Sports

What will the Pac-12 and Mountain West look like in 2032?

This marks the last week of the 2024-25 athletic season for the Nevada Wolf Pack as track and field star Lilly Urban will compete at the NCAA Championship in javelin on Thursday in the last competition of the year for the school. We start this week’s Monday Mailbag looking further into the future with a […]

Published

1 week ago

June 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

That’s a good question to ask and impossible one to answer. If you go back seven years ago and look at conference affiliations, there were 64 schools at the power-conference level. For the 2025 football season, there are 66 schools in those conferences. Of those 67, 17 are in different conferences than they were seven years ago. That’s more than a quarter of the schools, with the Pac-12 falling out of the power-conference column. Not many would have predicted that seven years before it happened. So, there’s no certainty when it comes to conference affiliations. But there is a trend of massive realignment every decade. And seven years from now will be roughly the decade mark from Texas and Oklahoma giving its notice it was leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, which triggered all of the most recent changes.

My best guess is the ACC ceases to exist as currently constructed by 2032, your seven-year figure. So, let’s say North Carolina, Florida State, Clemson, Miami, Duke, Virginia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina State, Virginia and Pitt find new spots in the Big Ten, SEC or Big 12. That might be a touch high. Maybe it’s more like the top six on that list. But my point being the ACC destabilizes, which could be a good thing for the Pac-12, which could reclaim Stanford and Cal plus perhaps SMU, which might be in the mix for a power-conference spot at that point.

Here’s my best guess for the 2032-33 membership in the Pac-12 and MW:

Pac-12: Oregon State, Washington State, Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Utah State, Stanford, Cal, Texas State, Gonzaga (non-football)

Mountain West: Air Force, Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Sac State, San Jose State, UC Davis, UNLV, UTEP, Wyoming, Northern Illinois (football only), North Dakota State (football only)

So, I have Texas State in the Pac-12 as a near-term addition with Stanford and Cal re-joining the league after the ACC destabilizes and falls from Power 4 status to Group of 5 status. In the MW, I have Sac State added as a full member and North Dakota State in football only. Other schools to watch for membership changes include Memphis, Tulane, UTSA and USF, from the American Athletic Conference, plus UNLV, which is trying to get a Big 12 invitation, and Air Force, which has shown its dissatisfaction with the MW from time to time. But I think the Big 12 holds out for ACC schools once that league starts to fracture rather than poaching UNLV. Ultimately, I think we’re headed to a Power 3 situation, and I think the Big 12 outlasts the ACC in that battle for the third spot at the table with the Big Ten and SEC.

More financial investment, more facility improvements, more good coaching. That’s the key to successful programs. It takes money. It takes a good infrastructure of facilities and amenities. And it takes good coaching. If I had to rank programs by odds of winning a Mountain West title next season, I’d go:

Not happening (0 percent): Women’s cross country; men’s cross country; women’s indoor track and field; women’s outdoor track and field (four)

Lloyd Christmas landing Mary Swanson (one in a million): Football; women’s soccer; volleyball; men’s golf (four)

Odds the San Francisco Giants win the World Series (2.5 percent, per FanGraphs): Women’s swim and dive; women’s basketball (two)

Odds the New York Mets win the World Series (10.0 percent per FanGraphs): Women’s golf (one)

Odds the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series (20.7 percent, per FanGraphs): Men’s tennis; men’s basketball (two)

Coin flip (50 percent of better): Baseball; softball; women’s tennis (three)

Fox Sports offered betting odds on that hypothetical bout from Rocky IV and had Rocky Balboa at +800 odds, so a roughly 11 percent likelihood of defeating Ivan Drago, which is in line with Mets winning the World Series this season. So, Nevada football has a better chance of making a bowl this season than Rocky had of beating Drago, and Rocky famously won that bout, so you’re telling me there’s a chance. My way-too-early Mountain West win totals had Nevada at 6-6 overall and 4-4 in conference. So, I have the Wolf Pack in a bowl.

