JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Junior Vera Sjöberg of the Boston University women’s track & field team qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1500m and 5000m runs at the NCAA East First Rounds and junior Peace Omonzane wrapped up her season in the triple jump at Hodges Stadium Saturday night.
The qualification is Sjöberg’s first-ever to the Outdoor Championships and the Terriers’ first since 2023. Sjöberg has now qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the NCAA Indoor Championships and the NCAA Outdoor Championships all in the same academic year.
The Stockholm, Sweden native clocked a time of 4:07.39 in the 1500m, finishing fifth in her heat and overall to punch her ticket to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. She stayed with the front pack, holding steady in eighth place until the final lap before vaulting into fifth place.
That mark beat the school record she set in the preliminary round (4:09.69) and ranks her as the 24th-fastest outdoor 1500m runner in collegiate history after results from Saturday.
Just three hours later, Sjöberg toed the line again, this time for the 5000m. She masterfully executed her final race of the weekend, hanging around 10th-12th place for the first 3000m before jumping up to eighth with a mile to go, then fifth at the bell lap before closing in 65.01 to take third in her heat and fourth overall with a 15:27.51 time.
Once again, she bested her own previous school record — this time by 14 seconds.
She is the first Terrier to have qualified for all three NCAA championships available to track & field and cross country runners since Andrea Walkonen completed the trio with her trip to the Outdoor Championships in 2014 in the 5000m.
In the triple jump, junior Peace Omonzane concluded her season with a 21st-place finish. She fouled twice, then jumped 12.66m on her final attempt. The Brampton, Ontario native improved upon her 2024 effort by 26 places in the event.
Omonzane had a stellar outdoor season in which she was named Patriot League Field Athlete of the Meet after winning the triple and long jumps and setting meet records in both. Her 6.44m effort in the long jump set a new school record and her 13.06m mark in the triple jump ranks second all-time at BU.
Sjöberg will begin her NCAA Outdoor Championships journey on Thursday, June 12 as she races in the 1500m at 6:43 p.m. at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
