WSU's Longisa and UW's Cosculluela win NCAA titles on final day...
EUGENE--Washington State's Rosemary Longisa (Paul Merca photo) became the first Cougar to win an individual NCAA title since 2003 when she emerged victorious in the 1500 meters to close out the NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon Saturday.
On the warmest day of the meet, with temperatures in the mid 80s, Longisa got to the front early and stayed there, covering the first 300 in 53.16. She probably ran more that 1500 after positioning herself on the outside so as not to get trapped on the rail.
A group of women, including former Husky Wilma Nielsen of Oregon, her Duck teammate Juliet Cherubet, and Salma Elbadra of South Carolina stalked Longisa in anticipation of any moves by the Kenyan, who was the runner up indoors..
After a 74 second lap, Longisa started to put the squeeze on the field, taking them through the next 400 in 65 seconds, with Nielsen, the reigning indoor mile champ ready to pounce.
The pounce never happened, as Longisa covered the last 400 in 59.08, as Elbadra and Cherubet were the only ones who ran under 60 seconds on the last lap, and as it turned out, they finished in that order.
Longisa won in 4:12.10, with Elbadra second in 4:12.89, and Cherubet third in 4:12.99.
Nielsen finished fourth in 4:13.40.
"This win was tough. I was expecting the race to either go fast or go slow. I was ready for anything.
She admitted that the wind was tough on the backstretch, and that others were using her to break the wind.
Longisa became the first Cougar individual champion under head coach Wayne Phipps’ leadership. Her win was the first by a WSU woman since Whitney Evans took the high jump crown in 2003, and the first by a Cougar since Jeshua Anderson won the men's 400 hurdles in 2011.
COSCULLUELA WINS HEPTATHLON TITLE...
Washington's Sofia Cosculluela's (Paul Merca photo) strong second day propelled her from fifth after Friday's first four events all the way to the top box, winning the heptathlon crown with a final score of 6182 points.
In the opening event of day 2, the Spaniard set a new personal best and extended her own Washington school record by leaping 21-4.75 (6.52m) in the long jump on her third attempt to win the event. That jump moved her from fifth to second overall, while Puyallup native JaiCieonna Gero-Holt of Illinois, the first day leader, dropped to third after managing a best of 19-5.5 (5.93m).
In the javelin, she threw a best of 144-7 (44.06m) to finish second overall. Gero-Holt answered with a best of 124-11 (38.09m), as Cosculluela took the overall lead going into the 800.
In the climactic 800, Cosculluela ran 2:18.11, while Gero-Holt finished in 2:21.32.
Cosculluela's final score of 6182 points was a new UW school record and personal best. Gero-Holt, the Big Ten champion, finished third with a personal best 6010 points, breaking the 6000 point barrier for the first time in her career.
She credited her performances in Friday's high jump, and Saturday's long jump for her victory and 2026 collegiate lead. In those two events, she set personal bests. In fact, her long jump performance would have gotten her a seventh place finish in the open competition.
She will compete in the heptathlon at the Spanish national championships and hopefully the European Championships.
OTHER EVENTS...
Carnation native Braelyn Baker of Duke finished ninth in the 400 dash, running 51.67. She helped the Blue Devils to a fourth place finish in the 4 x 400 relay, as they ran a season best 3:24.59.
The 5000 meters saw Washington's Chloe Thomas finish 13th in 15:35.65. Teammate Julia David-Smith was 19th in 15:58.27, while Gonzaga's Rosina Machu closed out her collegiate career by finishing 20th in 15:59.25.
The Huskies finished seventh with 28 points, with all their points coming from a 1-2 finish by Amanda and Hana Moll in the pole vault, and Cosculluela in the heptathlon.
Washington State tied for 27th with 10 points.
Georgia won the national title with 50 points, outdistancing Florida's 43. Arkansas scored 38 for third, and Oregon 36 for fourth.
NOTE: The NCAA and the sports information offices of Gonzaga, Washington, and Washington State, contributed to this report.
paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links. You can also support the site by clicking the blue or yellow "Buy Me A Coffee" link on the lower right hand side.
Comments