TWO TITLE RUNS: Unpacking the national championship wins by Ja’Kobe Tharp and Kayinsola Ajayi
Here's what Auburn's two national champions had to say, plus a breakdown of their races — and what could be next for each of them.
Ja’Kobe Tharp stepped back onto the track.
He’d already won the national championship in his event. He’d even set the world record. What else was left for him to do?
Celebrate with his teammate, that’s what: Just after Tharp’s national title win in the 110-meter hurdles on Friday night in Eugene, Ore., his Auburn teammate Kayinsola Ajayi won the 100-meter dash.
Tharp hung close to the finish line on the infield to watch it — and as Ajayi celebrated his win, he found Tharp, met him, and they slapped hands and bumped chests.
Auburn’s two outstanding juniors stood side by side as national champions, finally realizing the potential they’d worked all season to live up to.
Their wins, and Israel Okon’s gutsy runner-up finish in the 200-meter race, highlighted Auburn’s Friday night in Eugene. It wasn’t a picture-perfect night for Auburn: The day started with Auburn’s 4x100-meter relay team dropping the baton, which dashed the Tigers’ hopes at a three-peat after winning the event in 2024 and 2025, and behind Ajayi, the Tigers didn’t get the finishes they were hoping for in the 100-meter dash. Arkansas ran away on points in the team standings.
No, it wasn’t a picture-perfect night.
But it was a historic week for Auburn.