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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Shey Taiwo Finishes NCAA Runner-Up in Women’s Hammer
6/11/2021 | Track and Field
<i class="icon-stats"></i> Live Results<i class="icon-pencil"></i> Day One Recap<i class="icon-pencil"></i> Preview & Links<i class="icon-info-circled"></i> Championship Info
Taiwo Unleashed 16-Foot PR to Take NCAA Silver
EUGENE, Ore. – The second her final attempt landed 233 feet and 10 inches away, Ole Miss hammer thrower Shey Taiwo knew it was a good one. In fact, she ran out of the ring to celebrate.
On her last throw of competition, Taiwo capped off an already excellent field series with a mammoth 16-foot PR of 71.27m/233-10 to finish as the NCAA runner-up in a historic women's hammer final – highlighting Day Two of the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships for Ole Miss at Hayward Field on Thursday.
"I knew it was a PR. It felt amazing," Taiwo said. "(Throws coach John Smith) always says to finish through, no matter what, no matter how it feels, and on that one I was real confident it was going to go. At this meet, for the first time I felt confident in myself, and I think that made a huge difference."
Taiwo was consistently great on Thursday in her first outdoor national meet, ripping off a three-foot PR on her second attempt at 67.07m/220-0, and a seven-foot PR on her fifth attempt of 68.52m/224-10 before her behemoth 16-foot improvement in the final round to jump from fifth into second place.
"I am extremely proud of the way she competed," said Ole Miss head coach Connie Price-Smith. "I've always believed she had the ability to throw that far, and today it happened."
However, Taiwo was stymied from an NCAA title by a preposterous winning performance by Cal's Camryn Rogers, who dismantled the collegiate record two different times on Thursday – with her final attempt of 75.52m/247-09 making her the second-best Canadian thrower ever and overshadowing Maggie Ewen's 2018 NCAA record of 74.53m/244-6 by more than three feet.
Taiwo's mark was good enough to win every NCAA title from the time the women's event began in 1996 up until 2015, when an intense surge of talent in the event sprang up. Only one winning throw from 1996 to 2014 broke 70 meters (2007, Jenny Dahlgren, Georgia, 70.72m/232-00), but each winning throw since 2015 has been at least 71.49m/234-06 or further – with the NCAA meet record resetting four times in a six-year span including today.
Taiwo was not on many pre-meet radars to score in the hammer, let alone shatter the formchart in the way she did with eight points as the second-place finisher. She entered seeded No. 13 at her entry mark of 66.35m (217-08), which was her previous PR set at Florida's Tom Jones Memorial back in April. Her mark today stands apart even as the runner-up. She now ranks as the No. 9 performer in NCAA history and the No. 6 performer in the history of the NCAA Outdoor meet, in addition to skyrocketing up to No. 6 in the United States and No. 25 in the world this season.
Her performance also puts her square into the conversation for the U.S. Olympic Trials right back at Hayward Field later this month, as her throw soared far past the qualifying standard of 68.00m (223-01). Taiwo would still need to achieve the Olympic qualifying "A" standard of 72.50m (237-10) and finish as one of the top-three Americans with the standard at the Trials in order to book passage to Tokyo for the Summer Olympic Games.
With a return trip to Tracktown USA now booked, Taiwo will be hoping to recapture some Hayward Magic at those Olympic Trials in a few weeks.
"I'm just in awe. Not even just competing, just being here," Taiwo said. "There's so much talent here. Such an amazing facility, such amazing people. It just feels like track and field."
Teammate Jalani Davis also had a career day in the hammer, her first of three events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Davis opened her triple with a two-foot PR in the first flight of the hammer at 65.52m (214-11), which was good enough for 16th and a Second-Team All-American nod. Her throw improves upon her slot as the No. 4 thrower in school history.
Davis had a few hours to rest up before her second stop along the triple tour in the women's shot put. Davis finished 19th overall for Honorable Mention All-American status at 16.39m (53-09.25). She will complete her triple attempt on Saturday afternoon in the women's discus. Davis is one of just two in the entire competition to be attempting a triple alongside Texas A&M star Tyra Gittens.
On the track, the Rebel quartet of Olivia Womack, Brandee Presley, Jayda Eckford and Toni Glatz were also awarded Second-Team All-American honors following a 14th-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay. Ole Miss – in its sixth straight national appearance in the event – ran 44.12 for that 14th-place finish. This is the second honor in the event for both Eckford and Presley, who were on the 12th-place team in 2019.
