Hiltz edges Rose by a 1:59.03 to 1:59.08 margin, the latter mark good for No. 2 in collegiate 800 history; Fay prevails against Prakel and Lumb in men’s 5,000, with Utah Valley’s Kemboi securing women’s victory and Angelo State’s El Bouchayby adding another sub-1:46 effort to his resume

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

AZUSA, Calif. – The Bryan Clay Invitational was again the "Brian Fay Show" on Friday night at Azusa Pacific’s Cougar Stadium.

But even the Irish standout from Washington and his back-to-back victories in the men’s invitational 5,000 meters might have been overshadowed by a memorable women’s 800 earlier in the day, highlighted by a spectacular stretch battle involving Lululemon professional athlete Nikki Hiltz and LSU sophomore star Michaela Rose.

Hiltz held off Rose by a 1:59.03 to 1:59.08 margin, with both athletes lowering their personal-best performances by more than a second.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS by Chuck Aragon | PHOTOS by Crash Kamon

Rose, 19, elevated to the No. 2 all-time collegiate competitor, trailing only Athing Mu’s 2021 record of 1:57.73 during her lone year at Texas A&M. Rose became the sixth NCAA female athlete to produce a sub-2 effort outdoors, and there was nearly a seventh in BYU sixth-year athlete Claire Seymour.

With a program-record performance 2:00.04, eclipsing the 1987 mark of 2:00.50 by Julie Jenkins, Seymour ascended to the No. 7 all-time collegiate competitor.

Elise Cranny of Nike Bowerman Track Club finished fourth in a personal-best 2:00.25, Texas graduate student-athlete Valery Tobias produced a lifetime-best 2:00.31 to finish fifth, elevating to the No. 12 performer in collegiate outdoor history.

Kennesaw State fifth-year athlete Sarah Hendrick was the sixth-place finisher in 2:01.93.

Even with such a tough act to follow, Fay was up to the challenge, repeating as 5,000 champion in 13:21.99, holding off Washington assistant coach and adidas professional Sam Prakel in 13:22.78, as well as former Huskies’ standout and On professional competitor Kieran Lumb of Canada (13:27.60).

Fay prevailed last year in 13:16.52, relying on an impressive comeback in the final 300 meters to edge Michigan State’s Morgan Beadlescomb (13:17.16).

Wisconsin’s Bob Liking finished fourth Friday in 13:27.92 and Badgers’ teammate Jackson Sharp secured sixth in 13:29.84, with Stanford’s Ky Robinson in between in fifth in 13:29.44.

Utah Valley’s Everlyn Kemboi, representing Kenya, withstood a late challenge from Utah’s Simone Plourde to triumph in the women’s invitational 5,000 in 15:20.67, ascending to the No. 23 all-time collegiate outdoor competitor.

Plourde, representing Canada, elevated to No. 24 in NCAA history with her 15:21.19 performance.

Logan Jolly, a former Arkansas All-American and ASICS professional athlete, produced a personal-best 15:29.08 to take third and Western Colorado graduate and Polish standout Alicja Konieczek, representing On Athletics, finished fourth in 15:30.61.

Stanford’s Zofia Dudek (15:32.89), Colorado’s Ella Baran (15:36.44) and Oregon State’s Kaylee Mitchell (15:37.46) joined Plourde in representing the Pac-12 Conference in impressive fashion by all placing in the top seven, with Baylor’s Annamaria Kostarellis earning eighth in 15:39.16.

Oussama El Bouchayby, a Moroccan athlete competing for Angelo State, became the first male athlete in NCAA Division 2 history to achieve a pair of sub-1:46 performances in a career in the 800 meters.

El Bouchayby, already the world leader at 1:45.31 from his March 30 effort at the 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, prevailed Friday in 1:45.88.

Abdullahi Hassan of Wisconsin placed second in 1:46.25, with British professional athlete Charlie Grice taking third in 1:46.80.

Wes Ferguson of Nebraska-Kearney won the second section in 1:46.95 to finish fourth overall and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Aidan McCarthy prevailed in the fourth section in 1:47.24 to secure fifth among all men’s 800 races combined.

In between the invitational 800 races and the 5,000 competitions, the top sections of the college heptathlon and decathlon concluded.

Samuel Black of Garage Strength, a former NCAA Division 2 champion at Saginaw Valley State, emerged victorious in the decathlon with 7,735 points

Esther Conde-Turpin, an Azusa Pacific freshman representing France, elevated to the No. 2 all-time heptathlete in Division 2 with 6,007 points.