Doris Lemngole (8:58) & Savannah Sutherland’s (52.46) NCAA Records Highlights Women’s Final Day

EUGENE, Ore. – The Georgia women secured a dominant victory on the final day of the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field on Saturday as Caryl Smith-Gilbert became the first person to coach two different schools to the women’s outdoor title. Smith-Gilbert won outdoor titles at USC in 2018 and 2021, but this year she was denying the Trojans a title as the Bulldogs piled up 73 points to USC’s 47.

Alabama steepler Doris Lemngole and Michigan hurdler Savannah Sutherland were the standout individual performers as both set collegiate records as part of dominant victories. Lemngole ran 8:58.15 in the steeple (#11 in world history) to take almost 12 seconds off her own 9:10.13 NCAA record from earlier this season. An hour later, Sutherland, an Olympic finalist for Canada, PR’d by .80 of a second to run 52.46 to win the 400m hurdles and break the NCAA record of 52.75 set by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in 2018. Sutherland’s time is tied with Femke Bol for #2 in the world this year (behind SML) and ranks #9 on the all-time list.

There were also big wins for Washington’s Sophie O’Sullivan (1500), Stanford’s Roisin Willis (800), New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei (5,000, completing the 5k/10k double), and Georgia’s Aaliyah Butler (49.26 to win the 400). 

Post-race interviews and analysis of all the action below.

*Full results

Women’s Steeple: Doris Lemngole was a steeplechase maestro 

In the co-performance of the night, Alabama sophomore Doris Lemngole of Kenya ran 8:58.15 to SHATTER her NCAA steeplechase record of 9:10.13 and become just the 14th woman in history to break 9:00. She is now the 11th-fastest woman in history and the 2025 world leader (previously Faith Cherotich at 9:02.60).

The race was honest throughout. By 1k, Lemngole, 23, and BYU’s Lexy Halladay-Lowry, who came into the race as the 5th-fastest NCAA steepler ever at 9:18.05, were clear of the field. A 68.75 fourth-to-last lap broke Halladay-Lowry and the rest of the race was Lemngole versus the clock. 70.86, 71.53 and then 67.98 gave her the sub-9 that she was coveting and she gave the historic showing the perfect celebration:

Halladay-Lowry ran extremely well behind Lemngole as she too dipped under the old NCAA record, running a 10-second pb of 9:08.68. Halladay-Lowry now ranks #7 in US history, just ahead of Olympians Colleen Quigley (9:10.27) and Jenny Simpson (9:12.50). NC State sophomore Angelina Napoleon was third in 9:16.66, making her the 5th fastest collegian in history.

Lemngole’s coach Nick Stenuf said the plan since last season has been to target a medal at the 2025 Worlds. Today was a big step.

Lemngole was already very good when she entered the NCAA as a 21-year-old in the fall of 2023, having run 9:35 (at altitude) in the steeple and 14:40 for 5k on the roads. But she has made big strides during her two seasons in Tuscaloosa under Stenuf, who arrived from Toledo in February 2023.

Lemngole was 2nd at NCAA XC in 2023, then set a collegiate record of 9:15.24 to win the NCAA steeple title in 2024. But Stenuf was already thinking about how Lemngole could get better. Three days after the NCAA final, he gave her a call.

“I said, do you want to be NCAA-good and possibly great, or do you want to be world-great?” Stenuf said. “She said, ‘world great, Coach.’ I said, all right, we’re going for a medal [in 2025]. And that was three days after. That’s been on her mind, that’s been on my mind, and that’s been our goal the whole year.”

Remember, this is when Lemngole’s pb was 9:15. It took 8:55 to medal at last year’s Olympics.

Stenuf said they’ve worked hard over the last two years to improve Lemngole’s hurdling and running form (she used to land in the water jump with two feet – she did that today, but only on the last lap when she was very tired) and believes Lemngole still has room to get even better.

Going in, Stenuf said the aim was to “flirt with” sub-9:00. With 600 to go, he yelled at Lemngole that she could do it if she picked it up. And that’s what she did.

“You could tell her stride length increased, she was attacking the barriers a little bit more aggressive,” Stenuf said. “And then that last lap, that was all just heart.”

Lexy Halladay-Lowry said it was bittersweet to be beaten by Lemngole once again

Halladay-Lowry told herself before the race that she should be happy if she PR’d and gave it everything she could. But after finishing 2nd to Lemngole again (she was outkicked in the 5k at NCAA indoors), Halladay-Lowry said it still felt bittersweet.

