2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships

The 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 97th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 37th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held for the sixth consecutive year at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on the campus of the University of Oregon. In total, forty-two different men's and women's track and field events were contested from Wednesday June 6 to Saturday June 9, 2018.

Results

Men's events Men's 100 meters

Needing points in pursuit of the team title, the University of Houston was hoping to score with its three sprinters Cameron Burrell, Elijah Hall, and Mario Burke in the final of the 100 m on June 8. Though a headwind prevented fast times, Burrell and Hall were able to accelerate and out-lean Florida State University's Andre Ewers, considered by some to be the favorite, at the finish to score 18 points in addition to Burke's one point for finish eighth. In a post-race interview with ESPN, Burrell said he dedicated his win in this race to teammate Brian Barazza who fell after leading in the 3000 m steeplechase hours before.

Wind: -0.9

Rank Name University Time Notes Cameron Burrell 10.13 Elijah Hall 10.17 Andre Ewers 10.19 Cravon Gillespie 10.27 Raheem Chambers 10.33 McKinely West 10.36 Cejhae Greene 10.37 Mario Burke 10.41

Men's 200 meters

The men's 200 m was won by Texas Tech University's Divine Oduduru on May 8. Running into a strong headwind of 3.1 meters per second, Oduduru ran 20.28 seconds to win the title by only one one-hundredth of a second over 100m contenter Andre Ewers of Florida State University.

Wind: 0.0

Rank Athlete Team Time Notes Divine Oduduru 20.28 Andre Ewers 20.29 Kendal Williams 20.32 Jaron Flournoy 20.43 Rodney Rowe 20.52 Mustaqeem Williams 20.62 Kenzo Cotton 20.73 McKinely West 20.84

Men's 400 meters

Having set the indoor 400 m world record and having not lost a race all year, the University of Southern California's Michael Norman was considered the prohibitive favorite in the men's 400 m on June 8. Before the race, he said his goal was to beat Olympic gold medalist Quincy Watts, his coach's personal best in the event, which would have also been a collegiate record. Despite a fleeting rain, Norman ran conservatively in the beginning but pulled a late charge to win the race in 43.61 seconds, a new collegiate record and a time that made him among the 15 fastest performers of all time. The University of Auburn's Akeem Bloomfield also ran under 44 seconds and his teammate Nathon Allen ran 44.1 seconds, both among the top collegiate times in history, leading some to call the race the greatest collegiate 400m of all time.

Rank Name University Time Notes Michael Norman 43.61 Akeem Bloomfield 43.94 Nathon Allen 44.13 Mar'yea Harris 45.00 Tyrell Richard 45.10 Obi Igbokwe 45.16 Kahmari Montgomery 45.75 Wil London 46.20

Men's 800 meters

The University of Texas at El Paso's Michael Saruni, coming off his collegiate record, was considered the favorite for the men's 800 m on June 8. Texas A&M University's Devin Dixon led the field through a quick 400 m split, and soon Saruni and Penn State University's Isaiah Harris were both in contention with a lap to go. But with 300 meters to go, Saruni abruptly accelerated, leaving him with less energy on the final stretch as Harris and eventually Mississippi State University's Marco Arop passed him, with Harris taking his first NCAA title in a quick personal best time of 1:44.76.

Rank Athlete Team Time Notes Isaiah Harris 1:44.76 Marco Arop 1:45.25 Michael Saruni 1:45.31 Bryce Hoppel 1:45.67 Devin Dixon 1:45.86 Jonah Koech 1:46.23 Robert Ford 1:46.72 Robert Heppenstall 1:47.14

Men's 1500 meters The University of New Mexico's Josh Kerr was the favorite for the men's 1500 m on June 8 on account of being the defending champion and collegiate record-holder. Before the race, he had mentioned wanting to break his own collegiate record in the final on June 8, but wet conditions didn't allow it as the field went out in 61 seconds for the first 400 m. In a late surge, the unheralded Ollie Hoare passed Kerr in the final 100 meters to become the University of Wisconsin's first champion in this event in over 40 years.

