EUGENE—After Parker Valby won the 10000 on Thursday night in a meet record 31:46.09, there was a sense of confidence that the NCAA champion this academic year in cross country, the indoor 3000 & 5000, and the outdoor 10000 would add to her totals with the outdoor 5000 Saturday afternoon.
Under pleasant conditions on the final day of competition at the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field, she and Alabama’s Hilda Olemomoi broke away from the field in a repeat of Thursday’s 10000 until Valby broke away past the 3400-meter mark to win going away in a collegiate and meet record 14:52.18.
She crossed the line and held up six fingers, signifying the five championships she won in the 2023-24 academic year and the 5000 title she first won last year and successfully defended.
The previous meet record was 15:03.12, set by Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech in 2008, while Valby set the collegiate record of 14:52.79 indoors in March at the NCAA championships in Boston.
Olemomoi nearly paid the price of going with Valby. She was almost caught by Colorado’s Bailey Hertenstein, but she hung on to take second in 15:10.04, with Hertenstein third in 15:10.98.
“It met my expectations,” Valby said. “I got the job done, got the most points (20 for winning the 5000 and 10000) I could for my team and a PB, so it’s awesome.”
When asked if she was disappointed in coming close to the Olympic standard of 14:52.00, she said she wasn’t too concerned until the last 40 meters or so when she saw the clock and leaned at the line.
While she doesn’t have the Olympic standard, her time and victory will certainly move her up in the Road to Paris quota list.
Valby will go down in collegiate history as the first woman to break 15 minutes for 5000 and 31 minutes for 10000.
WOO, PIG SOOEY!
Between Valby’s win in the 5000 and Grace Stark’s win in the 100 hurdles over Washington State’s Maribel Caicedo, the Florida Gators put themselves in a prime position to possibly win the NCAA championship if everything went right, and everything went wrong for Arkansas.
Florida held the first-day lead with 26 points, while Arkansas only had two points from Sydney Thorvaldson’s seventh-place finish in the 10000 on Thursday.
In fact, entering the meet’s final event, the 4 x 400 relay, Florida had a 53-49 lead over the Razorbacks, minutes after Valby won the 5000. So, the four women running…
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