Gonzaga's James Mwaura earns school's highest finish at NCAAs with 4th in the 10000...
AUSTIN, Texas--On a hot and muggy night at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas, the small school from Spokane shined, as senior James Mwaura (center/Paul Merca photo) of Gonzaga finished fourth in the 10000 meters on the first of four nights of competition at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships.
Surrounded at the start by a plethora of conference champions and All-Americans, Mwaura showed no fear in going to the front early, leading for all but two of the race's first nine laps, abruptly falling behind as far as 11th at the 6,000-meter point but working his way up to third to get back in the mix with just two laps left. He put down a 63.57 and a 57.4 split over the final 800 meters to challenge Robinson and Hicks and maintain his grip on the podium, holding off Oklahoma State's Isai Rodriguez over the home stretch to nab fourth place.
"Another glorious moment!" said GU Head Coach Pat Tyson. " Man, did James run brilliantly. He threw a boat load of tactics at his competitors -- just kept his nose in as best he could when attrition whittles the field down. A beautifully -- and dramatically -- run race!
The senior from Tacoma's Lincoln HS, who already was the program's most accomplished runner, returns Friday to run in the 5000 to close off his Gonzaga career.
Moments before the start of the 10000, Washington's Jacob Englar picked the biggest stage to set a personal best.
The senior transfer from Washington State went 4-for-4 on first attempt clearances, setting an outdoor personal best of 17-10.5 (5.45m), then roared back to set an all-time best of 18-4.5 (5.60m) to guarantee himself a spot on the podium.
That clearance moves him to No. 4 all-time in school history. He was unable to get over the next height at 18-8.5 (5.70m), but only two competitors made that height and he finished in a two-way tie for third, earning 5.5 team points.
In comments made in the mixed zone, Englar said that having the NCAA championship experience helped, as well as trusting the game plan drawn up by Washington jumps coach and 2004 Olympic pole vault medalist Toby Stevenson, as well as the training under Stevenson and the cadre of Husky vaulters.
For the second year in a row, the Huskies will have 25-percent of the field in the men's 1500-meters final. The same trio that finished 1-5-7 a year ago are back in the final for Friday. Defending champ Joe Waskom and indoor mile champ Luke Houser finished 1-2 in the first of the two semifinals, going 3:39.52 and 3:39.72, respectively. Then in the next heat, Pac-12 champ Nathan Green was third in 3:39.69 to join his teammates. They'll race for hardware on Friday at 6:12 p.m. Pacific time.
Another ticket through to the finals was earned by Ed Trippas, who looked confident and comfortable in taking a late lead in his 3000-meter steeplechase semifinal and assuring himself of a top-five finish. Trippas shut it down late and took second in 8:38.26. Fifth a year ago when running for Princeton, Trippas is the first Husky men's steeple finalist since 2018.
Trippas will be joined by Walla Walla native Kenneth Rooks of BYU, who finished third in his semi in 8:35.79, after leading through the first four laps of the heat.
2022 NCAA scorer Sam Ellis' attempt for a podium finish was foiled after he was disqualified for a lane violation in the 800m meter semis.
In the heat, the Princeton grad transfer ran in last for most of the first lap, then worked his way into second at 600 before easing to a second place finish and an apparent auto-qualifier in 1:47.37.
Cass Elliott broke his 400 meter hurdles school record for the second time this season, running 49.13 to finish fourth in the heat and earn the final time qualifier for Friday's finals.
After the first day of the decathlon, Washington's Ollie Thorner sits in 19th place with a score of 3864 points.
He ran 11.13 in the 100, long jumped 21-9 (6.63m), threw the shot 43-8.75 (13.33m), high jumped 6-4.75 (1.95m), and finished with a time of 49.03 in the 400.
Here's how other athletes with Washington ties fared:
--UW's Jayden White was tenth in the finals of the hammer, throwing a season best 229-10 (70.07m);
--In the javelin, Walla Walla's Dash Sirmon of Nebraska was 13th with a best of 230-4 (70.20m), while UW'S Chandler Ault was 15th at 228-5 (69.62m);
--In the steeple, former Husky Alex Slenning, competing for Oregon, was sixth in the first semi in 8:44.60, while Cashmere HS grad Rob McManus of Montana State was eighth in 8:47.86;
--Washington State's Louie Hinchliffe was seventh in his heat of the 100 meters in 10.19.
The meet resumes Thursday with the women taking center stage, with the exception of the men's decathlon which concludes with five more events.
There are two finals involving Washington athletes Thursday including the javelin, featuring Connell native Ashton Riner of BYU, and the pole vault, featuring the Huskies' Nastassja Campbell, the Texas native who is the outdoor collegiate leader this season.
Here's a complete list of athletes with Washington ties competing Thursday:
Women's Events (plus Men's Decathlon)
10:00 am PT – Decathlon 110m Hurdles – Ollie Thorner (UW)
10:50 am PT – Decathlon Discus – Ollie Thorner
12:00 pm PT – Decathlon Pole Vault – Ollie Thorner
2:30 pm PT – Decathlon Javelin – Ollie Thorner
5:10 pm PT - Javelin final - Ashton Riner (BYU)
5:30 pm PT – Pole Vault – Sara Borton, Nastassja Campbell (both UW)
5:46 pm PT – 1500m Semifinals – Anna Gibson, Sophie O'Sullivan (both UW)
6:02 pm PT – 3000m Steeplechase Semifinals – Kayley DeLay (UW), Kaylee Mitchell (Oregon St), Olivia Markezich, Katie Thronson (Notre Dame),
7:14 pm PT – 800m Semifinals – Carley Thomas (UW)
7:56 pm PT – Decathlon 1500m – Ollie Thorner
The meet will be broadcast through ESPN, either streaming on ESPN+ or televised on ESPNU or ESPN2.
- Thursday will air on ESPN2 from 5:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. PT
- Friday will air on ESPN2 from 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. PT
- Saturday will air on ESPN2 from 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. PT
NOTE: The NCAA and the sports information offices of the University of Texas, University of Washington, Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University, and Washington State University contributed to this report.
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