AUSTIN -- North Carolina State's Katelyn Touhy saw her bid for an historic distance double come to an end as the sophomore faded badly down the stretch and Harvard's Maia Ramsden surged to the victory at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Tuohy was attempting to become the first athlete in history to win the 1500m and 5000m titles on the same day at the NCAA Championships. She will contest her second event in about two hours.

"I can't really believe it right now, I'm just kind of processing," Ramsden said.

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Tuohy took the pace out from the gun, leading through the line in 49.9. She followed with a 67-second next lap and opened a 10-meter lead. Izzy Thorten-Bott of Oregon closed that gap to a step at the bell. 

By the time runners hit the 200-meter to go mark, the entire deep pack of runners had pulled into contention. Ramsden rounded Tuohy to the right coming off the final turn and powered down the straight to win in 4:08.60.

"Coach was kind of like, 'Don't worry about the splits. I know it sounds cliche, but run your own race and don't necessarily go with the front pack if you think it's not sustainable, and then just be patient and maybe some girls will come back to you,'" Ramsden said. "I think I've been really working on staying really patient and efficient. I think at Indoors, I was pretty bouncy in the race and wasted a lot of legs and energy. So, working on staying a little smoother, tucking in and then just being ready so that I can really get the most out of my kick – and that's what I did today." 

Six other runners wound up passing Tuohy, who faded badly over the final 50 meters and finished seventh in 4:11.40.

Thornton-Bott finished second in 4:09.21, and Virginia sophomore Margot Appleton took third in 4:09.30. Oregon freshman Klaudia Kazimierska was fourth in 4:09.84, and Oklahoma State freshman Billah Jepkiru was fifth in 4:10.17. Providence sophomore Shannon Flockhart was sixth in 4:10.78.

The win was a major victory for Ramsden, a junior who had never won an individual national title before. She is the first Harvard athlete to win the women's 1500m title since 1986. 

"You don't really take that much time off between Cross and Indoors, so you feel fit and fast the whole time," Ramsden said. "I think the big thing for me this year that was different from last year was having to kind of regroup after Indoors, and it was such an emotional high and all happened so quickly. So, taking the time to step back and figure out how to start again, Outdoors was tricky, and I feel like it's only been the last month of the season where I've got my mojo back. But now that I'm here, I'm very happy and I'm really excited for next year."