Parker Valby Breaks NCAA Record (14:52.79) To Destroy the Field and Win NCAA Title #3

BOSTON —  Parker Valby’s utter dominance of the collegiate scene reached a new level at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships tonight as the Florida junior captured her first NCAA indoor title, breaking her own NCAA 5000 record with a 14:52.79 clocking.

In June, Valby won her first NCAA outdoor title with a margin of victory of 9.00 seconds. In November, Valby won NCAA title #2 and her first XC crown by 10.5 seconds. Now she has #3 and the margin of victory was 22.22 seconds.

Oklahoma State senior Taylor Roe, the 2022 indoor 3000 champ, was the only runner who even tried to stay with Valby for the first 400 which Valby covered in a super quick 70.28 seconds. Roe, to her credit, stayed with Valby for almost 4k (3800 meters) but Valby put up a virtuoso negative split performance that was too hot to handle.

After the quick first two laps, Valby’s next 13 laps were all 36 and change, then her next four were all 35 and change before she closed things off with six straight 34s. If you add it all up together, Valby ran 7:33 for her first half, 7:19 for the 2nd.

Wow.

Roe ended up a well-deserved second in 15:15.01 as the Alabama duo of Hilda Olemomoi and Doris Lemngole ran 15:17.27 and 15:17.43. Valby was so good she lapped all but six women in the race, meaning she lapped a runner who scored in the competition.

Race video set to start when Valby pulls away

NCAA Women’s 5000m Results

1. Parker VALBY (Florida, JR) – 14:52.79 (PB)
2. Taylor ROE (Oklahoma State, SR) – 15:15.01
3. Hilda OLEMOMOI (Alabama, JR) – 15:17.27 (PB)
4. Doris LEMNGOLE (Alabama, FR) – 15:17.43
5. Lexy HALLADAY-LOWRY (BYU, JR) – 15:20.73 (PB)
6. Molly BORN (Oklahoma State, SR) – 15:20.89 (PB)
7. Chloe SCRIMGEOUR (Georgetown, SO) – 15:21.80 (PB)
8. Grace HARTMAN (NC State, SO) – 15:28.57 (PB)
9. Jenna HUTCHINS (BYU, SO) – 15:31.42
10. Phoebe ANDERSON (Columbia, JR) – 15:37.21
11. Aubrey FRENTHEWAY (BYU, SR) – 15:37.30
12. Ella BARAN (Colorado, SR) – 15:38.72
13. Samantha BUSH (NC State, SR) – 15:40.83
14. Kenzie DOYLE (UMass Lowell, SR) – 15:49.30
15. Gracelyn LARKIN (Northern Arizona) – 16:03.80
16. Lucy JENKS (Stanford, JR) – 16:07.16

Quick take: Parker Valby is at another level “It wasn’t easy, like I wasn’t jogging in the park.” 

After watching this run tonight, it’s hard to believe that a year ago Valby had never won an NCAA title as she seemed to be having the time of her life while destroying everyone in the NCAA.

“It was so fun. Pressure’s a privilege. You have to have fun out there,” said Valby afterwards.

During the race, Valby’s full attention wasn’t even fully on the race as she was able to pay attention to the long jump that was going on in the infield and realized when her teammate Claire Bryant took the lead, giving her a thumbs up around the mile mark.

“I’m like a ping pong ball. My brain is like here, there, and everywhere at the same time,” Valby said of her ability to lead wire-to-wire and break the NCAA record while paying attention to the long jump.

When asked if the win was easy, she said, “Honestly, like one to ten, [that was] probably like a six or seven.  It wasn’t easy, like I wasn’t jogging in the park.”

On her move to drop Roe, Valby said, “There wasn’t really a move. My coach told me to turn up the knob a little bit. And so each lap I was like, turn up the knob a little bit more and a little bit more.”

The result was another NCAA record and the third NCAA title of her career.

Taylor Roe getting faster, but not fast enough tonight

Roe had mixed feelings on finishing second as she already has an NCAA crown on her resume, defeating Katelyn Tuohy in the 3000 in 2022. Despite winning in 2022 and being runner-up tonight, Roe knows she has made a lot of progress as a runner as she has set big PRs at 3000 (8:58 to 8:51) and 5000 (15:21 to 15:12) this year. “I thought I was ready to give her a challenge, but unfortunately it was not today,” Roe said. “I am excited about the growth I’ve had.”

BYU Wins DMR with blistering kick from Riley Chamberlain

In other action, BYU upset Notre Dame to take the women’s DMR crown. Coming into the race, most pundits thought if Notre Dame’s Olivia Markezich, the reigning NCAA steeplechase champ and 4:27 miler who was fresh, got the baton near the lead then Notre Dame would win.

Well Markezich go the baton just 2.82 seconds off the lead and she ended up leading much of the final 1600. But at the end, BYU sophomore Riley Chamberlain took the lead before the bell and pulled away from Markezich to win in convincing fashion in 10:51.41 to Notre Dame’s 10:53.14. 

Talk about a stunner.

Chamberlain, who has a 4:30 mile pb and was just 216th at NCAA XC in November, blew the doors of the NCAA steeple champ who has a 4:27 mile pb and was 3rd in XC. And Chamberlain got the baton in seventh behind Markezich. She won by putting up the fastest anchor split on the night: 4:27.89 (Markezich split 4:30.15).

It wasn’t a surprise to BYU coach Diljeet Tayor, who said Chamberlain has an amazing kick. Chamberlain too was confident in her kick and said she wanted to surprise Markezich, so that is why she went before the bell.

Race video set to start with 800 to go

Results: Women DMR (Final)

Pl		Team	Time
1		BYU BYU	10:51.42
2		NOTRE DAME Notre Dame	10:53.14
3		FLORIDA Florida	10:54.40
4		ARKANSAS Arkansas	10:56.15
5		OREGON Oregon	10:57.24
6		PROVIDENCE Providence	10:57.34
7		OKLAHOMA STATE Oklahoma State	10:57.54
8		PENN STATE Penn State	10:57.65
9		BOSTON COLLEGE Boston College	10:58.67
10		STANFORD Stanford	11:03.99
11		WASHINGTON Washington	11:04.06
12		VIRGINIA Virginia	11:11.25

BYU’s winning team

Dijleet Taylor gets another NCAA crown

Taylor celebrated on the track big time after the DMR and celebrated almost as much when senior Meghan Hunter made the 800 final.

Mile Prelims: Asekol advances on time

In the mile prelims, #4 seed Chloe Foerster, a sophomore for UW and one of five entrants with a sub-4:30 seasonal best, didn’t make the final and #2 seed Flomena Asekol, the SEC champion for Florida, only made the final on time. Asekol celebrated in the mixed zone when she saw she advanced on time, as she knows they start from scratch on Saturday. Top seed Maia Ramsden of Harvard, who ran in Scotland last week at World Indoors, didn’t seem to be tired at all as she won the second heat. *Results

800 Prelims: A big name and some big seeds go out

In the 800 heats, the top seeds Michaela Rose of LSU of Juliette Whittaker of Stanford each won a heat but after that there were some surprises. #3 seed Kelly-Ann Beckford of Houston (2:00.65 sb), #5 seed Carley Thomas of Washington (2:00.95 sb), #6 seed Sophia Gorriaran of Harvard (2:01.68 sb), and #7 seed Sanu Jallow of Arkansas (2:01.77) all failed to make the final as did defending champion Roisin Willis of Stanford, who came in seeded #10. *Results