Rank Athlete Team Time Notes Ollie Hoare 3:44.77 Vincent Ciattei 3:45.02 (3:45.012) Josh Kerr 3:45.02 (3:45.015) Robert Domanic 3:45.47 Sam Worley 3:45.67 Sam Prakel 3:45.73 Justine Kiprotich 3:45.75 (3:45.744) Cameron Griffith 3:45.75 (3:45.747) Amos Bartelsmeyer 3:46.54 Diego Zarate 3:46.55 Mike Marsella 3:52.39 Mick Stanovsek 3:56.12

Men's 5000 meters

Former indoor and outdoor 5000 m champions Justyn Knight and Grant Fisher were among the favorites in the men's 5000 m on June 8. Despite finishing in the last three places in the 10,000 m two days prior to the race, Brigham Young University's three runners were also expected to factor on suspicion that they had purposefully ran the 10,000 m easily to avoid getting disqualified from the meet and focus solely on the 5000 m. Wet conditions and a championship-style tactical race prevented fast times as only one athlete in the field set a personal best. Ultimately, Stanford University senior Sean McGorty finished the strongest as he took the individual title, with his teammate Fisher being passed by Knight in the final ten meters. The strong finish of Stanford runners scored them sixteen points in this event, which contributed to briefly allowing Stanford to lead the overall team title standings.

Rank Athlete Team Time Notes Sean McGorty 13:54.81 Justyn Knight 13:55.03 Grant Fisher 13:55.04 Andy Trouard 13:55.46 Amon Kemboi 13:56.37 Dillon Maggard 13:57.40 Edwin Kurgat 13:58.01 Rory Linkletter 13:58.20 Vincent Kiprop 13:59.60 Jaret Carpenter 14:00.01 Cole Rockhold 14:00.96 Clayton Young 14:02.17 Gilbert Kigen 14:03.06 Philo Germano 14:03.57 Conor Lundy 14:04.08 Ben Veatch 14:06.40 Cooper Teare 14:08.18 Lawrence Kipkoech 14:11.95 Zach Perrin 14:16.56 Alfred Chelanga 14:19.36 Chartt Miller 14:20.90 Colby Gilbert 14:27.22 Zach Long 14:28.97 Connor McMillan 14:29.12

Men's 10,000 meters

With last year's champion Marc Scott having graduated, the University of Alabama's Vincent Kiprop, a Kenyan transfer from the NCAA Division II school Missouri Southern State University, was considered the favorite. He was helped in the final by fellow Kenyans and Alabama transfers Gilbert Kigen and Alfred Chelanga, who ran together at a quick pace of 4:22 for the first 1600 m. In the next two miles, the pace substantially slowed as Northern Arizona University runners Tyler Day and Matthew Baxter caught up and alternated the lead. The field remained tightly packed, with the top eight athletes less than two seconds apart at 8000 m which Kiprop first passed in 22:59. With two laps remaining, the top six of Kiprop, Day, Baxter, the University of Michigan's Ben Flanagan, Thomson, and Dillon Maggard began to separate. Kiprop attempted to lengthen his lead with one lap to go, but Flanagan remained in tow and passed Kiprop in the final 50 meters. Directly at the conclusion of the race, he told ESPN cameras, "Where's my mom?" Flanagan's final time of 28:34 was a thirty-nine second improvement over his previous best of 29:13. Flanagan credited staying "as patient as possible" in part for his win. His victory was the first by a Canadian in this event at the NCAA championships since 2012, when Cam Levins won the title.