No, I don’t think so. The Mountain West has nine football schools now, which is the ideal number for a traditional eight-game league schedule. I don’t see the MW adding any more football-only members in the short term, and Northern Illinois was more attractive than Toledo because (a) its football history is slightly better and (b) it’s closer to a major city, Chicago.

The issue with putting UNLV’s quarterback in my Mountain West QB rankings was the fact we don’t know who that person will be. That position will go to Michigan transfer Alex Orji or Virginia transfer Anthony Colandrea. Orji is an unknown given his relatively sparse amount of playing time. He’s a former three-star recruit (No. 992 in the nation, 71st among quarterbacks) who has a career passer rating of 93.6 while completing just 54.2 percent of his passes for 3.2 yards per attempt. Those are atrocious numbers. But there seems to be untapped potential there, which is why I picked him to win the job over Colandrea, who is more proven with 4,083 passing yards and 26 touchdowns in two seasons at Virginia, albeit with 20 interceptions and a passer rating last year of 124.2 (which is not good). It is fair to point out Chubba Purdy’s career numbers are underwhelming, too, as he’s completed just 54.8 percent of his passes with more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (seven) and a career passer rating of 107 (also not good). My ranking him fifth in the MW was based on his running ability and Nevada’s proof-of-concept in coaching up Brendon Lewis last year. Certainly, Purdy could get hurt again or remain ineffective. But the same is true for Orji and Colandrea.

Here were my MW quarterback rankings, as posted with more detail last week.

1. Maddux Madsen, Boise State

2. E.J. Warner, Fresno State

3. Micah Alejado, Hawaii

4. Walker Eget, San Jose State

5. Chubba Purdy, Nevada

6. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, Colorado State

7. Alex Orji, UNLV

8. Kaden Anderson, Wyoming

9. Bryson Barnes, Utah State

10. Jack Layne, New Mexico

11. Quentin Hayes, Air Force

12. Jayden Denegal, San Diego State

There not much in the way of sure things here. The MW is not strong at quarterback this season, not it has not been the last couple of years.

Nevada ranked 129th out of 134 FBS teams in special teams efficiency last year, per ESPN’s Football Power Index. ESPN’s Bill Connelly projected Nevada for a SP+ special teams ranking of 129th out of 136 FBS schools this year. That’s an area that must improve. The Wolf Pack doesn’t have a kicker or punter on its roster who has played a game at the FBS level and also will break in a new long snapper. That’s not ideal. Punter returner Marcus Bellon could be All-MW good, and there are some kick-returning options (Ky Woods, Marquis Ashley, Charles Brown, Ashton Hayes). But the special teams must be better this year than it was last season when it cost the team big in losses to Colorado State and SMU.

Mountain West schools owe roughly $500,000 in back pay to athletes annually for each of the next 10 years. Is that fair? I guess. It seems like the power-conference schools should have been on the hook for a larger share of that back pay, but that’s not how things shook out since they’re in charge. I did have one former Nevada star ask me over the weekend if he was in line for money from this deal. Alas, he graduated in 2014, and the back pay only extends to athletes who competed from 2016-17 to 2024-25.

None of them?

Look, the House vs. NCAA settlement is not good for non-Power 4 schools. It’s increasing expenses exponentially while not creating new revenue sources to pay for those expenses. Nevada has basically run deficits annually for the last 15 to 20 years. It barely makes ends meet despite getting an additional $10 million in university money each of the last four years. I have no idea how the Wolf Pack is going to find the revenue-sharing numbers with its athletes, which could cost around $5 million per year if Nevada uses the NCAA formula of sharing 22 percent of its revenue plus the back pay that will be taken out of its NCAA distribution. The House case provides some clarity moving forward for Division I schools, but the revenue sharing is going to create staffing issues; increase internal arguments on which teams get how much; and hurt Olympic sports, not to mention create Title IX issues. I imagine most D-I athletics directors would prefer not to share revenue if given the option because they’ll be forced to cut costs elsewhere and try and raise revenue in the process. It’s a tough deal.

If you want one area where this settlement could potentially help mid-major schools like Nevada, it is the new roster limits. Some sports are getting reduced roster spots (like baseball), which could push more talent to lower-level schools. I guess that’s a potential plus.

