Weekend Recap 4

(Oregon Track and Field)

This past weekend was a weekend to remember. There were two collegiate records broken, a new group of number 1 ranked runners and the team battle just got a lot clearer. The final weekend in January usually never disappoints and this weekend did not. It is the middle of the regular season and the post season is just 3 weeks away. The recap was challenging this week. I attempted to put together the best three performances of each sex which was difficult due to the great performances this weekend. If there was a performance that you think was better you may be right there were so many and it was difficult to put just three.

WOMEN

3. Tessa Barnett (Penn State)- Super Sophomore Tessa Barnett put on quite the show in front of her home crowd at the PSU National. This past weekend she outran a quality field in the women’s 3,000. Her winning time of 9:07.22 moves her past preseason favorite Erin Finn of Michigan and also moves her into the number 1 ranking in the nation.

2. Kendall Williams (Georgia)- The senior is looking to add more gold to case of championship hardware. The winningest athlete in the pentathlon began her season with a bang. Williams scored a total of 4.476 points to claim the event title at the Razorback Invitational against All-American competition. She scored almost 200 more points that her closest competitor and solidified herself as still the best to do it.

1. Oregon Sprinters (Oregon)- The Oregon sprinters and hurdlers made this extremely difficult but I decided to simply include all of them at the top of the list. Hannah Cunliffe in the 60 meter dash, Deajah Stevens in the 200 meter dash and Sasha Wallace in the 60 meter hurdles all claimed the number 1 ranking in one weekend for the Ducks. To add to the shock of that news trust me when I say that wasn’t the most exciting thing that happened to them this weekend.

Cunliffe dominated the field to clock in at 7.13 almost meeting her personal best set a year ago. Stevens proved that she learned a lot running for Team USA winning the 200 meter dash with of 22.65. Wallace set an Armory Collegiate record with a stunning time of 7.91. Each one strengthened their hold on the number 1 ranking and put a little distance between them and their competitors.

MEN

3. KEANDRE BATES (FLORIDA)- Bates is continuing that great success of multi-jumpers that Florida seems to always have. The talented junior is rounding into shape quite nicely. Bates has a top four mark in the long jump and against the best competition has yet to lose. In the triple jump this past weekend Bates tied for the number one mark with a leap of 54-8. This matches Clive Pullen’s top mark and he did on his Pullen’s own track no less at the Razorback Invitational. Bates will have plenty of time to spar with Pullen later including two post season meets.

2. Adam Palamar (SYRACUSE)- Syracuse is a program with a lot of quality milers. Palamar is the latest talent to stand out for the program. Palamar claimed the number 1 ranking with his winning time of 3:57.39 at the Boston John Thomas Terrier Invitational. He did that in a field against three Michigan Wolverines who all went under 4 minutes for the mile. Palamar also beat his star teammate Justyn Knight. Palamar adds a possible 1-2 punch for the Syracuse Orangemen at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

1. Christian Coleman (Tennessee)- Coleman is on the top of the list yet again. Coleman is having another stellar indoor season and is proving to be perhaps the most complete sprinter in the NCAA. Coleman clocked in at 20.49 out of Lane 4 to win the Razorback Invitational and reclaim the number 1 ranking in the 200 meter dash. Coleman now owns the top time in both the 60 meter and 200 meter dash. It has been a long time since another Tennessee athlete was this dominant, the last great volunteer to do so was Rubin Williams and before him Justin Gatlin. Coleman will look to join that elite company by adding more Gold to his trophy case.

RELAYS OF THE WEEK:

WOMEN: Remember when I told you earlier that having three number 1 rankings wasn’t the most exciting thing that happen to the Oregon women this weekend, I wasn’t kidding. The Oregon Ducks dominated the field at the Columbia East-West Challenge in New York. Against a decent field the Lady Ducks shattered the NCAA record with a time of 10:48.77. They were never really pushed since they won the race by almost 20 seconds. It is proof that this group is quite special.

MEN: Texas A&M might be the king of the 4x400 relays Indoors. They broke their own NCAA record this past weekend with a time of 3:02.52. Not too long ago a time of that caliber would have won them an Outdoor NCAA title and they have done it Indoors. It remains to be seen if any of the other top relay programs such as LSU, Florida and or Arkansas will have enough to eventually challenge the Aggies. LSU and Florida have perhaps the greatest room for improvement since they are dealing with injuries. 

Weekend Recap 3

(Keturah Orji-Georgia)

We have now reached Week 3 of the 2017 Indoor season. As expected we have plenty of new number 1’s and a change in the team competition. With it still being early in the season there a still a few headliners who have yet to run their main event this season. However with a list of high quality meets being held this weekend expect for many of them to make their debuts. While we wait for week 4 let us recap week 3 with the top marks from the weekend.

