June 15, 2015 Anthony Rotich Men's Track & Field
Anthony Rotich outdueled Stanley Kebenei (Arkansas) at Hayward Field to claim his third-consecutive 3,000m steeplechase national title. In a race that featured a couple of falls, Rotich and Kebenei separated themselves from the pack with about 600m (one and a half laps) left to go, and it turned into an old-fashioned sprint to the finish line. After clearing the last hurdle, Rotich was able to hold off Kebenei and took gold with a season-best time of 8:33.90. This is the second year in a row that Rotich has knocked off Kebenei. With this win, Rotich becomes only the third athlete in NCAA history to win three-straight 3,000m steeplechase national titles. James Munyala (1975-77/UTEP) and Daniel Lincoln (2001-03/Arkansas) were the only two other runners to complete this feat.
Samantha Hall Women's Track & Field
Samantha Hall notched a throw of 52.15m (171-1) to earn a 13th-place finish in the discus throw at the NCAA Championships. The junior will be named a Second Team All-American for her performance. After fouling on her first two throws, the junior launched the discus 52.15m for her best throw of the event. She finished just outside the top nine, and all of those athletes earned three more attempts.