Moore sweeps long jump and triple jump, Hall produces pentathlon title, Stark equals collegiate 60-meter hurdles record and Diggs wins 400 for Gators; Taiwo delivers all-time weight throw, Steiner repeats in 200, Wayment enjoys trifecta and van Klinken completes Arizona State shot put sweep

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Perhaps it was only fitting that the first women’s team title for Florida in 30 years came, in large part, to the 30-point production of champions Jasmine Moore and Anna Hall.

They weren’t the only individual winners for the Gators at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships, as Grace Stark equaled the collegiate record in the 60-meter hurdles and Talitha Diggs triumphed in the 400 meters, but the presence of the former Georgia standouts and the two biggest impact transfers in collegiate women’s track and field created a shift in the landscape of the sport Friday and Saturday at the CrossPlex.

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Florida accumulated 68 points, with Texas taking runner-up with 56 points, followed by Kentucky finishing third with 44 points and reigning champion Arkansas placing fourth with 40 points.

Moore, a U.S. Olympian, improved on her own collegiate record in the indoor triple jump with a 47-9.75 (14.57m) effort and emerged victorious in the long jump based on a second-best performance in a tiebreaker with Monae’ Nichols of Texas Tech after both athletes had marks of 21-6.75 (6.57m).

Moore backed up the championship jump with a 21-6.25 (6.56m) compared to Nichols at 21-5.50 (6.54m), becoming the fifth female athlete in indoor history to sweep both titles in the same year.

The Gators added a second-place finish from Natricia Hooper in the triple jump at 45-10.75 (13.99m) as well as Claire Bryant securing seventh in the long jump at 21-2 (6.45m).

Hall, who recovered from ankle surgery during the summer after suffering a fall in the Olympic Trials, won the pentathlon Friday with 4,586 points to become the Gators’ first champion in the combined events.

Stark matched the 2013 collegiate-record performance of Clemson’s Brianna McNeal by clocking 7.78 seconds, as a third showdown this season with Alia Armstrong didn’t materialize when the LSU standout was charged with a false start in the final.

Stark (7.13) and Semira Killebrew (7.18) provided more depth in the 60-meter dash final by finishing fourth and sixth, respectively.

And Diggs continued the Florida firepower with a 400 title in 50.98 seconds, improving from third last season.

Kentucky’s Abby Steiner repeated as 200 champion in 22.16, the second-fastest performance in collegiate and American indoor history, trailing only her own 22.09 effort Feb. 26 at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships at Texas A&M.

She also placed runner-up in the 60-meter final in a personal-best 7.10, with Melissa Jefferson becoming the first champion in Coastal Carolina history by clocking 7.09.

And Steiner contributed to a third-place effort in the 4x400 in 3:28.77, helping the Wildcats secure third overall.

Shey Taiwo eclipsed the collegiate weight throw record on her final attempt, leading Ole Miss to a sweep of the top two spots with Jasmine Mitchell.

Taiwo produced the No. 3 all-time throw in the world at 83-10 (25.55m), with Mitchell elevating to the No. 5 competitor in history at 81-10 (24.94m), achieving the No. 12 throw overall.

Arkansas became the first women’s program in indoor history to capture both the 4x400 and distance medley relays, achieving the feat with eight different athletes.

The Razorbacks clocked 10:51.37 in the DMR to improve on the No. 3 mark in collegiate indoor history and triumphed in the 4x400 in 3:27.23, already boasting the NCAA indoor record of 3:24.09 from the SEC final.

Brigham Young’s Courtney Wayment became the first female distance runner in Division 1 indoor history to win titles in the 3,000, 5,000 and DMR during her career. She completed the trifecta Friday by clocking 15:30.17 to hold off Katelyn Tuohy of North Carolina State in 15:30.63, adding to 3,000 and DMR titles secured last year.

Tuohy also made a strong late surge in the 3,000, but Oklahoma State’s Taylor Roe was able to hold off the former three-time Nike Cross Nationals champion by an 8:58.95 to 8:59.20 margin, with Wayment finishing fifth at 9:01.77.

Virginia Tech produced a pair of champions, with Rachel Baxter clearing 15-1.75 (4.62m) to elevate to the No. 5 competitor in collegiate indoor history and become the Hokies’ first pole vault winner.

Lindsey Butler ascended from a fourth-place performance last year to triumph in the 800 in 2:01.37, with she and Baxter joining 2010 winner of the 60-meter hurdles Queen Claye as the only female champions in program history.

Arizona State swept both women’s and men’s shot put titles, becoming the first school since UCLA in 1996 to achieve the feat, with Turner Washington producing back-to-back men’s championships at 71-0.50 (21.65m).

Jorinde van Klinken produced a personal-best 62-7.25 (19.28m) to knock off reigning champion Adelaide Aquilla of Ohio State at 58-10.75 (17.95m).

Colorado crowned back-to-back winners in the women’s mile, with Micaela DeGenero benefitting from a bold move with two laps remaining to emerge victorious in 4:33.92. Sage Hurta earned the win for the Buffaloes last year and Emma Coburn captured the mile title in 2013.

Texas A&M also celebrated its second straight title in the high jump, with Lamara Distin clearing 6-3.50 (1.92m) to hold off former teammate and defending indoor champion Tyra Gittens at 6-2.25 (1.89m), now representing Texas, and reigning Division 1 outdoor winner Rachel Glenn of South Carolina at 6-1.25 (1.86m).

Gittens was one of two runner-up performers for Texas, along with Kennedy Simon in the 400 (51.46), as well as the 4x400 relay placing second in 3:28.60.

The Longhorns didn’t win an event, but Texas was the only school to finish on the podium in both genders, relying on the depth of Julien Alfred, Stacey Ann Williams, Rhasidat Adeleke, Ackelia Smith and Kristine Blazevica.

Alfred set the collegiate record by clocking 7.04 in the 60-meter dash semifinals, before finishing fifth in 7.15 in the final.