Auburn's Tharp breaks world record in 110 hurdles on Day 1 of NCAA track and field meet

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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Auburn junior Ja’Kobe Tharp broke the world record in the 110-meter hurdles at 12.75 seconds Wednesday in the semifinal round on Day 1 of the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.

Tharp became the first individual since Dwight Stones in the high jump 50 years ago to break a world record at the NCAA championships. Improving his personal best by 0.26 seconds, Tharp broke the world record of 12.80 set by Olympic champion Aries Merritt in 2012 and Grant Holloway’s collegiate record of 12.98.

“I have more in my legs!” Tharp said in a trackside television interview. “That was not a picture-perfect race. This round was about getting through, surviving and advancing. This (record) is a huge bonus.”

New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel won the day's only track event final with a time of 27 minutes, 51.31 seconds in the 10,000 meters, sprinting away from Louisville’s Elsingi Kipruto in the home stretch. It was the second title for Samuel, who also won the race in 2024 and had a runner-up finish last season.

Five field event champions also were crowned.

Angelos Mantzouranis of Minnesota claimed his third straight NCAA medal and first title in the hammer throw with an effort of 248 feet, 7 inches. The Golden Golphers won the hammer for the second straight season, becoming the first program to repeat in the event since Virginia Tech in 2012-13. Mantzouranis was third as a freshman and second as a sophomore.

Nebraska's Dyson Wicker won the pole vault at an NCAA-leading 19-2 1/4, and Texas A&M senior Zaza Nnamdi took javelin at 269-10. Kansas State's Tah Chikomba won the long jump at 27-5 1/2.

Freshman Ben Smith became the first NCAA outdoor champion for Oregon in the shot put since Dean Crouser (1982) with a marl of 69-0 1/2.

The men’s events continue Friday at Hayward Field.

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