There will not be contracted athletes as part of the House vs. NCAA settlement. Some schools have multi-year NIL deals with athletes that tie them to the school for multiple years. But, at this stage, college athletes are not employees of the school.

The Nevada-Fresno State semifinal of the Mountain West baseball tournament last month was exactly that. It was the championship game one round early.

If you want to go back a few years prior, I tweeted the Nevada-San Diego State men’s basketball semifinal in the 2018 Mountain West Tournament was the championship game, and then-New Mexico coach Paul Weir didn’t like that. The exact tweet read, “The MW title game is tomorrow at 6 p.m. Nevada versus SDSU. Should be fun.” After New Mexico beat Utah State in its semifinal, Weir said in his postgame presser, “Chris Murray might not think there’s a game tomorrow night, but we do. We’re excited to be here. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got. We’ve battled back from a lot, and that’s America. And if Chris Murray doesn’t want to believe in that, that’s fine. But we’re really looking forward to just giving it everything we’ve got tomorrow night. We’ve come a long way, and we’ll keep fighting.”

So, yes, the semifinal is the oftentimes the real championship game. That’s America.

Fun Fact: The Minnesota Timberwolves’ first season in 1989-90 had a three-person coaching staff in head coach Bill Musselman and assistants Tom Thibodeau and Bob Zuffelato. The second-year staff in 1990-91 included Bill Musselman as head coach and assistants Thibodeau and Eric Musselman. That was the former Nevada head coach’s first year in the NBA. So, Musselman and Thibodeau go back to the mullet days where that picture if probably from. Still, Thibodeau would have been fired either way because Knicks owner James Dolan is a bozo.

I haven’t heard anything since the day the Reno Redevelopment Agency board approved the public-money portion of the funding. At that point, GSR owner Alex Meruelo said ground would be broken in June — “Hell, yes, we’re breaking ground in June,” were his exact words. There are 21 days left in June, so this should be coming soon. We also should have some more news to report this week on Nevada’s indoor facility.

There’s no reason to get in the kitchen when playing pickleball, so I stayed out of there. I’m not dinking it into the kitchen every shot. That’s boring. It was a fun time. I met my boss, Anthony Resnick, at our community courts at 8 a.m. and other neighborhood folks showed up in mass around 8:45 a.m., so we weaved into their games and finished 4-2 overall, including 1-2 against the top-dog team. I then played with this nice grizzly bear of a man with a thick Eastern European accent named Ya Ya and went 1-1 with him against the big dogs on the court. I still prefer tennis, but I don’t really have anybody to play with, so pickleball was a nice way to get in three hours of Sunday morning exercise.

Thanks for reading!

See y’all next week!

Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. He writes a weekly Monday Mailbag despite it giving him a headache and it taking several hours to write. But people seem to like it, so he does it anyway. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.

Link

Sports

MSU’s Bair wins decathlon national title | Mississippi State

State AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington D.C.West VirginiaWisconsinWyomingPuerto RicoUS Virgin IslandsArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces PacificArmed Forces EuropeNorthern Mariana IslandsMarshall IslandsAmerican SamoaFederated States of MicronesiaGuamPalauAlberta, CanadaBritish Columbia, CanadaManitoba, CanadaNew Brunswick, CanadaNewfoundland, CanadaNova Scotia, CanadaNorthwest Territories, CanadaNunavut, CanadaOntario, CanadaPrince Edward Island, CanadaQuebec, CanadaSaskatchewan, CanadaYukon Territory, Canada Zip Code Country United States of […]

Published

14 minutes ago

June 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

State

Zip Code

Country

Link

Sports

Beach or mountains? Skiing or golf? California’s dazzling choices

California, the Golden State, is renowned for the beautiful weather that draws people to its stunning landscapes and multiple sports opportunities. Californians are frequently out in the open thanks to their sunny climate, running, hiking, climbing, cycling, paddling, skating, golfing, swimming and surfing. People play beach volleyball at the seaside, or steel their bodies in […]

Published

19 minutes ago

June 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

California, the Golden State, is renowned for the beautiful weather that draws people to its stunning landscapes and multiple sports opportunities.

