By Chris Chavez
June 7, 2024
Florida’s Parker Valby won her fifth national title by winning the 10,000m in 31:46.09 at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Here’s what you need to know:
– Valby pulled away from Alabama’s Hilda Olemomo in the final 1200m and closed her final lap in 72.68s. She broke Sharon Lokedi’s 32:09.20 championship record, which stood since 2018.
“It was a hot one,” Valby said. “It felt a little bit like Florida out there tbh. It was good. We went out at a very pedestrian pace, which is a little unusual for me but it was a fun one.”
– Valby appeared to be wearing a pair of Nike Vaporfly shoes with spikes for the race. She has been an NIL athlete for the sportswear giant since June 2023. She joked to reporters that she sewed the spikes into the shoes. She explained she chose to wear them because she would be running the 5000m on Saturday and wanted to “have recovered legs.”
Olympic 10,000m Implications
– Valby, who ran the NCAA record of 30:50.43, does not have the Olympic standard in the 10,000m but could be a formidable contender to make the team for Paris. She is ranked No. 72 in the World Rankings and No. 13 among Americans on the Road to Paris list. With a fast run at the U.S. Olympic Trials (which could be challenging if there are hot conditions) and a top-three finish, she could get into the World Rankings quota to be selected. At the moment, only American record holder Alicia Monson (who is injured and will miss the Trials) and Weini Kelati have the Olympic standard. We have a full explainer on the state of the U.S. women’s 10,000m heading into the Trials here.
Valby elected not to discuss the upcoming Olympic Trials after her 10,000m.
“I’m taking life day-by-day right now,” Valby said. “I’m focusing on today – 25 laps. Saturday we’ll focus on 12 and a half laps. We’ll focus on each day after that.”
What’s next?
– The women’s 5000m will be on Saturday at 7:25 p.m. ET.
Other Results From Day 2 of the NCAA Outdoor Championships
– Texas’ Leo Neugebauer broke his own NCAA record in the decathlon with a 8,961 point total. He threw 57.70m to break the world record in the decathlon discus. He went into the final event with a 8,309 point total before closing it out with a 4:44.61 for 1500m.
– Rutgers’ Chloe Timberg won the women’s pole vault in an NCAA Championship record of 4.71m.
– NCAA record holder Jaida Ross won the women’s shot put in front of a home crowd with a 19.57m toss.
– Nebraska’s Rhema Otabor set an NCAA record of 64.19m to win the women’s javelin. The previous record was 62.19m by Maggie Malone in 2016.
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
