USC women win NCAA outdoor track and field team title
USC captured its third women’s national outdoor track and field title Saturday, with Texas A&M finishing second.
The Trojans’ Anna Cockrell won the 100- and 400-meter hurdles, becoming just the second woman to pull off the double in those events in the NCAA meet.
“Ever since I came to college, this was my dream, honestly, to double. I know only one other person had done it before me,” Cockrell, a senior, said. “I don’t think it has sunken all the way in yet. I finished my interview for 400 hurdles down there and then I burst into tears.”
Cockrell won the 100 in 12.58 seconds and the 400 in 54.68, the latter improving on her school record.
USC also defended its title in the 4x100 relay as Jasmine Jones, Angie Annelus, Lanae-Tava Thomas and TeeTee Terry crossed first in 42.82.
The Trojans finished with 74 points, 11 ahead of Texas A&M. The USC women also won the title in 2001 and 2018 and finished second in 2019, the last year the event was held.
Cambrea Sturgis of North Carolina A&T swept the 100 and 200 meters.
Sturgis won the 100 in a wind-aided 10.74 seconds, the fastest all-weather time in NCAA history. She then ran the 200 in 22.12, a personal best.
North Carolina A&T was third in the 4x400-meter relay. The Aggies men also fared well at the meet, with Randolph Ross winning the 400 in 43.85 and a third-place team finish.
“We can go out there and do it if we put our minds to it,” Sturgis said about competing for the historically black college.
Texas A&M freshman Athing Mu won the 400 in 49.57, a national collegiate record.
Brigham Young senior Anna Camp won the 1,500 in a personal-best 4:08.53 ahead of a strong field that included Colorado’s Sage Hurta, the women’s indoor mile champion. Hurta finished second.
“I knew Sage was crazy fast, so my goal was to sit on her shoulder for a lot of the 1,500 and win,” Camp said. “My legs felt good. I was just hopeful that I could outrun her through that push.”
Air Force’s Mahala Norris, who grew up in Roseburg, Ore., won the steeplechase in 9:31.79. Also, North Carolina State’s Elly Henes won the 5,000 in 15:28.05 and Virginia’s Michaela Meyer took the 800 in a personal-best 2:00.28.
On Friday, Louisiana State won its first men’s team title since 2002. The USC men finished fifth.
The NCAA championship was among the first major meets at Hayward Field since it underwent an extensive renovation.
The U.S. Olympic team trials get underway at Hayward next week. Sturgis is among the college athletes hoping for a spot on the team for Tokyo.
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