Californians are frequently out in the open thanks to their sunny climate, running, hiking, climbing, cycling, paddling, skating, golfing, swimming and surfing. People play beach volleyball at the seaside, or steel their bodies in open-air gyms. The Pacific coastal state in the west of the United States is a paradise for active holidaymakers.

Santa Monica is the Mecca of the body cult. Bikers, inline skaters and joggers prefer to do their sport bare-chested or in extremely skimpy outfits on its lengthy cycle path. With a backdrop of the Los Angeles skyline, the beach is a catwalk for all those who have trained to chisel their bodies to the common ideal of beauty – some perhaps aided by a good dose of silicone.

Everyone meets on the beach

The hustle and bustle on the beach is lively, colourful and diverse. New performances are put on every minute on the free stage. Sometimes muscle packs run through the deep, fine sand in front of the lifeguards’ red Baywatch towers. Then a whimsical bon vivant skates past in the direction of Malibu, where the Hollywood stars from Beverly Hills have their beach villas.

Everyone meets on the beach – celebrities and no-names, up-and-comers and drop-outs, rich and poor. Just like on the parallel Ocean Avenue, the parade mile for horsepower freaks.

Customized souped-up cars with screeching tyres pull away from classic cars and rusty clunkers at traffic lights. Behind them, Harley-Davidson bikers with long beards chug away after casting a longing glance over to the Santa Monica Pier. After all, this is where the famous Route 66 ends, which begins almost 4,000 kilometres in Chicago to the east. Route 66 will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026.

Surfing hotspot and ‘small sharks’

For those not into motorcycles, there’s a great alternative: Surfing, the most Californian of all sports. At the Aqua Surf School, coaches like Chad Bonsack get beginners on the board in just a few hours. All you need is a bit of fitness, a little talent and some courage. “There are actually only ever small sharks in Santa Monica Bay,” Bonsack tries to reassure his students, who naturally ask about the infamous great white sharks first.

The feeling of happiness when you ride the first small wave for a few metres will dispel any doubts. Until then, countless failed attempts to get onto the board from the lying paddle position to the bent standing position require perseverance and willpower.

“Don’t get discouraged,” says Bonsack. “The ocean always shows us who’s boss!” Gradually, the plunges become fewer and the surf rides longer. Bonsack knows his trade. After all, the surf instructor has already guided two young wave riders into the top 20 in the world.

Where bodybuilding and beach volleyball grew up

To get anywhere near there, most of his surfing students would first have build up their body strength. The place for this is Muscle Beach, a legendary open-air gym originally built in Santa Monica in the mid-1930s. Arnold Schwarzenegger also trained there when the beach area was the centre of the bodybuilding boom in the 1970s. As one of the most successful bodybuilders of all time, Schwarzenegger became a Hollywood star and later governor of California.

But there’s not only body-building on Muscle Beach. There is also beach volleyball, a game invented in Hawaii in 1905. The first club was founded in Santa Monica, where the first official beach volleyball tournament was held in 1944. Beach volleyball will return to Santa Monica for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The climate in south-west California is perfect for sport, usually sunny and warm, but never hot and humid. If it does get too hot, head to the mountains for climbing, rafting or hiking. From Death Valley to Yosemite, California has nine national parks, more than any other state.

More choices: Skiing or golf?

And when it gets a little chilly on the coast in winter, some sports fans head go skiing at for well-known resorts such as Heavenly and Palisades on Lake Tahoe or Mammoth on the edge of the Sierra Nevada.

Others, namely golfers, are drawn to the warm desert. Their destination is Palm Springs, around 180 kilometres east of LA. The city in the Coachella Valley at the foot of the more than 3,300 metre San Jacinto Peak was long the home of Hollywood stars such as Ava Gardner, Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra.

Sven Wiedenhaupt worked there as managing director of the Indian Wells Golf Resort, one of the top golf addresses in California.