Unfortunately for Halladay-Lowry, she happened to overlap with the best steeplechaser the NCAA has ever seen. She said she thought she could run 9:06-9:07 on a great day and looked to come through the mile in 4:51-55, believing that anything faster than that would cause her to blow up. She was 4:51 today and held on to run a time faster than any collegian had ever run prior to today. But she was still left in the dust by one of the greatest collegiate distance performances ever.

“[8:58] is one second off the American record,” Halladay-Lowry said. “I did the best I could. It’s wild.”

The silver lining for Halladay-Lowry is that she is in contention to make the US team this year if she can maintain this fitness until USAs. 9:08.68 is five seconds faster than Courtney Wayment‘s previous US #1 time this year — though it took 9:07.14 to make the Olympic team last year.

Women’s 1500: Sophie O’Sullivan erased her NCAA demons and ended her NCAA career with a dominant victory.

It was hard to fathom that Irish Olympian Sophie O’Sullivan, who has a PB of 4:00.23, entered tonight’s 1500 final not having scored a single individual point during her NCAA career. Those NCAA disappointments of years past are largely forgotten now as O’Sullivan dominated the final in a performance more reminiscent of her mother Sonia, the 1995 world 5000 champ, than of a woman who had never scored at NCAAs before. Running up front throughout, she controlled the race from the front, and used a 58.43 final lap to close out a final 800 of 2:04.51 to win convincingly in 4:07.94. 

UVA senior Margot Appleton also had a big last lap – she was the only other woman under 59 seconds (58.98) – to move up from 7th to 2nd in 4:08.99 as NAU senior Maggi Congdon (59.74 final lap) was third in 4:09.31. NCAA indoor outdoor mile record holder Silan Ayyildiz of Oregon was 4th (4:09.75) with 3:59 performer Klaudia Kazimierska 5th in 4:10.52.

Sophie O’Sullivan did not dwell on previous NCAA failures and was “pretty f—ing happy to win”

The NCAA meet can be a daunting experience, especially when you have a 4:00 personal best, a world champion mother, and a history of NCAA championship struggles. But Sophie O’Sullivan did not appear weighed down by any of those burdens this week in Eugene. She acknowledged she had struggled in her two previous NCAA finals, finishing last both times, but viewed those as isolated incidents rather than a trend. The first race, in 2023, was her first NCAA final and she chalked that result up to inexperience. Last year, she had only been running for a few weeks after a tibial stress fracture.

This year, O’Sullivan knew she was fit and healthy and was buoyed by a victory in the Big 10 meet a month ago — her first collegiate win in nearly two years. It all came together for her on Saturday.

As we saw in the men’s race yesterday, positioning can play a huge role in the 1500. O’Sullivan was so good over the last lap that it may not have mattered in the end, but she ran this one beautifully tactically. With just over 800m to go, she found herself in 2nd with a clear shot at the lead if she wanted it. It did not take much energy for O’Sullivan to take the lead, and she figured it would be better to just get in front when she had the chance rather than risk getting shuffled back if someone else made a move and having to move up again. NAU’s Maggi Congdon did challenge O’Sullivan for the lead a couple of times, but O’Sullivan held her off before exploding over the final 200.

Two more notes on O’Sullivan’s win:

-Sophie’s mother Sonia won five NCAA titles in the 1990s for Villanova. Now Sophie has joined her in the club.
-This was the first time in 41 years that a school swept the men’s and women’s NCAA 1500 titles. Oregon was the last to do it in 1984 with Joaquim Cruz and Claudette Groenendaal.

Women’s 800: Roisin Willis returned to the NCAA winner’s circle in the 800 in a battle of who was slowing down the least 

If you watched the NCAA women’s 800 final live, you probably thought Stanford junior Roisin Willis was flying over the final 200 as she went from 5th to a dominant first. In reality, she was just slowing down the least as her final 200 was just an unofficial 30.7. That was still more than enough to give her a dominant victory in a new meet record of 1:58.13. Indoor champ Makayla Paige of North Carolina was second in 1:58.97 as the top 5 all broke 2:00. 

The final 200 was slow because the first 200 and 400 was fast – too fast. LSU’s Michaela Rose, the 2023 NCAA outdoor champ, had made it clear that she not only wanted to win, she also wanted to break Athing Mu‘s collegiate record of 1:57.73.