Clio Ozanne-Jaques only raced once from October 2020 to April 2021, but she has used that rest to put together an impressive string of 10K races over this past month – culminating in a school record performance in the NCAA final on Thursday.
Ozanne-Jaques shattered Emily Bean's 2016 record (33:39.36) by 14 seconds, running 33:26.86 to finish 17th overall in the final and earn Honorable Mention All-American status. Ozanne-Jaques is the first Rebel woman to have ever qualified in the 10K, and just the second in the entire history of the program next to 1993 NCAA men's runner-up, Pablo Sierra.
Since her return to the track, Ozanne-Jaques has clocked, in succession, a 33:44.78 on May 13 to win bronze at the SEC Outdoor Championships, a personal-best 33:39.80 at the NCAA East Regional on May 27 to punch her ticket to Eugene, and now her school record time from the biggest stage at Hayward Field on Thursday.
Ole Miss senior Kieshonna Brooks closed the book on her excellent Rebel career on Thursday, finishing 21st in the women's long jump final at 6.01m/19-08.75 (+1.1) in her final collegiate meet. This was the culmination of two years of rumination for Brooks, who missed out on the national meet by one centimeter in 2019, and then saw her proper senior season canceled by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Brooks decided to come back for one more shot at a national ticket in 2021, and was able to snag one following a career-best leap of 6.27m/20-07.00 (+1.3) at the NCAA East Regional two weeks ago. Brooks was the first Rebel to qualify in the event since Olympian Brittney Reese won the 2008 NCAA title.
Lyndsey Reed was unable to clear a bar in the women's pole vault, which wraps up an otherwise spectacular season with the Rebels. Reed – in her second year at Ole Miss but her first outdoor season – became just the second member of the Ole Miss 14-foot club on her PR height of 4.28m/14-00.50 earlier this season.
The Rebel men return to the track on Friday, with Allen Gordon completing his NCAA double in the high jump at 6:30 p.m. CT, while Mario Garcia Romo and Waleed Suliman are squared away to represent Ole Miss in the men's 1500-meter final at 7:11 p.m. CT live on ESPN2.
Day Two First-Team All-Americans
Shey Taiwo – Women's Hammer, 2nd Place
Day Two Second-Team All-Americans
Jayda Eckford – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay, 14th Place
Toni Glatz – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay, 14th Place
Brandee Presley – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay, 14th Place
Olivia Womack – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay, 14th Place
Jalani Davis – Women's Hammer, 16th Place
Day Two Honorable Mention All-Americans
Clio Ozanne-Jaques – 10K, 17th Place
Jalani Davis – Women's Shot Put, 19th Place
Kieshonna Brooks – Women's Long Jump, 21st Place
REBELS IN DAY TWO COMPETITION
Women's 10K Final
17. Clio Ozanne-Jaques – 33:26.86 – School Record
Women's 4x100-Meter Relay Semifinals
14. Womack, Presley, Eckford, Glatz – 44.12
Women's Pole Vault
NH Lyndsey Reed
Women's Long Jump
21. Kieshonna Brooks – 6.01m/19-08.75 (+1.1)
Women's Shot Put
19. Jalani Davis – 16.39m/53-09.25
Women's Hammer
2. Shey Taiwo – 71.27m/233-10 – NCAA Runner-Up, 16-foot PR, No. 9 NCAA history, No. 6 NCAA meet history, No. 2 all-time at Ole Miss, No. 6 U.S. 2021, No. 25 World 2021
16. Jalani Davis – 65.52m/214-11 – 2-foot PR, No. 4 all-time at Ole Miss
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Day One Finals Qualifiers
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's 1500-Meter
Waleed Suliman – Men's 1500-Meter
Day One Second-Team All-Americans
Allen Gordon – Men's Long Jump, 11th Place
Baylor Franklin – Men's 800-Meter, 13th Place
John Rivera Jr. – Men's 800-Meter, 14th Place
Day One Honorable Mention All-Americans
Kenney Broadnax – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles, 21st Place
REBELS IN DAY ONE COMPETITION
Men's 800-Meter Semifinals
13. Baylor Franklin – 1:48.28
14. John Rivera Jr. – 1:48.45
Men's 1500-Meter Semifinals
2. Mario Garcia Romo – 3:37.59 – AQ
8. Waleed Suliman – 3:38.92 – AQ
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Semifinals
21. Kenney Broadnax – 14.24 (+0.2)
Men's Pole Vault
NH Cole Colozzo
Men's Long Jump
11. Allen Gordon – 7.64m/25-00.75 (+1.9)
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
On her last throw of competition, Taiwo capped off an already excellent field series with a mammoth 16-foot PR of 71.27m/233-10 to finish as the NCAA runner-up in a historic women's hammer final – highlighting Day Two of the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships for Ole Miss at Hayward Field on Thursday.
