Looking back: A Hayward Field timeline
Hayward Field has a long and storied history.
A transcendent record-setting freshman, the returning two-time national champion and one of the most accomplished athletes in recent memory will be at Hayward Field to compete in the women’s NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet June 11 and 13.
And they’ll all be in the same event.
BYU newcomer Jane Hedengren, returning champion Pamela Kosgei of New Mexico and Alabama’s Doris Lemngole, the 2025 winner of The Bowerman Award, are entered in the 5,000 meters in what is expected to be an epic clash in the penultimate event of the meet come Saturday.
The men’s NCAA championship meet is Wednesday and Friday at Hayward Field.
Hedengren’s prodigious talent has been on display all season. She’s broken the collegiate record in the 5,000 (14 minutes, 50.5 seconds) and 10,000 (30:46.8) outdoors and the 5,000 indoors (14:44.79). She became the first freshman in history to win NCAA indoor titles in the 5,000 and 3,000 and was the runner-up to Lemngole at the NCAA cross-country meet.
Lemngole, a junior, is a five-time NCAA champion with back-to-back outdoor titles in the 3,000 steeplechase and in cross country, and one indoor title in the 5,000. She is the collegiate record-holder in the steeplechase at 8:58.15. However, she’s not entered in that event this week, as she’s focused solely on the 5,000. She has an outdoor 5K PR of 15:08.45.
Kosgei swept the 5,000 and 10,000 tiles last season at the NCAA outdoor meet and her outdoor 5K PR of 14:52.18 makes her the third-fastest performer in collegiate history.
The sophomore is one of five returning champions in six events from 2025, a group that also include Oregon’s Aaliyah McCormick in the 100 hurdles.
Kosgei will be defending her title in the 10,000 Thursday night, also in a showdown with Hedengren. Kosgei owns three of the fastest 10K times in NCAA history, including the No. 2 mark of 30:49.99, which she ran the same day Hedengren set her collegiate record.
Who are some top women to watch at the NCAA Outdoor Championships?
Adaejah Hodge, Georgia: The freshman sprinter has the fastest time in the NCAA this season in the 200 at 21.92 and the world-leading wind-legal time in the 100 at 10.77 – just two hundredths of a second off Sha’Carri Richardson’s collegiate record of 10.75. She’s entered in both events this week.
JaMeesia Ford, South Carolina: Ford is the returning champion in the 200, a title won when she ran a personal-record 21.98 inside Hayward Field in 2025. Her 2026 best of 22.07 is second-fastest in the nation this season behind Hodge. Ford also won the NCAA indoor 200 title in 2024. She’s entered in the 100 this week as well.
Sanu Jallow, Arkansas: The senior came within one hundredth of a second of breaking Athing Mu’s collegiate record in the 800 when she ran a world-leading 1:57.74 during the NCAA West First Round meet May 30. She joined Mu as one of only two collegian to run under 1:58.
Hana Moll and Amanda Moll, Washington: The twins from Olympia have dominated the collegiate pole vault scene for three seasons and there appears to be no end in sight. Hana Moll first set the collegiate in 2025 during her NCAA outdoor victory when she cleared 15 feet, 8½ inches to break Amanda’s previous all-time mark. This season, Hana, who has also won two NCAA indoor titles, has since reset the collegiate record twice, including when she went over 15-10 to win the Big Ten title in May.
Axelina Johansson, Nebraska: The only women’s shot putter in collegiate history who has thrown farther then the Cornhusker senior is former Oregon star Jaida Ross. Johansson was the 2023 NCAA outdoor champ and won NCAA indoor titles in 2025 and 2026. The three-time Big Ten outdoor champion set her PR of 65-6¼ at the conference meet in May. Ross’ collegiate record in 65-7¾.
Anthonett Nabwe, Minnesota: The Golden Gophers’ hammer program has developed another national contender. Nabwe came breathtakingly close to breaking the collegiate record when she threw 254-9 in April – one inch off Camryn Rogers’ 254-10 from 2022 when the Paris Olympic champion was at California. It was no fluke as Nabwe also recorded a 248-5 in April to give her the No. 2 and No. 6 throws of all time. Nabwe and Rogers are the only women to surpass 245-4 during their college careers.
Valentina Barrios Bornacelli, Missouri: The senior is the returning NCAA javelin champion whose winning throw of 203-5 in 2025 is the seventh-best collegiate mark all time.
How to watch the NCAA Outdoor Championships
- TV:
- Wednesday: 5 p.m., ESPN
- Thursday: 5 p.m., ESPN2
- Friday: 5 p.m., ESPN2
- Saturday: 5 p.m., ESPN2
- Stream: ESPN+
NCAA Outdoor Championships links
Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at [email protected] and you can follow him on X @chansen_RG