6. SHAKIMA WIMBLEY (MIAMI)-  Senior Wimbley is one of the early season favorites to compete for the NCAA title in the women’s 400 meters. Wimbley has proven to have impressive long speed but has not had enough endurance to thwart her competitors in recent years. She opened this past weekend at the Rod McCravy Memorial in Lexington, Kentucky with a great time. Against an impressive field Wimbley crossed the finish line in a NCAA leading time of 51.28. A great start to what should be an exciting season.

5. JOHNNIE JACKSON (LSU)- Jackson is one the top returning seniors on a talented LSU men’s team. Jackson has been a reliable thrower for the Tigers most notably outdoors. This past weekend at the Auburn Invitational he proved he could be reliable indoors as well with a 7 foot personal best in the weight throw. Jackson’s national leading mark of 77-3 vaulted him into the spotlight as a legit candidate for the individual title.

4. GRANT HOLLOWAY (FLORIDA)- Let’s just get used to seeing his name here every weekend. The talented freshman again earned another number 1 ranking for the season. Holloway leaped out to 26-5 in the men’s long jump to claim the number 1 spot over his teammate KeAndre Bates. Holloway now has two events where he is the clear number 1. With that being his first jump of the season it’s quite possible that he may jump 27 feet later in the season.

3. JAVIANNE OLIVER (KENTUCKY)- Oliver has began the season running some impressive times in the 60 meter dash legitimatizing her status as a top tier sprinter. At the Rod McCravy Memorial she ran against pre-season favorite and defending champion Teahna Daniels of Texas. Oliver ran a stellar race winning with a time of 7.18 over Daniels 7.21. In that race Oliver completed two impressive feats; she defeated the defending champion and claimed the new number 1 in the event nationwide.

2. JEREEM RICHARDS (ALABAMA)- The talented junior cemented his spot on the list by running a national leading time in the 200 meter dash clocking in at 20.57. It’s quite impressive seeing how it would have been a time 3 mark last season and that was his season debut. Richards a junior college transfer competing for Alabama maybe the next big 200 meter sprint star.

1. KETURAH ORJI (GEORGIA)- Orji has already proven to have been the greatest female American triple jumper ever. The talented youngster finished 4th at the Rio Olympics last season and broke the American record countless times. She opened her season with a mark that any other year would have claimed the national title. Orji leaped to a mark of 45-9 ¼ to lead her closest competitor by almost 2 feet. Orji is also ranked in the top 5 in the women’s long jump and is on her way to another impressive indoor season.

RELAYS OF THE WEEK

There were two very impressive relays this past weekend. The Texas men’s Distance medley relay team was perhaps the most impressive. They won their race at the Rod McCray Memorial at the University of Kentucky winning their race by more than 10 seconds. Their time of 9:52.07 moved to the top spot in the NCAA and proved that this Longhorn group has what it takes to have a great season.

The USC women’s 4x400 relay hung on to win against an impressive field in the same meet at the University Kentucky. The Lady Trojans outlasted Baylor to claim a national leading time of 3:31.73. Their time is quite impressive for a debut. With junior Kendall Ellis on the anchor leg USC will be a threat to win it all in the event with Texas in a rebuild mode this season.

Weekend Recap 2

(Christian Coleman-Tennessee)

The MLK weekend just concluded providing us with some quality top performances and new NCAA leaders. This weekend also affirmed the status of many of last week’s great performances.  We also have a new collegiate record and a world number 1. Below is a list of the top 5 performances from this past weekend including both of those notable performances.

5. Raven Saunders (Ole Miss)- Saunders now a junior continues to perform at a high level in her signature event the Shot Put. The Olympian has already surpassed 60 feet this season and further improved her mark with a throw of 62-8. Her mark now gives her a 5 feet lead on her closes competitor for the season.

4. Emmanuel Korir (UTEP)- True freshman Emmanuel Korir continues this season trek of great freshman. Korir notched the number 1 time in the nation in the men’s 800 with a time of 1:46.50 at the Vanderbilt Commodore Invite. Korir’s time is impressive for this early in the season and also quite an impressive time indoors for a freshman. Expect to hear more about him later in the year.

3. Sasha Wallace (Oregon)- Wallace is the top returning 60 meter hurdler. Wallace finished 2nd in the event last year and is one of the few talents in the NCAA with a personal best of under 8 seconds. This past weekend Wallace had an outstanding debut winning the Washington Preview with a time of 7.96. To debut under 8 seconds is a clear sign that we can expect big things from the senior this season.

2. Kaela Edwards (Oklahoma State)- The defending Indoor Champion in the women’s mile stepped down to the women’s 1,000 meter race. The race is not sanctioned at the NCAA championships but is a great race for half milers and milers. Edwards earned her first NCAA record wining the 1,000 meter race at Nebraska’s Holiday Inn Invitational clocking in at 2:40.79. Edwards has already proven that she has the capability of winning the mile but could she step down this indoor season and try the 800. With an outdoor personal best of 2:01.97 it’s quite possible.