Golf is very popular in the US and Pebble Beach on the cliffs of the the Monterey Peninsula is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. But the choice is huge in the greater Palm Springs area, with around 100 golf courses, Wiedenhaupt says.

If all this physical activity is not your thing, there is still the classic way of enjoying California’s stunning scenery and way of life: Motoring on the legendary coastal road Highway 1.

Cyclists in Santa Monica can enjoy the ride if they don't worry too much about all the sand. To effectively navigate sandy bike paths, just adjust your riding technique. Max Whittaker/Visit California/dpa-tmn — Cyclists in Santa Monica can enjoy the ride if they don’t worry too much about all the sand. To effectively navigate sandy bike paths, just adjust your riding technique. Max Whittaker/Visit California/dpa-tmn

Beverly Hills, where you might spot Hollywood stars such as Jack Nicholson and Jennifer Lawrence. Max Whittaker/Visit California/dpa-tmn

First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, and hiking. David H. Collier/Visit California/dpa-tmn

The Santa Monica Pier offers activities for the whole family from rides to carnival games. Max Whittaker/Visit California/dpa-tmn

Link

Sports

Maxime Grousset Breaks Own French National Record in the 100 Fly in 50.11

2025 FRENCH ELITE CHAMPIONSHIPS Men’s 100 Fly – Finals World Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021) World Junior Record: 50.62 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2017) French Record: 50.14 – Maxime Grousset (2023) French World Championship Qualifying Time: 51.67 Maxime Grousset broke his own French national record in the 100 fly to defend his title at the […]

Published

24 minutes ago

June 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

2025 FRENCH ELITE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Men’s 100 Fly – Finals

World Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2021)
World Junior Record: 50.62 – Kristof Milak, HUN (2017)
~~French Record: 50.14 – Maxime Grousset (2023)~~
French World Championship Qualifying Time: 51.67

Maxime Grousset broke his own French national record in the 100 fly to defend his title at the French Elite Championships, closing out his week of racing in style.

Grousset threw down a 50.11, shaving .03 off of the previous record (50.14), which he set at the 2023 World Championships in Japan. He took it out in 23.32, a few hundredths slower than his previous record-setting swim, but managed to come home .11 faster in 26.79 to pull ahead of the record line.

Split Comparison

	Grousset – New French Record (2025)	Grousset – Old French Record (2023)
50	23.32	23.24
100	50.11 (26.79)	50.14 (26.90)

Grousset’s performance marks the fastest time in the world so far this season, bumping him ahead of Noe Ponti‘s 50.27 by .16. It also marked a significant improvement for him this season, as the fastest he had been before tonight was 50.86 back in December.

2	Noe PONTI	SUI	50.27	04/05
3	Ilya KHARUN	CAN	50.37	06/08
4	Josh LIENDO	CAN	50.46	06/08
5	Shaine Casas	USA	50.51	06/06

View Top 26»

Grousset maintains his place as the sixth-fastest performer ever.

All-Time Performers, Men’s 100 Butterfly (LCM)

Caeleb Dressel (USA), 49.45 – 2021 Olympic Games
Kristof Milak (HUN), 49.68 – 2021 Olympic Games
Michael Phelps (USA), 49.82 – 2009 World Championships
Milorad Cavic (SRB), 49.95 – 2009 World Championships
Josh Liendo (CAN), 49.99 – 2024 Olympic Games
Maxime Grousset (FRA), 50.11 – 2025 French Elite Championships
Noe Ponti (SUI), 50.16 – 2024 Swiss Nationals
Matthew Temple (AUS), 50.25 – 2023 Japan Open
Joseph Schooling (SGP), 50.39 – 2016 Olympic Games
Ian Crocker (USA) / Shaine Casas (USA), 50.40 – 2005 World Championships / 2022 U.S. Nationals

Taking the runner-up spot in finals tonight was Clement Secchi, who was almost a full second behind Grousset in 51.06, while Michel Arkhangelsky took 3rd in 51.24.

Grousset’s record-breaking win in the 100 fly marked his fourth victory and 2nd national record of the meet, having already won the 50 fly (22.70 – French record), 100 free (47.50) and 50 free (21.68).

