Completed Event: Track & Field versus Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships Day 2 on May 15, 2026 ,
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Track & Field
vs Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships Day 2
Saturday, June 13
Eugene, Ore.
University of Kansas
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NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Day 4
Jemutai Finishes Sixth in 1,500 Meters and 800 Meters to Close out NCAA Outdoor Championships
6/14/2026 10:17:00 AM | Track & Field
EUGENE, Ore. - Â Emmah Jemutai finished sixth in both the 1,500 meters and the 800 meters on Saturday to wrap up the NCAA Outdoor Championships, scoring points in both events while setting a new school record in the 800 meters at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.Â
On Thursday, Jemutai qualified for both events' finals 80 minutes apart, setting new personal bests and school records in both the 1,500 meters and 800 meters. On Saturday, she finished sixth in the 1,500 meters before setting a new personal best by over a second in the fastest women's 800 meter collegiate race ever to place sixth again, earning First Team All-American honors in both events.Â
"It felt so amazing and I was so excited to do both of the races," Jemutai said. "I think I have been training so hard that all I have to do is trust my training. They are completely different races, with the 1,500 being more endurance and the 800 being speed. I believe in myself and I've believed in my training all throughout the season."
The 1,500 meter run section got out to a slow pace, battling the wind and heat throughout the race. Through the first 700 meters, the pack stuck together, with Jemutai running on the outside. As the race progressed, the pace increased and Jemutai had to fight through to the finish, pushing ahead to finish in 4:14.75.
Just over an hour later, Jemutai was back out on the track, running in a very competitive 800 meters final where every qualifier ran under two minutes to advance to the finals. Right from the start, the racers went out fast, running in a pack of eight with Jemutai trailing by 1.5 seconds.Â
As they got to the final 200 meters, Jemutai kicked into final gear, closing the gap and running down the pack. She closed the race with the fastest lap of anyone in the field, passing three racers to place sixth in a personal best time of 1:58.55. In four races at the Championships, Jemutai set three personal bests, breaking her own school record every time.Â
The winner of the event, Arkansas' Sanu Jallow, broke the collegiate record on her way to the victory, finishing the race in 1:56.85. Entering the race, the collegiate record sat at 1:57.13 while the meet record was 1:58.13.Â
"It was a very special day for Emmah to be able to go out and compete in an extremely competitive 1,500 meter race and then an hour later come back out and set over a second personal best in the 800 meters, it's just extremely impressive," Kansas assistant coach Michael Whittlesey said. "When we started the year it was never the plan to do both events at the National meet, just at the Conference meet… but the evolution of her, both physically and tactically, has been extremely, extremely impressive this year."
In addition to Jemutai, fellow team captain Sofia Sluchaninova competed in the women's discus. Sluchaninova got out to a good start in the event, throwing 55.94 meters on her first throw. She then faulted on her second throw before narrowly faulting on a better third throw. At the end of the first flight she sat in 4th place, needing to be a top nine competitor to make the finals.
With four throws remaining in the second flight, Sluchaninova sat in eighth place. Texas A&M thrower Abigail Martin was able to jump her with a throw of 56.15 meters, but Sluchaninova held the final spot to advance and earn three more throws.
In the finals she faulted on her first two throws before having one last effort of 55.62 meters to cap off her collegiate career. Sluchaninova placed ninth in the event, earning Second Team All American honors.Â
With Jemutai's two sixth place runs, the Kansas women's team achieved sixth points to tie for 38th as a team. A full list of results can be found here, while a list of Kansas results only is available here.
On Thursday, Jemutai qualified for both events' finals 80 minutes apart, setting new personal bests and school records in both the 1,500 meters and 800 meters. On Saturday, she finished sixth in the 1,500 meters before setting a new personal best by over a second in the fastest women's 800 meter collegiate race ever to place sixth again, earning First Team All-American honors in both events.Â
"It felt so amazing and I was so excited to do both of the races," Jemutai said. "I think I have been training so hard that all I have to do is trust my training. They are completely different races, with the 1,500 being more endurance and the 800 being speed. I believe in myself and I've believed in my training all throughout the season."
The 1,500 meter run section got out to a slow pace, battling the wind and heat throughout the race. Through the first 700 meters, the pack stuck together, with Jemutai running on the outside. As the race progressed, the pace increased and Jemutai had to fight through to the finish, pushing ahead to finish in 4:14.75.
Just over an hour later, Jemutai was back out on the track, running in a very competitive 800 meters final where every qualifier ran under two minutes to advance to the finals. Right from the start, the racers went out fast, running in a pack of eight with Jemutai trailing by 1.5 seconds.Â
As they got to the final 200 meters, Jemutai kicked into final gear, closing the gap and running down the pack. She closed the race with the fastest lap of anyone in the field, passing three racers to place sixth in a personal best time of 1:58.55. In four races at the Championships, Jemutai set three personal bests, breaking her own school record every time.Â
The winner of the event, Arkansas' Sanu Jallow, broke the collegiate record on her way to the victory, finishing the race in 1:56.85. Entering the race, the collegiate record sat at 1:57.13 while the meet record was 1:58.13.Â
"It was a very special day for Emmah to be able to go out and compete in an extremely competitive 1,500 meter race and then an hour later come back out and set over a second personal best in the 800 meters, it's just extremely impressive," Kansas assistant coach Michael Whittlesey said. "When we started the year it was never the plan to do both events at the National meet, just at the Conference meet… but the evolution of her, both physically and tactically, has been extremely, extremely impressive this year."
In addition to Jemutai, fellow team captain Sofia Sluchaninova competed in the women's discus. Sluchaninova got out to a good start in the event, throwing 55.94 meters on her first throw. She then faulted on her second throw before narrowly faulting on a better third throw. At the end of the first flight she sat in 4th place, needing to be a top nine competitor to make the finals.
With four throws remaining in the second flight, Sluchaninova sat in eighth place. Texas A&M thrower Abigail Martin was able to jump her with a throw of 56.15 meters, but Sluchaninova held the final spot to advance and earn three more throws.
In the finals she faulted on her first two throws before having one last effort of 55.62 meters to cap off her collegiate career. Sluchaninova placed ninth in the event, earning Second Team All American honors.Â
With Jemutai's two sixth place runs, the Kansas women's team achieved sixth points to tie for 38th as a team. A full list of results can be found here, while a list of Kansas results only is available here.
Players Mentioned
/ Track & Field
/ Track & Field
Saturday, March 14
Saturday, March 14
Wednesday, April 16
Saturday, June 08