Rank Name Team Time Notes Ben Flanagan 28:34.53 Vincent Kiprop 28:34.99 Dillon Maggard 28:38.36 Tyler Day 28:39.03 Matthew Baxter 28:39.35 Jacob Thomson 28:40.50 Gilbert Kigen 28:55.66 Robert Brandt 29:13.12 Colin Bennie 29:13.66 Arsène Guillorel 29:16.71 Grant Fischer 29:20.73 Connor McMillan 29:32.65 Lawrence Kipkoech 29:34.52 Michael Crozier 29:38.21 Frank Lara 29:42.87 Alfred Chelanga 29:44.08 Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse 29:45.39 Jonathan Green 29:46.57 Nahom Solomon 29:46.96 Matt Welch 30:02.69 Mike Tate 30:14.75 Conner Mantz 31:37.34 Clayton Young 31:37.54 Rory Linkletter 31:37.69

Men's 110-meter hurdles

Defending champion Grant Holloway of the University of Florida won the men's 110 m hurdles on June 8. Holloway had a fast start and built up a lead 50 meters into the race, but as he approached the finish both the University of Illinois' David Kendziera and Damion Thomas of Louisiana State University began to make up ground, leaning at the finish line but ultimately coming up short.

Wind: -0.9

Rank Athlete Team Time Notes Grant Holloway 13.42 David Kendziera 13.43 Damion Thomas 13.45 Trey Cunningham 13.64 Antoine Lloyd 13.94 Ruebin Walters 13.95 Luke Siedhoff 13.99 John Burt 14.01

Men's 400-meter hurdles

The men's 400 m hurdles took place on May 8. The University of Southern California's Rai Benjamin attracted attention during the prelims by stepping twelve times (as compared to the standard thirteen or more) between each hurdle, a feat that only world record holder Kevin Young had notably achieved before. During the final, which took place soon after Southern California teammate Michael Norman set the collegiate record in the flat 400 m, Benjamin stuttered at one of the early hurdles but ultimately pulled away from the field late to run a time of 47.02 seconds. The time was not only a personal best by nearly a full second, but it was also a championship record, Hayward Field facility record, national record for Antigua and Barbuda, an NCAA collegiate record, and the equal number-two performance of all time, behind only Kevin Young's 46-second performance and equal to Edwin Moses' 1983 former World Record. The time came as a surprise to many who thought that the wet conditions and puddles on the track were not conducive to running fast times.

Rank Athlete Team Time Notes Rai Benjamin 47.02 Kenny Selmon 48.12 David Kendziera 48.42 Kemar Mowatt 48.83 Taylor McLaughlin 49.59 Jacob Smith 50.60 Maksims Sincukovs 50.63 Infinite Tucker 50.76

Men's 3000-meter steeplechase

There was no clear favorite in the men's 3000 m steeplechase, as the collegiate yearly leader did not qualify and no scoring athletes returned from last year's final. Most expected the race to be tactical due to wet conditions, but the University of Houston's Brian Barraza gapped the field early, taking the race out at an 8:20 pace for the first few laps—a time that was over ten seconds faster than any of the athletes' personal bests. The frontrunning strategy seemed to have been working as Barazza still held a considerable lead going in to the last lap, but a fall on one of the last barriers allowed the University of Minnesota's Obsa Ali to pass and win the race in a personal-best time of 8:32 minutes. Barraza had trouble getting up after his fall, and ultimately finished tenth. As Houston was considered by some to be a contender for the team title, Barazza's bold race strategy was considered foolish by some but brave by others. After the race, Barraza's coach Steve Magness said that Barraza felt dazed after the race, and that he was considering being checked for a concussion. The fall was later featured on ESPN's SportsCenter.

Rank Name University Time Notes Obsa Ali 8:32.23 Jamaine Coleman 8:33.52 Steven Fahy 8:34.52 Aidan Tooker 8:35.41 Andrew Gardner 8:37.07 Matt Owens 8:38.09 Clayson Shumway 8:40.15 Riley Osen 8:41.24 Noah Affolder 8:43.72 Brian Barraza 8:44.42 Max Benoit 8:47.15 John Rice 8:52.81

Men's 4 x 100-meter relay

Despite rain on the track, the University of Houston won the men's 4x100 m in a new collegiate-record time of 38.17 seconds. The prior record had stood for 30 years.

Rank Team Time Notes 38.17 38.75 38.89 39.01 39.37 39.49 39.63 DNF

Men's 4 x 400-meter relay