat on Novak’s hip until the bell lap before unleashing a ferocious kick that put her in control of the race for good.

Lovell is the fifth BYU woman to ever win an outdoor 3K steeplechase title. She joins Lexy Halladay-Lowry (9:08.68) and Courtney Wayment (9:16.0) on the top-10 all-time collegiate leaderboard for the event.

“It’s really exciting to be able to continue a legacy like that,” Lovell said.

Lemngole is the fastest steeplechaser in NCAA history. But the star junior did not race the steeple this week, choosing instead to focus her efforts on the 5K.

That did not alter Lovell’s gameplan coming into the meet.

“I just wanted to come out better than I went in,” Lovell said. “Whether or not she was in the steeplechase, that was still my goal.”

• Florida junior Alida Van Daalen secured a dominant win in the discus; on her third throw, the Dutch international hit a meet record 216-6. That was well ahead of Alabama junior Joyce Oguama, who took second (196-9). Oregon freshman Marie Josee Bovele Linaka was seventh (185-10).
• USC’s 4×100 relay crew won with a blistering 41.58, good enough for a new 2026 collegiate lead. Trojans’ sophomore Mia Brahe-Pedersen, who starred at Lake Oswego in high school, ran the second leg.
• Washington State sophomore Rosemary Longisa cruised to victory in the 1,500, winning in 4:12.1 in a strategic race where no runner necessarily tried to push the pace. Oregon’s Juliet Cherubet (4:12.99) and Wilma Nielsen (4:13.40) were third and fourth, respectively.
• On her final attempt of the day, Clemson senior Shantae Foreman catapulted to the top of the triple jump podium. The Tigers’ standout produced a winning mark of 46-8 3/4 to move ahead of Oregon sophomore Sharifa Davronova, who took second (46-5 1/4).
• Oregon senior Aaliyah McCormick nabbed her second consecutive 100 hurdles national title with a winning time of 12.47.
• Texas Tech junior Temitope Adeshina won the high jump with a season-best leap of 6-5. Illinois’ Rose Yeboah was second; she also cleared 6-5, but Adeshina required fewer attempts to get over the bar.
• Washington sophomore Sofia Cosculluela emerged as the heptathlon champion. She tallied a winning score of 6,182 points, finishing comfortably ahead of Cincinnati’s Juliette Laracuente-Huebner (6,084). Cosculluela moved ahead of Laracuente-Huebner when she won the long jump, the sixth event of the meet, with a mark of 21-43/4. She sealed the victory with a second-place finish in the javelin (144-7).
• South Carolina junior Akala Garrett won the 400 hurdles in a personal-best 53.32.

2026 NCAA women’s outdoor championships team standings

1) Georgia 50; 2) Florida 43; 3) Arkansas 38; 4) Oregon 36; 5) USC 32; 6) Iowa State 30; 7) Washington 28; 8) Illinois 27

Jarrid Denney is a sports reporter for The Register-Guard. He can be reached at jdenney@registerguard.com or on X @jarrid_denney