"I knew it was a PR. It felt amazing," Taiwo said. "(Throws coach John Smith) always says to finish through, no matter what, no matter how it feels, and on that one I was real confident it was going to go. At this meet, for the first time I felt confident in myself, and I think that made a huge difference."
Taiwo was consistently great on Thursday in her first outdoor national meet, ripping off a three-foot PR on her second attempt at 67.07m/220-0, and a seven-foot PR on her fifth attempt of 68.52m/224-10 before her behemoth 16-foot improvement in the final round to jump from fifth into second place.
"I am extremely proud of the way she competed," said Ole Miss head coach Connie Price-Smith. "I've always believed she had the ability to throw that far, and today it happened."
However, Taiwo was stymied from an NCAA title by a preposterous winning performance by Cal's Camryn Rogers, who dismantled the collegiate record two different times on Thursday – with her final attempt of 75.52m/247-09 making her the second-best Canadian thrower ever and overshadowing Maggie Ewen's 2018 NCAA record of 74.53m/244-6 by more than three feet.
Taiwo's mark was good enough to win every NCAA title from the time the women's event began in 1996 up until 2015, when an intense surge of talent in the event sprang up. Only one winning throw from 1996 to 2014 broke 70 meters (2007, Jenny Dahlgren, Georgia, 70.72m/232-00), but each winning throw since 2015 has been at least 71.49m/234-06 or further – with the NCAA meet record resetting four times in a six-year span including today.
Taiwo was not on many pre-meet radars to score in the hammer, let alone shatter the formchart in the way she did with eight points as the second-place finisher. She entered seeded No. 13 at her entry mark of 66.35m (217-08), which was her previous PR set at Florida's Tom Jones Memorial back in April. Her mark today stands apart even as the runner-up. She now ranks as the No. 9 performer in NCAA history and the No. 6 performer in the history of the NCAA Outdoor meet, in addition to skyrocketing up to No. 6 in the United States and No. 25 in the world this season.
Her performance also puts her square into the conversation for the U.S. Olympic Trials right back at Hayward Field later this month, as her throw soared far past the qualifying standard of 68.00m (223-01). Taiwo would still need to achieve the Olympic qualifying "A" standard of 72.50m (237-10) and finish as one of the top-three Americans with the standard at the Trials in order to book passage to Tokyo for the Summer Olympic Games.
With a return trip to Tracktown USA now booked, Taiwo will be hoping to recapture some Hayward Magic at those Olympic Trials in a few weeks.
"I'm just in awe. Not even just competing, just being here," Taiwo said. "There's so much talent here. Such an amazing facility, such amazing people. It just feels like track and field."
Teammate Jalani Davis also had a career day in the hammer, her first of three events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Davis opened her triple with a two-foot PR in the first flight of the hammer at 65.52m (214-11), which was good enough for 16th and a Second-Team All-American nod. Her throw improves upon her slot as the No. 4 thrower in school history.
Davis had a few hours to rest up before her second stop along the triple tour in the women's shot put. Davis finished 19th overall for Honorable Mention All-American status at 16.39m (53-09.25). She will complete her triple attempt on Saturday afternoon in the women's discus. Davis is one of just two in the entire competition to be attempting a triple alongside Texas A&M star Tyra Gittens.
On the track, the Rebel quartet of Olivia Womack, Brandee Presley, Jayda Eckford and Toni Glatz were also awarded Second-Team All-American honors following a 14th-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay. Ole Miss – in its sixth straight national appearance in the event – ran 44.12 for that 14th-place finish. This is the second honor in the event for both Eckford and Presley, who were on the 12th-place team in 2019.
Clio Ozanne-Jaques only raced once from October 2020 to April 2021, but she has used that rest to put together an impressive string of 10K races over this past month – culminating in a school record performance in the NCAA final on Thursday.