Rose, who won the NCAA outdoor title in 2023 as a sophomore, took things out in a quick 27.2 and hit 400 in 56.09. Willis saw the clock as she approached the bell (Willis was 5th in 56.7) and realized that the time was “a little aggressive” so she decided to “trust herself,” saying she knows the race doesn’t really start until 150m to go. Willis allowed herself to fall all the way back to sixth with 250m left and then proceeded to crush the field.

Rose led until 60m remained, but she really ran out of steam. Her final 200 of 32.73 resulted in her finishing 4th in 1:59.47. As a pro, Rose really needs to work on even pacing. The 800 used to be known for massive positive splits, but one of the reasons why times have been coming down in recent years is many 800 runners have been running more evenly (Keely Hodgkinson won the Olympics last year by running 58.30 and 58.41 and Emmanuel Wanyonyi went 50.3-50.8). No one should go out in 56.1 unless they are planning on running 1:54 or faster.

Roisin Willis is on top of the mountain again after her first PR for three years

Willis entered the NCAA in the fall of 2022 with an incredible pb (1:59.13, #2 ever by a high school girl) and a World U20 title. She was expected to contend with the best in the NCAA right away, and she did just that, winning the 2023 NCAA indoor title as a true freshman.

But sometimes the weight of expectations can catch up to you, especially on a high-powered campus like Stanford’s where everyone is the best in something. At the end of her freshman year, Willis revealed she had been battling anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

Since then, she has made a concerted effort to reframe her relationship with the sport and feels like she is now in a much healthier place.

“I would line up to those start lines thinking it was life or death if I won the race,” Willis said. “Today I was just like, you know what, it’s just a track meet. There’s a lot more going on in the world than me running 800 meters.”

Running careers very rarely travel a linear path free of injuries and setbacks. Willis’ Stanford teammate Juliette Whittaker, who won the NCAA title and made the Olympic final last year, was not even at this meet this year after revealing her own battle with depression this spring. The fact that Willis has been through some struggles and emerged stronger on the other side is encouraging for her future in the sport.

Today’s run was also Willis’ first pb in almost three years, since she ran 1:59.13 to win World U20s in August 2022. While she said she tried not to dwell on her lack of PRs in college to this point, she said it was a “pretty great feeling” to finally run faster than her high school best.

“I’ve been working so, so hard,” Willis said. “I knew I’ve been ready for this for a long time. But to pull it off in championship setting feels really nice.”

Willis is now #3 on the all-time NCAA list behind only Athing Mu and Rose. Of the top six performers in NCAA history, five ran their PBs this year, including two in today’s final.

1. Athing Mu, Texas A&M 1:57.73 4/17/2021
2. Michaela Rose, LSU 1:58.12 5/3/2025
3. Roisin Willis, Stanford 1:58.13 6/14/2025
4. Makayla Paige, North Carolina 1:58.97 6/14/2025
5. Meghan Hunter, BYU 1:58.99 5/17/2025
6. Smilla Kolbe, 1:59.02 North Florida 5/3/2025

Michaela Rose admitted that she got too excited for today’s race and went out too hard

Rose really wanted to break Athing Mu’s 1:57.73 collegiate record and knew this was her last chance to do it. After running a meet record of 1:58.95 in the semis, she thought she was ready, but she went out too hard and had nothing left for the final 50 meters.

“This was a final that I was very excited for,” Rose said. “I wanted to show up and show out, but it blew up in my face. I got too excited and you’ve just gotta be patient and let things come to you when it’s time.”

Rose said her aim was to hit 400 in 56-high to 57-mid, but she came through in 56.09, which proved to be way too fast.

Rose, who was 4th at the Olympic Trials last year, is excited to move into the professional ranks and said she will get back into training for the next month before racing again in July ahead of USAs. Rose said she is “pretty sure” about her pro plans but said she will hold off on any announcement for now.

Women’s 5000: Pamela Kosgei completed the double 

In the women’s 5000, 15 of the 24 contenders were within 2 seconds of the lead at the bell, but after a 64.48 final lap, New Mexico freshman Pamela Kosgei was the winner in 15:33.96 as she completed the 10,000/5,000 double. Boston University junior Vera Sjoberg of Sweden, the 8th placer in the mile indoors, used her mile speed and had the best last lap of anyone in the field (64.40) to grab second in 15:34.77 as Sophia Kennedy, daughter of former US 5000 record holder Bob Kennedy, was third in 15:35.08 (64.64 last lap).

