Following victory by Nebraska teammate Otabor at NCAA final in Texas, Harris becomes first collegiate athlete to capture U.S. crown since current Cornhuskers assistant Malone triumphed at Texas A&M in 2016; Franklin halts Orji’s winning streak at six to earn first outdoor triple jump title and Mattis secures first discus championship since 2019

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport and Crash Kamon

EUGENE – Just learning the significance of Maddie Harris’ achievement gave Maggie Malone chills.

Just hearing the historical context that connected the two athletes provided the Nebraska assistant coach and New York Athletic Club representative with incredible pride.

And watching the 22-year-old Harris achieve a lifetime-best in the women’s javelin throw final on the biggest stage of her career at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships nearly brought Malone, winner of two U.S. national titles, to tears Thursday night at Hayward Field.

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Harris elevated to the No. 4 all-dates collegiate competitor in history with a fifth-round performance of 199 feet, 3 inches (60.73m) to become the first NCAA Division 1 athlete to capture the U.S. title since Malone achieved the feat for Texas A&M in 2016.

Malone, who placed second at 192-10 (58.79m) with a fifth-round effort, has now won both Division 1 and U.S. titles in her career, along with mentoring both NCAA and USATF champions.

Nebraska’s Rhema Otabor, representing the Bahamas, won the Division 1 crown June 8 in Austin, Texas, with a 195-2 (59.49m) performance.

Madison Wiltrout of North Carolina took third with an opening-round mark of 182-1 (55.51m).

Ariana Ince, representing Velaasa and Iron Wood Track Club as well as the only American with the global standard of 209-3 (63.80m), placed sixth overall at 171-10 (52.38m).

Tori Franklin also achieved a career breakthrough with her first career U.S. outdoor championship in the triple jump, halting the reign of six consecutive titles by Keturah Orji.

Franklin, now training in Greece under George Pomaski, produced a wind-legal mark of 47-4.50 (14.44m) in the second round to edge Orji’s sixth-round effort of 47-4.25 (14.43m).

Franklin won the 2020 indoor title against Orji, her first head-to-head victory against the American record holder in a U.S. final.

Jasmine Moore, the collegiate record holder at Florida making her professional debut representing PUMA, overcame a rough start with two fouls in her first three attempts to take third with a fourth-round performance of 46-6.75 (14.19m).

There was a common theme and shared pride among the podium finishers in both the women’s triple jump and men’s discus throw, as all three athletes in each championship event were African-American.

It was the first time in meet history that feat was achieved in the men’s discus, with Nike athlete Sam Mattis – representing Garage Strength and New York Athletic Club – capturing his first title since 2019 with a fifth-round throw of 216-3 (65.93m).

Turner Washington of Arizona State, the reigning NCAA Division 1 champion, took the lead in the fourth round with his 215-3 (65.60m) effort, before Mattis gained the advantage on his fifth attempt.

Brian Williams, representing Tracksmith and a former Ole Miss standout, achieved a fifth-round performance of 207-10 (63.36m) to take third, earning his first berth to compete at the World Athletics Championships, scheduled for Aug. 19-27 in Budapest, Hungary.

Anna Hall, an adidas athlete who is already the world leader this season in the heptathlon at 6,988 points, grabbed the first-day lead with 4,009 points following four events. Hall achieved a lifetime-best 46-0.50 (14.03m) in the second round of the shot put.

Taliyah Brooks, representing ASICS, accumulated 3,890 points and On athlete Chari Hawkins amassed 3,831 points to position themselves in second and third, respectively, entering the final day of competition.

Harrison Williams, a former Stanford standout, secured the lead at the midway point of the decathlon with 4,465 points. Williams had 4,471 points at the halfway mark April 12 at the 63rd Mt. SAC Relays on his way to producing a lifetime-best 8,492 points.

Iowa athlete Austin West has 4,430 points entering the second day of competition, followed by reigning World Championships bronze medalist Zach Ziemek at 4,370 and Georgia’s Kyle Garland at 4,353.