The NCAA indoor track season kicked off with a handful of remarkable performances. On Saturday, December 7, two indoor collegiate records were broken in long-distance events at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston.
The day began with a stellar run from Ethan Strand of North Carolina, who won the men’s 3,000 meters in 7:30.15 after passing teammate Parker Wolfe on the homestretch. Just two weeks after finishing eighth at the NCAA Cross-Country Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, Strand shattered the collegiate record (7:36.42) set by Drew Bosley of Northern Arizona University last year. Including Strand, four athletes ran under the previous record.
“I thought realistically, we were going to run 7:34 or 7:35,” Strand told FloTrack after the race. “I knew the collegiate record was in danger, but when I looked at the clock and saw 7:30, I was kind of in shock.”
An hour later, Doris Lemngole of Alabama broke the collegiate record in the women’s 5,000 meters with a stunning victory in 14:52.57. Many believed the previous record of 14:52.79, set by Parker Valby of Florida at the same meet last season, would hold for years. But Lemngole has reached another level since winning the NCAA cross-country title on November 23. On Saturday, the sophomore started her kick with a half mile remaining to beat Southeastern Conference rival Hilda Olemomoi of Florida, who finished runner-up in 14:52.84.
“I came here with confidence, and I wanted to finish my season strong,” Lemngole told Citius Mag after obliterating her previous personal best by 12 seconds.
We almost saw another collegiate record in the last event of the day. In the first heat of the men’s 5,000 meters, Graham Blanks of Harvard ran 12:59.89, just shy of the 12:57.14 collegiate record set by Nico Young of Northern Arizona University last year. Running most of the final 2,000 meters solo, Blanks lowered his personal best by nearly four seconds and hit the world championships qualifying standard.
The senior is riding the momentum of winning his second NCAA cross-country title three months after competing as a member of the U.S. Olympic team in the 5,000 meters this summer.
Blanks broke the 5,000-meter indoor collegiate record at the same meet in Boston last year. Following his 2023 NCAA cross-country title, the Ivy League standout won the invitational in 13:03.78, eclipsing the previous record of 13:08.28 set by Lawi Lalang in 2012. Less than two months later, Young ran 12:57.14 on the same track at the John Thomas Terrier Classic.
With the holidays approaching, most of the athletes will dive deeper into their training cycles before resuming the indoor track season in January.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
