Jemutai Breaks Two School Records on Day Two of NCAA Outdoor Championships

Thursday, June 11

Eugene, Ore.

University of Kansas

NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Day 2

Photo by: Kate Benninghoff/Kansas Athletics

Jemutai Breaks Two School Records on Day Two of NCAA Outdoor Championships

6/12/2026 12:35:00 PM | Track & Field

Day 2 Results Meet Info Schedule Photo Gallery

EUGENE, Ore. - Junior captain Emmah Jemutai was the highlight of the Jayhawks on the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Thursday, qualifying for the finals in both the 800 meters and 1,500 meters while breaking her own school record in both events at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Jemutai began her Championships run by competing in the first heat of the 1,500 meter run. Jemutai sat in the middle of the pack throughout most of the race, but when the lead group began to separate, she followed. Jemutai ended up finishing sixth in the heat with a new personal best time of 4:08.33, breaking her previous record by 0.27 seconds. Despite not earning the automatic qualifier, her time was the fastest amongst non-autoqualifiers, and faster than the entire second heat, advancing her to the finals.

Nearly 100 minutes after her 1,500 meters qualification, Jemutai raced in the 800 meter run. She let the pack control the pace for most of the race, kicking into a new gear down the final 300 meters to close a multiple stride gap, passing four runners in the process, to win the heat with a new personal best and school record time of 1:59.62. The race marked the second time Jemutai broke the two minute barrier in her career.

"Emmah was definitely special today," Kansas distance coach Michael Whittlesey said. "We knew she would probably have to run similarly to what she did at the regionals to have a chance, and she was even a little bit faster in both…the execution today was really really good, especially down the last 80 meters of the 800, she was special."

In addition to Jemutai's dominant day, Mason Meinershagen earned the second Second Team All-American honors of her career when she tied for 13th with a top clearance of 4.39 meters. Meinershagen cleared the opening 4.09 meters bar on her first try as well as the next 4.24 meters bar. She was able to vault 4.39 meters on her second attempt before barely failing three times at the 4.49 meters height.

John Swabik closed his season with a 20th place finish in the decathlon, scoring 6,587 points. He opened the day with a 15.23 seconds 10 meter hurdles before setting a personal best in the discus with a top mark of 42.28 meters. To close the afternoon, Swabik cleared 4.51 meters in the pole vault and threw the javelin 47.68 meters.

He ended the night on a high note, running a season best time in the 1,500 meter run of 4:31.48 to finish seventh in the event and place 20th overall.

Following Swabik's 1,500 meter run, the women's 4x400 meter relay team, composed of Ethel Amissah, Deshana Skeete, Pearl Awanya and Sidney Smith closed the night with a time of 3:31.42 to place 17th.

The Jayhawks will next be in action on Saturday to close out the 2025-26 season. Emmah Jemutai is scheduled to compete in the women's 1,500 meters final at 7:12 p.m. CT, followed by the 800 meters final at 8:14 p.m. Senior captain Sofia Sluchaninova will also compete, throwing in the women's discus at 1:30 p.m.

The meet will stream live on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+. More information about the meet can be found here, while the live results are available here and a meet schedule is here.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can stay current with the events by following the official Kansas Track & Field and Cross Country X or Instagram account @kansastfxc. A broadcast schedule for the meet can be found here and live results are available here. Final results and a meet recap will be posted at the conclusion of the meet on kuathletics.com.