Link

Sports

Olympic Sports Face Cuts in Wake of House v. NCAA Settlement

Olympic Sports Face Cuts in Wake of House v. NCAA Settlement Privacy Manager Link 0

Published

38 minutes ago

June 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Olympic Sports Face Cuts in Wake of House v. NCAA Settlement

Link

Sports

WSU takes the “field” out of Track & Field

In what may be a sign of more to come, WSU Athletic Director Anne McCoy this week announced that the school will eliminate all field events from its track & field program. WSU will also limit sprint and hurdle events. Here’s the entire brief announcement: Earlier today, WSU Athletics leadership met with members of the […]

Published

58 minutes ago

June 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

In what may be a sign of more to come, WSU Athletic Director Anne McCoy this week announced that the school will eliminate all field events from its track ~~& field~~ program. WSU will also limit sprint and hurdle events.

Here’s the entire brief announcement:

Earlier today, WSU Athletics leadership met with members of the men’s and women’s track and field team to inform them that the program will be shifting to a distance-focused approach. This change gives the WSU Track & Field program the best opportunity to remain competitive at the conference and national levels in distance events in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. It does mean, however, that field events (e.g., jumps, throws) will no longer be supported, effective immediately, and the number of sprint and hurdle opportunities will be limited moving forward.

Impacted student-athletes will have their scholarships honored should they choose to remain at WSU. WSU understands the significant impact this decision has on Cougar student-athletes, coaches, and fans. Transition support and services will be provided to those student-athletes who choose to seek to continue their academic and athletic careers at other institutions.

That’s all we’ve heard from WSU and McCoy, as neither she nor track head coach Wayne Phipps have commented publicly.

John Blanchette, writing for The Spokesman-Review this week, talked to former athletes and legendary coach John Chaplin for their reactions. Let’s just say their feelings aren’t great, especially Chaplin’s:

“I feel like going over to the alumni center and chopping that tile with my name on it out of the floor,” former Cougars coach John Chaplin said.

And then this:

Most of the track and field alums grasp the realities of today’s college landscape, even if they don’t like it or understand. They’re more saddened than disgusted.

That doesn’t make this wholesale gutting of the program easier to swallow. Chaplin, a long-time donor as well as the builder of the program, insisted he’s taking the Rono statue project he’s ramrodded off campus.

“I don’t want my name attached to the university in any way,” he said. “I’m embarrassed to be a graduate of WSU.”

The brief statement—which, again, is all we’ve heard from anyone at the university—tries to put a positive spin on things: “This change gives the WSU Track & Field program the best opportunity to remain competitive at the conference and national levels in distance events in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field.”

That’s a lot of digital ink that could have been spared and replaced with, “Look, we just don’t have the funds anymore.”

And that’s what this is all about (and why not just come out and be honest about it?). It’s not like the WSU brass woke up one day and felt the urge to gut the field events and become a distance-only school (much like Gonzaga). To remain Division I, schools have to field a minimum amount of sports. With the perilous financial situation WSU is in, cutting positions and spending is the only way out, but if they want to remain Division I, hard decision like this have to be made. It’s awful for the athletes affected by it.

Link

Sports

NCAA Women’s 5000 — Kosgei Doubles Back

Pamela Kosgei, the first-ever frosh doubler, won the 5K with her kick. (ERROL ANDERSON/THE SPORTING IMAGE) 2 DAYS AFTER winning the 10,000, New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei returned to the Hayward oval attempting to pull off a double that had only been achieved 7 times in meet history. The Kenyan frosh lined up for the 5000 […]

Published

1 hour ago

June 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

**Pamela Kosgei, the first-ever frosh doubler, won the 5K with her kick.** (ERROL ANDERSON/THE SPORTING IMAGE)

2 DAYS AFTER winning the 10,000, New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei returned to the Hayward oval attempting to pull off a double that had only been achieved 7 times in meet history. The Kenyan frosh lined up for the 5000 as the collegiate leader — and second-fastest of all time — with her 14:52.45 from April.

