From Washington University Athletics
Junior Emma Kelley of the Washington University in St. Louis women's track and field team highlighted the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships by claiming the 800-meter national title, Saturday,
After the three-day championship event in Rochester, N.Y., the women's team secured a national third-place finish with 51 points. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse claimed the National Championship title with 67.5 points, while Loras University finished runner-up with 58 points.
Kelley cruised past the women's 800m field to secure WashU's 42nd individual NCAA Championship with her time of 2:06.47 to set a new facility record. Kelley bested the NCAA Division III field by nearly three seconds to claim All-American honors. This marks Kelley's second national title, having won the indoor 800m crown this past March.
Also in the women's 800m, senior Aoife Dunne and junior Ally Sarussi both garnered All-American status. Dunne recorded the fourth-fastest time (2:10.78) in NCAA Division III, while Sarussi placed eighth (2:12.19).
Using a personal-best mark, junior Ebun Opata soared to a distance of 12.45m to earn second in the triple jump, good for her second top-eight finish at the championships. With her personal-best, Opata remains in the third position in the WashU all-time top-10 list.
The women's 4x100m relay team of senior Mycah Clay, sophomore Nicole Stewart, senior Lauren Hamilton, and sophomore Lauren Gay set the WashU record for the fastest mark in school history. The team turned in a second-place, All-American, run by posting a time of 45.67, topping the previous school record by 0.40 seconds.
The 1,500m All-American duo of senior Emily Konkus and Dunne produced nine team points for the Bears by finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Both athletes welcomed personal-best marks as Konkus finished fourth with a time of 4:23.44, while Dunne recorded a time of 4:23.55. Konkus upped her school record mark in the process, while Dunne now ranks second in the WashU all-time top-10 record book with her fantastic showing.
In the final event of the championships, the 4x400m relay squad of graduate Sophie Fox, graduate Danielle Schultz, first-year Kylie Spytek, and Kelley earned fifth as the team compiled a time of 3:45.86.
Konkus snagged an 11th-place finish in the 5,000m run as she crossed the finish line with a time of 17:11.94.
On the men's side, senior Abayomi Awoyomi grabbed a tie for 12th in the triple jump with a leap of 14.55m.
This concludes the historic 2023 outdoor season for the Bears. WashU will now turn its attention to the highly-anticipated 2023-24 slate.