Ozanne-Jaques shattered Emily Bean's 2016 record (33:39.36) by 14 seconds, running 33:26.86 to finish 17th overall in the final and earn Honorable Mention All-American status. Ozanne-Jaques is the first Rebel woman to have ever qualified in the 10K, and just the second in the entire history of the program next to 1993 NCAA men's runner-up, Pablo Sierra.
Since her return to the track, Ozanne-Jaques has clocked, in succession, a 33:44.78 on May 13 to win bronze at the SEC Outdoor Championships, a personal-best 33:39.80 at the NCAA East Regional on May 27 to punch her ticket to Eugene, and now her school record time from the biggest stage at Hayward Field on Thursday.
Ole Miss senior Kieshonna Brooks closed the book on her excellent Rebel career on Thursday, finishing 21st in the women's long jump final at 6.01m/19-08.75 (+1.1) in her final collegiate meet. This was the culmination of two years of rumination for Brooks, who missed out on the national meet by one centimeter in 2019, and then saw her proper senior season canceled by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Brooks decided to come back for one more shot at a national ticket in 2021, and was able to snag one following a career-best leap of 6.27m/20-07.00 (+1.3) at the NCAA East Regional two weeks ago. Brooks was the first Rebel to qualify in the event since Olympian Brittney Reese won the 2008 NCAA title.
Lyndsey Reed was unable to clear a bar in the women's pole vault, which wraps up an otherwise spectacular season with the Rebels. Reed – in her second year at Ole Miss but her first outdoor season – became just the second member of the Ole Miss 14-foot club on her PR height of 4.28m/14-00.50 earlier this season.
The Rebel men return to the track on Friday, with Allen Gordon completing his NCAA double in the high jump at 6:30 p.m. CT, while Mario Garcia Romo and Waleed Suliman are squared away to represent Ole Miss in the men's 1500-meter final at 7:11 p.m. CT live on ESPN2.
Day Two First-Team All-Americans
Shey Taiwo – Women's Hammer, 2nd Place
Day Two Second-Team All-Americans
Jayda Eckford – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay, 14th Place
Toni Glatz – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay, 14th Place
Brandee Presley – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay, 14th Place
Olivia Womack – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay, 14th Place
Jalani Davis – Women's Hammer, 16th Place
Day Two Honorable Mention All-Americans
Clio Ozanne-Jaques – 10K, 17th Place
Jalani Davis – Women's Shot Put, 19th Place
Kieshonna Brooks – Women's Long Jump, 21st Place
REBELS IN DAY TWO COMPETITION
Women's 10K Final
17. Clio Ozanne-Jaques – 33:26.86 – School Record
Women's 4x100-Meter Relay Semifinals
14. Womack, Presley, Eckford, Glatz – 44.12
Women's Pole Vault
NH Lyndsey Reed
Women's Long Jump
21. Kieshonna Brooks – 6.01m/19-08.75 (+1.1)
Women's Shot Put
19. Jalani Davis – 16.39m/53-09.25
Women's Hammer
2. Shey Taiwo – 71.27m/233-10 – NCAA Runner-Up, 16-foot PR, No. 9 NCAA history, No. 6 NCAA meet history, No. 2 all-time at Ole Miss, No. 6 U.S. 2021, No. 25 World 2021
16. Jalani Davis – 65.52m/214-11 – 2-foot PR, No. 4 all-time at Ole Miss
-----
Day One Finals Qualifiers
Mario Garcia Romo – Men's 1500-Meter
Waleed Suliman – Men's 1500-Meter
Day One Second-Team All-Americans
Allen Gordon – Men's Long Jump, 11th Place
Baylor Franklin – Men's 800-Meter, 13th Place
John Rivera Jr. – Men's 800-Meter, 14th Place
Day One Honorable Mention All-Americans
Kenney Broadnax – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles, 21st Place
REBELS IN DAY ONE COMPETITION
Men's 800-Meter Semifinals
13. Baylor Franklin – 1:48.28
14. John Rivera Jr. – 1:48.45
Men's 1500-Meter Semifinals
2. Mario Garcia Romo – 3:37.59 – AQ
8. Waleed Suliman – 3:38.92 – AQ
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Semifinals
21. Kenney Broadnax – 14.24 (+0.2)
Men's Pole Vault
NH Cole Colozzo
Men's Long Jump
11. Allen Gordon – 7.64m/25-00.75 (+1.9)
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field and Cross Country, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
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