By Citius Mag Staff
March 15, 2025
Day 1 of the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach delivered thrilling finishes, record-breaking performances and tactical affairs.
Here are the key moments + thoughts from Day 1:
– Virginia’s Gary Martin put together a legendary anchor leg to claim his first NCAA title. Martin (3:48.12 anchor) led Virginia to its first NCAA DMR title (9:15.12, #3 NCAA all-time). North Carolina’s Ethan Strand, the collegiate record holder at the mile and 3000m, made a bold move with 400m to go but couldn’t hold off Martin’s kick. Martin and Strand will rematch in the 3,000m on Saturday.
BYU defended its NCAA women’s DMR title as Riley Chamberlain ran down Oregon’s Silan Ayyildiz on the anchor leg, splitting 4:25.12 to secure BYU’s win in 10:45.34 (Meet Record). Oregon (10:45.99) and Providence (10:46.28) rounded out the podium. The Cougars became the first women’s team to repeat in the DMR since Oregon went back-to-back in 2018/2019.
– Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau (13:11.34 MR) closed in 26.64 to win his first NCAA title in the men’s 5000m. New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel (13:11.78) led most of the race and was on pace for much of it to break 13:10, but couldn’t shake Musau in the closing stages of the race. Wake Forest’s 19-year-old sophomore Rocky Hansen (13:12.65) showed promise and in a scorching 26.73 to take third.
– Alabama’s Doris Lemngole (15:05.93) earned her third NCAA title by edging out BYU’s Lexy Halladay-Lowry (15:06.17) in a tactical last-lap showdown in the women’s 5000m. Lemngole is now a three-time NCAA champion with the 2024 NCAA Outdoor steeplechase crown, the 2024 NCAA cross country title and yesterday’s 5,000m win.
– Wyoming’s Daniel Reynolds and Wisconsin’s Taylor Kesner picked up big wins in the weight throw. Already the national leader and second-best man in collegiate history, Reynolds improved his PB to 25.08m to win the first national title by a Cowboy since 2005. Kesner, who’s primarily a discus thrower outdoors, launched the best throw of her life by over a meter in round six to take the national crown in 23.50m.
– Alexis Brown of Baylor had a stellar Day 1. She won the long jump title with a PB of 6.90m, which moved her to 7th on the all-time NCAA list indoors. In the midst of that competition, she ran in the 60m prelims and qualified for Saturday’s final. The men’s long jump title went to Texas’s Kelsey Daniel in a PB of 8.16m.
– Family ties played an important role in the pole vault finals. Washington twins Amanda and Hana Moll went 1-2 in the women’s competition, which is also where they sit on the NCAA all-time list, with both clearing 4.70m. Duke’s Simen Guttormsen, brother of three-time NCAA champion Sondre, picked up the win in a deep men’s field with a best clearance of 5.71m.
– Notre Dame’s Jadin O’Brien became the fourth woman to win three consecutive pentathlon titles. She took a commanding victory with 4596 points, which moves her up to 5th on the collegiate all-time list.
Notables from the prelims:
– In the men’s mile, Washington’s Nathan Green and Georgetown’s Abel Teffra advanced comfortably.
– In the 800m heats, Cal Poly’s Aidan McCarthy, Georgetown’s Tinoda Matsatsa and Mississippi State’s Abdullahi Hassan are set for a fierce 800m final. Oregon’s Koitatoi Kidali (who boasts a 1:42 PB from last year) fell in his heat, but his teammate Matthew Erickson (1:46.11) looked strong as the Ducks look for some points.
– The women’s 800m had a few shockers as defending champ & Paris Olympic finalist Juliette Whittaker (Stanford) and Arkansas’ Sanu Jallow (1:59.77 PB) failed to make the final. Harvard’s Victoria Bossong (2:00.82) and UNC’s Makayla Paige (2:01.36) won their heats, setting up a wide-open final.
– Oregon’s Wilma Nielsen (4:34.17) and Virginia’s Margot Appleton (4:34.97) won their respective mile heats and are heading into the final. Nielsen, who raced at Big 10s and European Championships in the last two weeks, split 3:19.66 on the 1200m leg of the DMR for Oregon. She’ll be joined in the mile final by her teammate Ayyildiz.
How to watch:
Watch live on ESPN+
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Citius Mag Staff
