Florida Olympian wins 100 and 200 meters at NCAA championships
EUGENE, OREGON - JUNE 10: Joseph Fahnbulleh of Florida reacts after winning the 200 meter during the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field on June 10, 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Ch
EUGENE, Ore. - Florida’s Joseph Fahnbulleh pulled away at the finishes to win the 100 and 200 meters at the NCAA track and field championships Friday night.
Fahnbulleh, who competed for Liberia at the Tokyo Olympics, won the 100 title first in a personal-best 10 seconds. Tennessee freshman Favour Ashe was second in 10.08. Oregon’s Micah Williams, who had the nation’s fastest time of 9.86 seconds this year, finished seventh.
"I just did my race plan, and that was it," Fahnbulleh matter-of-factly said.
He won the 200 later in the evening at Hayward Field, finishing in 19.83 ahead of Matthew Boling of Georgia.
Boosted by Fahnbulleh’s performance, the Florida Gators won the men’s team title with 54 points. Texas finished second with 38.
Wisconsin’s Olin Hacker won the 5,000, surging in the final 80 meters to finish in 13:27.73. His father, Tim Hacker, won the 1985 NCAA cross-country championship.
"It’s one of those things, I came into this race, this is what I wanted, this is what I dreamed about — and they were kind of stressful dreams, to be honest," Hacker said with a laugh. "I thought I could do it but it wasn’t real and I didn’t know what it would feel like. It felt amazing."
North Carolina A&T’s Randolph Ross defended his outdoor title in the 400 and got the indoor-outdoor sweep in the event with a victory in 13:44. Ross was part of the gold medal-winning U.S. 1,600 relay team at the Toyko Games.
Florida State’s Trey Cunningham, the back-to-back ACC champion, won the 110 hurdles in a personal-best 13 seconds. Cunningham also won the 60 hurdles at the indoor championships.
Texas Tech’ senior Moad Zahafi won the 800 in 1:44.49. Earlier this year, he ran the event in 1:43.79, the third-fastest time in NCAA history.
"I came here with one goal, just like everyone else, to win," Zahafi said. "It’s my last meet at Texas Tech, so I want to give it all and I want to win for my team."
Washington sophomore Joe Waskom won the 1,500 in 3:45.58, besting Mario Garcia Romo of Ole Miss. Sean Burrell of LSU defended his title in the 400 hurdles in 48.70, and Eastern Kentucky’s Ahmed Jaziri won the steeplechase title in 8:18.70.
Southern California won the 400 relay in 38.49. Florida capped its team title by winning the 1,600 in 2:58.88.
Hayward Field was damp for the men’s finals with temperatures in the upper 60s. The women’s finals are set for Saturday.