Hunter follows 800-meter leg on DMR world indoor all-time best by running 3:54.54 to eclipse 2005 national indoor mark of 3:54.77 achieved by Fountain; Teare, Hocker move into collegiate top 20 in 3,000 for Ducks, with Williams achieving third-fastest freshman 60-meter effort; Hurta returns with 2:02.54 800

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Charlie Hunter wasn’t done setting records at the Razorback Invitational.

Less than 24 hours after running the 800-meter leg on Oregon’s collegiate absolute record and world indoor all-time best distance medley relay, Hunter eclipsed the Australian national record in the indoor mile Saturday by clocking 3 minutes, 54.54 seconds at Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

Hunter, who had run 3:55.41 last year, broke the 2005 Australian indoor mark of 3:54.77 established by Mark Fountain at the Boston Indoor Games, now better known as the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.

Hunter equaled the No. 4 all-time collegiate indoor mark on a 200-meter banked track, matching the 2012 performance of Brigham Young’s Miles Batty. He trails only Oregon 17-time national champion Edward Cheserek (3:52.01), Arizona’s Lawi Lalang (3:52.88) and Tulsa’s Chris O’Hare (3:52.98).

Washington’s Izaic Yorks (3:53.89), Stanford’s Sean McGorty (3:53.95) and Villanova’s Don Paige (3:54.22) have also achieved faster indoor mile performances on oversized flat tracks than Hunter ran Saturday.

Oregon junior Reed Brown ran 3:56.61, just missing cracking the top 25 all-time indoor collegiate performers on a 200-meter banked track. He became the fifth Ducks’ runner to achieve a sub-3:57 performance on a banked track and the sixth overall, including Sam Prakel’s 3:56.89 at the Dempsey indoor facility flat track in Washington in 2018.

Ole Miss senior Everett Smulders ran his first career sub-4 mile, clocking 3:58.93 to increase the list of all-time performances under 4 minutes at Randal Tyson Track Center to 120.

Oregon senior Cooper Teare and sophomore Cole Hocker, also members of the Ducks’ 9:19.42 performance Friday in the DMR, both elevated among the top 20 all-time collegiate indoor performers in the men’s 3,000 meters Saturday. Teare led by more than a second at the 2,000-meter mark, then held off a late charge by Hocker to prevail by a 7:46.10 to 7:46.44 margin.

Teare improved to the No. 17 all-time competitor and Hocker ascended to No. 19, leading six athletes achieving sub-8 performances, including Iowa State junior Wesley Kiptoo (7:48.36) and Ole Miss sophomore Mario Garcia Romo (7:48.40).

Arkansas junior Lauren Gregory and senior Katie Izzo achieved the top two NCAA marks in the women’s mile this season by clocking 4:35.69 and 4:37.07, respectively. Gregory is already the collegiate leader in the 3,000 at 9:01.44, and Izzo ran the fastest 5,000 this year Friday with her 15:36.22 effort, just ahead of Gregory’s 15:36.51.

Georgia senior Jessica Drop ran the second-fastest 3,000 this season Saturday at 9:03.29, with Arkansas’ Krissy Gear taking second in 9:08.55. 

Arkansas junior Paris Peoples edged USC senior Nicole Yeargin in the women’s 400 by a 52.48 to 52.51 margin, producing the top two collegiate performances this year. Peoples also contributed to the Razorbacks running a world-leading 3:30.80 in the 4x400 relay, joining Morgan Burks Magee, Shafiqua Maloney and Rosey Effiong.

Colorado senior Sage Hurta returned to indoor competition for the first time since 2019, and represented the Buffaloes at an indoor event for the first time in nearly three years, winning the women’s 800 meters in a program-record 2:02.54, the second-fastest collegiate performance this season and elevating her to the No. 19 all-time collegiate performer on a 200-meter banked track.

Oregon freshman Micah Williams set a program record and took over the collegiate lead in the men’s 60-meter dash by clocking 6.56 seconds. Only Florida State’s Marvin Bracy (6.54, 2013) and Houston’s Cameron Burrell (6.55, 2014) have run faster as freshmen than Williams.

Georgia junior Imani Carothers took over the collegiate lead in the women’s 60-meter hurdles by clocking 8.06, with sophomore Jasmine Moore elevating to No. 2 in the NCAA by winning the women’s triple jump with a 45-3.50 (13.80m) effort. 

The Bulldogs also received a victory in the women’s pole vault from sixth-year senior Kayla Smith, who cleared 14-3.25 (4.35m) on her third attempt to equal the No. 4 collegiate clearance this year.

Elija Godwin, a junior, won the 400 for Georgia in 45.56, giving the Bulldogs two of the top three performers nationally after Matthew Boling ran 45.51 on Jan. 23 at the Carolina Challenge. 

Oregon junior Kemba Nelson won the women’s 60-meter dash, prevailing over 2019 Division 1 indoor champion Twanisha “Tee Tee” Terry of USC by a 7.19 to 7.24 margin.

Redshirt freshman Emmanuel Ihemeje won the men’s triple jump for Oregon, setting a program record with a mark of 53-10.25 (16.41m), ascending to No. 2 in the country this season.

Ole Miss junior Baylor Franklin won the men’s 800 in 1:48.59, just ahead of Arkansas senior Kieran Taylor in 1:48.66.

Arkansas senior Markus Ballengee won the men’s heptathlon with 5,827 points, ahead of Oregon’s Max Vollmer (5,734), Georgia’s Karel Tilga (5,713) and Arkansas senior Etamar Bhastekar (5,680), performances that rank second through fifth on the collegiate rankings this season.