The early pace was conservative. Kosgei’s teammate/countrywoman Marion Jepngetich, who won silver in the 3000 at last year’s World U20 Champs, led a massive pack through the first kilometer in 3:21.58. The tempo picked up from there, but at 3000 (9:35.71 for Jepngetich) most of the runners were still in contention. Jepngetich and Kosgei continued to run side-by-side up front and finally, with 4 laps to go, they began to gradually string out the field.

Among those consistently near the front were 10,000 runner-up Grace Hartman of NC State, Clemson’s Silvia Jelelgo, Arkansas’ Paityn Noe and Stanford’s Sophia Kennedy, who had been 5th at the Indoor.

At the bell, 15 were still in striking distance. Kosgei begin her kick down the final backstretch, but it was far from decisive. Jepngetich and Hartman remained right on her heels, while Boston U’s Vera Sjöberg, 11th in the 1500 earlier in the day, swung wide and moved into contention.

Kosgei covered her last lap in 64.48, which was enough to bring her home 1st in 15:33.96. Sjöberg (15:34.77) closed well for 2nd. Kennedy (15:35.08) passed Jepngetich (15:35.14) just before the line for 3rd, and Hartman (15:35.39) took 5th.

“I said [to myself], ‘Let me try my best, maybe to push on the straight and maybe I will win,’” said Kosgei, who finished 2nd at the NCAA Cross Country last fall and followed up with a 3rd in the Indoor 5000 in March. “[My strategy] was just to stay with them. Then for the last lap I said, ‘Let me try at least to push… If I will win it’s fine. If I will not win it’s fine.’”

She joins Florida’s Parker Valby (’24), Arkansas’ Dominique Scott (’16), Iowa State’s Lisa Koll (’10), Arizona’s Amy Skieresz (’97 & ’98), Wisconsin’s Stephanie Herbst (’86) and NC State’s Betty Springs (’83) as the only women to pull off the grueling double.

WOMEN’S 5000 RESULTS

(June 14)

1. ***Pamela Kosgei’ (NM-Ken) 15:33.96 (64.47, 2:15.20, 4:42.40);

2. *Vera Sjöberg’ (BU-Swe) 15:34.77 (64.39, 2:15.20, 4:42.44);

3. **Sophia Kennedy (Stan) 15:35.08 (64.63, 2:15.85, 4:43.07);

4. ***Marion Jepngetich’ (NM-Ken) 15:35.14 (65.56, 2:16.43, 4:43.62);

5. *Grace Hartman (NCSt) 15:35.39 (65.71, 2:16.43, 4:43.75);

6. **Paityn Noe (Ar) 15:35.81 (65.59, 2:16.81, 4:44.11);

7. *Agnes McTighe’ (NnAz-Swi) 15:35.87 PR (64.48, 2:15.69, 4:43.21);

8. Amina Maatoug’ (Wa-Neth) 15:35.93 PR (65.06, 2:16.30, 4:43.73);

9. **Silvia Jelelgo’ (Clem-Ken) 15:36.34; 10. *Alex Millard’ (Prov-GB); 11. *Jenna Hutchins (BYU) 15:40.87; 12. *Maelle Porcher’ (IaSt-Fra) 15:41.76; 13. Margot Appleton (Va) 15:44.76; 14. Chloe Scrimgeour (Gtn) 15:46.18; 15. ***Isca Chelangat’ (OkSt-Ken) 15:48.66; 16. *Florence Caron’ (PennSt-Can) 15:49.72; 17. *Zofia Dudek’ (Stan-Pol) 15:53.91; 18. ***Rachel Forsyth’ (MiSt-Can) 15:57.28; 19. *Julia David-Smith’ (Wa-Fra) 15:59.27; 20. Samantha Bush (NCSt) 16:01.47; 21. ***Brenda Jepchirchir’ (Aub-Ken) 16:01.99; 22. **Ava Mitchell (NnAz) 16:06.32; 23. *Sadie Sigfstead’ (Vill-Can) 16:06.70; 24. ***Edna Chelulei’ (EnKy-Ken) 16:24.97.

Link