UW Huskies’ Amanda Moll beats sister for NCAA pole vault title

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The UW Huskies’ Amanda Moll cleared 15 feet, 10 1/2 inches in the pole vault to set a collegiate record and clinch the title over her sister Hana Moll – the indoor champion — as Washington took the team lead on Thursday at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.

Hana won the pole vault title at last year’s championships with a collegiate record of her own.

The Gold Bar 🥇

Amanda Moll on a third-attempt goes over 15-10 1/2, the highest outdoor clearance in the world this year, and an @NCAATrackField Record#PoleVaultU pic.twitter.com/eZKvJHPugV

— Washington Track & Field and Cross Country (@UWTrack) June 12, 2026

The Moll sisters are alums of Olympia’s Capital High School.

Six other champions were crowned on Day 2, with Washington’s 18 points ahead of Iowa State’s 15 and Nebraska’s 14.

For the second time, the iconic Moll twins go 1-2 at the NCAA Championships.

The updated National Title count
Hana 🥇🥇🥇
Amanda 🥇🥇

To be continued… pic.twitter.com/7nvaX9XjR8

— Washington Track & Field and Cross Country (@UWTrack) June 12, 2026

Iowa State’s Mercyline Kirwa won the 10,000 meters, beating the collegiate record holder and last year’s champion with a time of 31 minutes, 54.88 seconds. Kirwa closed in 1:01.84 over the final 400 meters, outpacing BYU’s Jane Hedengren and New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei for the fourth 10k title in program history.

Nebraska’s Axelina Johansson won the shot put with the third-furthest throw in NCAA history at 65-4 1/4. She secured a season sweep in the shot put and her fourth career title.

McKyla Van Der Westhuizen became Rice’s first NCAA champion since Jason Colwick swept the men’s pole vault in 2009 and the first women’s champion since Allison Beckford won the indoor 400 meters in 2002. Van Der Westhuizen won the javelin with a final-round throw of 199-8.

Stanford’s Alyssa Jones won the long jump with a 23-2 for a championship meet record, and Texas State’s Elisabet Rut Runarsdottir had a personal-best 240-1 throw to secure her second national title in the hammer.

In the only men’s event of the day, BYU’s Ben Barton won the decathlon crown with 8,169 points — just nine more than Louisville’s Kenneth Byrd.

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