SEC Preview: Men

FLORIDA, SEC CHAMPS AGAIN?

The SEC as usual is stacked with talent from top to bottom. Each program in this conference can bring their own form of dominance depending on event. But, there are still three programs that bring serious strength in every phase of track and field. Those programs are Florida, Arkansas and LSU; they continue to be the conference front runners.

Like the women the sprints in this conference generally will produce the national champion or at least the runner-up. The programs in this conference load the NCAA field with their depth and talent. The headliner is obviously Jeff Demps of Florida. Demps is the defending champion and had a strong indoor season at the NCAA Championships claiming the title in 6.53 seconds. However this season will be a challenge for Demps. Last outdoor season the once invincible Demps did not even make it to the finals of the 100 meter dash citing a slight injury. Auburn's Harry Adams is the threat to Demps title defense, already posting the world's fastest time clocking in at 6.55 to win the Auburn Indoor Meet.

The long sprints present a somewhat cloudy picture. Conventional wisdom will tell you to lean on Tony McQuay. McQuay was the National Champion for USA defeating previous champion Jeremy Wariner last outdoor season. However the season McQuay was riddled with injury. Hopefully this season he focuses on having great health, if that is the case he could win both the 200 and 400. Marek Niit and Ahkeem Gauntlett of Arkansas are capable of defeating McQuay in either event.

In the hurdles two different champions will race to claim the crown. Defending SEC Indoor Champion Eddie Lovett of Florida clocked a 7.73 last season to defeat Barrett Nugent of LSU. Nugent went on to claim the indoor and crown at the NCAA Championship. This is a toss up both are capable of winning on any given day.

Last season in the jumping events it was all about Florida. Thanks to world class coach Dick Booth. The Gators almost swept both the Triple Jump and Long Jump along strong showing the High Jump.

This season will be a little different for the Gators. With Will Claye and Christian Taylor leaving school early the Gators are relying on a young and thin group to provide depth. Omar Craddock the top returning Triple Jumper in the country will look to claim the title after being behind Taylor and Claye most of his of career. He will also look to represent the Gators in the long jump with teammate and true freshman Marquis Dendy. Kyron Blaise and Demar Forbes of LSU are serious threats to recent Florida domination. Blaise and Forbes had strong seasons in 2011 and are performing well currently in 2012 while Florida still has some question marks.

In the High Jump Florida gained transfer Dwight Barbiasz an All-American at the University of Maryland. Currently Barbiasz is one of the top High Jumpers in the country, but he will had to fend off the two headed monster at Mississippi State in Marcus Jackson and James Harris. Also there is the returning champion Ricky Robertson of Ole Miss. Robertson is also hoping to dethrone NCAA Champion Erik Kynard of Kansas State. David Wilkins of South Carolina is also a threat to claim the top spot.

In this conference throwing is a very big deal. With multiple programs with a strong distance reputation it is never a shock when the NCAA Champion comes out of the program. Florida and LSU have produced some of the best SEC throwers in conference history. This season is no different. The Gators have a phenomenal group of throwers led by Shot Put star Kemal Mesic. Mesic is currently ranked number 1 in the nation with a new school record and may improve upon that throw later this season. Jeremy Postin and David Triassi will look to assist Mesic in the throwing events for Florida. Postin and Triassi are currently ranked 1 and 2 in the SEC in the weight throw and will look to add solid points in the Shot Put.

The SEC is one the few conferences that can produce stars in the multi-event heptathlon. Gunnar Nixon of Arkansas and Gray Horn present to very strong cases for the NCAA crown and will be huge in helping their respective programs win the SEC team title an the NCAA team title. Horn has a lot more areas for improvement after an already strong performance this season. Expect for Horn to claim the overall title.

Last but certainly not least are the distance events. Arkansas for years dominated this section of the meet and for the most part still do. However this year nationally Arkansas does not have a real distance threat. They will rely on a solid group of 800 meter runners. The University of Florida will benefit from a bit of down year for the Hogs with there own developmental group. Leading the way is Sean Obinwa. Obinwa busted on to the scene last outdoor season. This indoor season he has already secure his spot at the NCAA Championships with a personal best of 1:47.22. Obinwa currently ranks number 2 in the nation.