EUGENE, Oregon—Sophomore hurdler Ja’Kobe Tharp won his second national title and the 4x100m relay team of Azeemi Fahmi, Kanynsola Ajayi, Dario Matau, and Makanakaishe Charamba repeated as national champions Friday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at historic Haward Field. The men finished with 35 points, good for fourth place, marking the first time the Auburn men had consecutive top five finishes at outdoor nationals since 2007-08. Auburn was national runners up in 2024 under head coach Leroy Burrell.
The pair of event titles gave Auburn multiple national titles in the same year for the third time ever. It previously occurred in 2006 when Cory Martin won the shot put and hammer throw and 1976 when Harvey Glance won the men’s 100 and 200m dashes.
Tharp ran the best race of his Auburn career, claiming his second national championship finishing in 13.05, the third fastest time in the world in 2025 and fifth fastest collegiate time ever.
“It feels great,” Tharp said. “I started really well. I tried to hold on through the end of the race but, once again, I got a little sloppy, but it feels good that I was able to get that done. I still have more room to grow.”
The 2025 NCAA indoor champion in the 60m hurdles, Tharp becomes the seventh Auburn student-athlete to win indoor and outdoor NCAA titles in the same year, the first since Kerron Stewart in 2007 and first male runner since James Walker in 1979.
“I knew I had it in me,” he said. “I just had to go out there and get it done.”
After winning the silver medal as a freshman at 2024 NCAA outdoors, Tharp and assistant coach Ken Harnden refined his start in the offseason, reducing the steps he takes before the first hurdle from eight to seven.
“I knew I had it in my legs for a while,” he said. “It was just about going out and putting it out there. It’s an unexplainable feeling. I wanted to come out here and do what my coach has been telling me to do all season. I’m glad I was able to do that.”
The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native, also became the first Auburn 110m hurdles national champion since Ty Akins in 2007.
The quartet of Fahmi, Ajayi, Matau, and Charamba won their second-consecutive NCAA championship with a time of 38.33, becoming the first repeat champions in the event since head coach Leroy Burrell’s Houston teams did it in 2017 and ’18.
“It’s very special,” Matau said. “We were all recruited to Auburn win the new era to come here and win national championships. To see us do it back-to-back, that’s very special. These guys are my brothers so it’s a very special feeling.”
Auburn won last year’s 4x100m national title in a then-school record time of 38.03 with the same foursome in the same order.
“We came in here with all the pressure we wanted,” Fahmi said. “We wanted this pressure, we went out there and did our thing. We know we are the best team here, so we just have to execute the race and do our thing.”
Charamba equaled his school record time of 19.92 to finish second in the 200m dash, marking the Tigers’ best finish at outdoor nationals in the event since Coby Miller was second in 1999 and 2000.
In the men’s 100m dash, sophomore Kayinsola Ajayi and freshman Israel Okon finished fourth and seventh respectively. Ajayi crossed in 10.13, while Okon finished in 10.18. It was the second consecutive year that Auburn had two men final in the 100m.
Junior Seth Allen finished 20th in the discus throw with a mark of 54.88m/180-1. The Austell, Georgia, native was Auburn’s first qualifier in the event since Stephen Saenz in 2012.
The fourth and final day of the championships will begin on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT with Adrienne Adams in the women’s discus throw. Other competitors for the Auburn women include Ana-Liese Torian in the 100m hurdles at 8:42 p.m. CT, Vimbayi Maisvorewa in the 400m at 9:02 p.m. CT and Brenda Jepchirchir in the 5,000m at 9:55 p.m. CT. Live coverage on ESPN2 will begin at 8 p.m. CT.
NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships – Day 3 Results
Hayward Field – Eugene, Oregon
June 13, 2025
Men’s Discus Throw Finals
20. Seth Allen 54.88m/180-1
Men’s 4x100m Relay Finals
1. Auburn 38.33
Azeemi Fahmi, Kanynsola Ajayi, Dario Matau, Makanakaishe Charamba
Men’s 110m Hurdles Finals
1. Ja’Kobe Tharp 13.03 SR, PR
Men’s 100m Finals
4. Kayinsola Ajayi 10.13
7. Israel Okon 10.18
Men’s 200m Finals
2. Makanakaishe Charamba 19.92 =SR
KEY
SR – school record
PR – personal record