1. Christian Coleman (Tennessee)- Coleman is the defending NCAA Indoor Champion at 200 meters but has strong 100 meter speed. Under the tutelage of the great Tim Hall he has consistently improved his performance year after year. Coleman already the leader in the 200 meter dash from his debut from early in the season decided to open up in the 60 meter dash. Coleman rocketed to a time of 6.54, his time vaulted him to not only the number 1 spot in the nation but also the top spot in the world. Coleman hasn’t taken the title away from favorite Cameron Burrell but expect for him to be in the discussion with Burrell for the remainder of the year.

RELAY OF THE WEEK

This is a new segment to our weekend recaps. Each week we will have a relay of the week. This week the relay of the week goes to the men’s 4x400 relay of Texas A&M. The foursome ran a nation leading time in front of their home crowd with a time of 3:05.41. The relay consisted of Robert Grant, Mylik Kerly, Richard Rose and Fred Kerley. They had a two second lead on runner up Baylor and have made some serious noise.

Weekend Recap 1

(Grant Holloway-Florida)

My apologies for the late post, I am dealing with a very recent death in the family that is consuming most of the free time I have.

This past weekend the indoor season began with a bang. Although many of the top runners are not running until this coming weekend there were a few big name performances that stood out this weekend. Let us go back and look at the top 5 from the weekend.

5. Tatiana Gusin (Georgia)- Gusin comes from Field Event U, namely Georgia and has continued to make impressive marks. She began her indoor season with a leap of 6-2 in the women’s high jump and to firmly plant herself as number 1 in the NCAA. After finishing 2nd at the NCAA meet last season Gusin will be looking to finally take home some Championship hardware.

4. Christian Coleman (Tennessee)- Coleman is the defending Indoor 200 meter champion and he began his season with a bang. Coleman clocked in at 20.86 in Tennessee’s dual versus Indiana to win the 200 meter dash for the Volunteers. Currently Coleman leads the NCAA and has a solid start to what should be an exciting season for him.

3. Daniel Roberts (Ashland)- It’s not often that Division 2 athletes get to shine. Roberts will be the first of a continuing trend. With plenty of high quality talent in Division 2 expect to hear more about them this season. Roberts has garnered some early season praise with his performance at the Buckeye Invitational. Roberts hit a mark of 70’5.25 in the men’s weight throw. Roberts throw is a solid mark to begin the season and puts him firmly in the driver’s seat in his division.

2. Devynne Charlton (Purdue)- It’s very hard to lead the NCAA in both the 60 meter dash and the 60 meter hurdles. However that is what Charlton of Purdue is currently doing. This past weekend Charlton had a solid outing clocking in at 7.30 in the 60 meter dash and 8.14 in the 60 hurdles. Charlton is the returning indoor performer from last season in the 60 meter hurdles and has proven to be quite the sprinter as well.

1. Grant Holloway (Florida)- This talented freshman from Florida is capable of winning practically anything. He can sprint, hurdle and jump all in the same meet and at a high level. Holloway proved that he was worth the hype this past weekend when he stunned the entire country with his mark of 7.63 in the men’s 60 meter hurdles. What’s most impressive is that is his first race at highest hurdle height. That time puts him in the top 3 of freshman hurdlers of all time in his first race. Holloway moved over the hurdles like a natural and has proven he will be an exciting watch for years to come.

He followed that up with an impressive performance in the 300 meter dash with a time of 32.80. His time ranks 2nd all time of any man under 20, it breaks a 27 year old school record and it is the number 3 time in NCAA history. Again I must remind you this was his first collegiate meet.

FIRST RANKINGS RELEASED:

So the USTFCCCA has sent out the first rankings for the season. The top 5 for men include Florida, Oregon, LSU, Arkansas and Syracuse. Three teams from the SEC which is not surprising considering the talent and penchant for winning national championships. I felt at the beginning of the season that Florida would not have enough depth or fire power to compete. Their freshman however alleviated some concerns within the first weekend. Let’s just hope their veterans can remain healthy and provide that extra fire power to keep LSU at bay.

On the women’s side it is Oregon, Arkansas, Georgia, USC and Texas. Arkansas is the defending champion but it will be hard to beat Oregon. Oregon is fully loaded with amazing talent in the sprints. It’s quite possible that the Lady Ducks could sweep the 200 and place three in the finals of the 60 meter dash amongst of myriad of events that they are ranked high for. This could potentially be a high scoring championship affair between Oregon and Arkansas. Georgia will rely on its depth in the field events. USC and Texas as usual are loaded in the sprints and will lean heavily on them for them to have a chance to compete for a team title.

Upcoming: It is a big meet weekend coming up. Expect for the next week’s review to be longer and the performances to be even better.