Vera Sjoberg stunned herself and everyone else by finishing 2nd

Sjoberg, a 24-year-old Swede, finished 11th in the 1500 and admitted that the race style did not suit her as she is not a big kicker. But a bad kicker in the 1500 can suddenly become a good kicker in the 5,000. And the pace was slow enough for Sjoberg to be a factor, even though the 5,000 began just 100 minutes after the 1500 finished.

Still, even Sjoberg admitted she was surprised to have moved up from 7th to 2nd over the final 400, which she ran in 64.40 — faster than anyone in the race.

“I had no expectations, especially after the 1500,” Sjoberg said. “I did not think that was possible.”

Sophia Kennedy is pleased with the progress she has made in two years at Stanford

The 20-year-old Kennedy, a sophomore at Stanford, was the top American in today’s race. She felt she ran a bit too much extra distance on the outside but overall was pleased to record her best NCAA finish yet.

A top recruit coming out of high school — she was 7th at Foot Locker XC as a junior in 2021 and 7th at NXN as a senior in 2022 — Kennedy was 11th in this race last year as a freshman but improved to 5th in the 5,000 indoors this year and is now 3rd at the conclusion of her second year. Kosgei will obviously be tough to beat if she remains in the NCAA, but Kennedy — who still only runs 50 miles per week — is very pleased with the progress she has made in Palo Alto.

“Coach Clark has handled everything beautifully,” Kennedy said. “Testing myself a little bit and then getting comfortable with that. And then moving to the next level and getting comfortable with it. Taking small steps– we want a lot of longevity, hopefully, for myself.”

Other Action: Savannah Sutherland Takes Down Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s Meet Record

In the team battle, heavy favorite Georgia dominated and won the program’s first NCAA women’s title. It was the third outdoor title won by head coach Caryl Smith-Gilbert as she won two titles at USC and it was the Trojans who were second today with 47.

After Lemngole’s amazing run in the steeple, the other performance of the night came in the women’s 400 hurdles where Michigan senior Savannah Sutherland of Canada laid waste to the field and Sydney-McLaughlin Leverone‘s 52.75 collegiate record as she won by 2.20 seconds in 52.46, tying Femke Bol for #2 on the 2025 world list. In the flat 400, Georgia’s Aaliyah Butler won in a collegiate-leading 49.26.

Sutherland won the NCAA title back in 2023 in a huge upset when she ran 54.45 to beat Britton Wilson. She improved a lot last year, running 53.26 in the final, but that was not enough to beat USC’s Jasmine Jones, who wound up 4th in the Olympic final. That time was Sutherland’s pb until today, when she blasted it out of the water.

Now are you ready to feel old? Sutherland said after the race that she “grew up watching Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.” The two are only four years apart — they were born on the same day, August 7 — but remember, SML made her first Olympic team in 2016 (when Sutherland was 12) and set her first world record in 2021 (when Sutherland was 17). Now Sutherland has taken down SML’s collegiate record, which had looked destined to stand for years and years.

“I was able to meet [Sydney] this summer running in the Olympic final, so it kind of felt full circle for me,” Sutherland said.

In the short sprints, the times weren’t quick in the 100 or 100 hurdles as they were run into a headwind. Oregon junior Aaliyah McCormick won the hurdles 12.81 (-0.2) while USC senior Samirah Moody edged South Carolina sophomore JaMeesia Ford by 3/1000ths of a second as both ran 11.14 (-1.4). Ford almost was a double champion as she came back and won the 200 in 22.21 (+1.6).

In the field, Fresno State senior Cierra Jackson won the discus with a meet-record 65.82 in the first round. The triple jump was decided in round 1 as well as Texas A&M junior Winny Bii won it with a 13.96m first-round jump.  In the high jump, Georgia senior Elena Kulichenko won her third straight title dating to last year’s outdoor meet with a 1.96m clearance but came up short with three attempts at becoming the first collegian to clear 2.00m.

Talk about the action on our world-famous fan forum / messageboard at letsrun.com/forum:

1. SUPER SATURDAY! 2025 NCAA Outdoor Champs — Day 4
2. All you haters– Sophie O’Sullivan NCAA Champion
3. Doris MF Lemngole 8:58 Steeplechase 
4. Rita Gary (Furman Coach) tweets about foreign athletes
5. Marco Langdon calls out critics on LetsRun 
6. What percent of NCAA athletes at the 2025 Championships are on PEDs? 

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