2018 Outdoor Weekend Recap 1

(Maggie Ewen-Arizona State)

The first weekend is in the books. We had plenty of hot times and performances by our top performers from the indoor season. Although the season started last week, this was the first weekend where a few big names competed and next weekend even more will show.

In the sprints Michael Norman of USC continues to impress this season by opening in the 200 clocking in a national leading time of 20.37 at the Trailblazer Invitational. After setting a indoor world record in the 400 meters a lot of eyes will be on him to see if he can break the collegiate record outdoors.

Jada Baylark of Arkansas proved that Arkansas can still produce sprinters on the women’s side too. The talented sophomore clocked a blazing NCAA leading time of 11.10 in the 100-meter dash. Her time ties the school record held by Jamaican Olympic Champion Veronica Campbell. Her time immediately makes her a NCAA Outdoor title contender.

Ka’Tia Seymour of Florida State a true freshman has lived up to the hype this season. It has been a while since Florida State had such a strong core of sprinters. Seymour who earned All-American honors indoors began the outdoor season with a bang. Seymour won the 200-meter dash at the FSU Relays with a time of 22.75. Expect to see more from this talented freshman.

Clayton Brown of Florida is beginning the outdoor season with a serious bang. Brown leaped to the number one performance in the nation in the triple jump with a leap of 53 feet 9 ¾ inches. His strong early season mark shows Brown is picking up where he left off from the Indoor season.

Senior Taliyah Brooks of Arkansas was another athlete who broke a school record this past weekend for Arkansas. The NCAA Champion in the Pentathlon showed her impressive long jump skills with a mark of 22 feet 3 inches. Her mark moved her to the top of the NCAA rankings. It remains to be seen if she will compete in both the heptathlon and long jump outdoors because indoors she did compete in the pentathlon in the long jump and did not have a great outing in the long jump. Hopefully this time around she will have better results.

The throws this weekend show that they too are on a record breaking quest this season. Anderson Peters of Mississippi State joined the all-time top 10 list in collegiate history in the javelin. His winning throw this weekend from the Mississippi State Bulldog relays of 268 feet 10 inches currently ranks him 8^th all-time. This is solid start for Peters who is from Grenada and a proven international competitor.

Senior Maggie Ewen of Arizona State is picking up where she left off. The talented senior joined the all-time list in the Hammer Throw this weekend at the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge. Her throw of 237 feet 1-inch places her 9^th all-time. Ewen had a remarkable indoor season where she walked away with a NCAA title in the shot put. She has continued that success outdoors in the hammer throw. It remains to be seen if she will compete in both the shot put and hammer throw. Last season Ewen won the title outdoors in the hammer throw but came up short in the shot put and discus, this season she could potentially win all three.

Johnny Leverenz of Butler had the lone standout distance performance. The junior blitzed a strong field at the Vanderbilt Black and Gold meet. Leverenz won the 1,500 in a national leading time of 3:43.61. At the same meet he claimed the 800-meter run in 1:49.11 the number two time in the nation. Both performances were personal best for Leverenz and indication that he is back and ready for a season of personal best.

Blazing 4x100 Relays was another highlight of the weekend. On the men’s side three teams went sub 39 and leading the way was LSU. LSU competed at the Big Ten/Pac 12 Invite even though they are not in either conference. The men’s 4x100 relay clocked in at 38.84. The defending champions Houston clocked in at 38.95 and USC clocked in at 38.88 with shaky hand-offs might I add. Just like the women last season the men could be in for a record breaking season. TCU’s 4x100 relay record of 38.04 set in 1998 could be in jeopardy. On the women’s side it is LSU who leads the way with a time of 42.99 and USC is a close second with a time of 43.18. LSU already set the NCAA leading mark last weekend with a time of 42.65 so expect more fireworks this coming weekend at the Texas Relays.

We have made it through the first weekend of the outdoor season. We have our first major weekend coming up with meets at Texas and Florida. The Texas and Florida Relays are headlines for the outdoor season and will feature many of the top teams and athletes in the nation. The top list will likely change coming Monday but that is to be expected. The early season rankings caused some interesting discussion, perhaps most notable are the defending champions Florida ranked 4^th. The Gators have a strong core but clearly not enough to impress the voters. Expect for the rankings to also shift after this weekend as well.

NCAA Indoor Championship Review

44.52!!!

(Michael Norman-USC)

What a meet! I expected to be entertained but wow. The NCAA Indoor meet was far more entertaining than the IAAF Indoor World Championship. There were world records broken, NCAA records broken and all-time collegiate bests. The future of this sport is bright if it is nurtured and allowed to flourish.

World Records

There was at least one world record we predicted to be broken and that was the 4x400 relay. USC nearly broke a couple weeks back as they went toe to toe with Florida and clocked a time of 3:01.98, just shy of the world record but still a new NCAA record. This past weekend add Texas A&M into the fold and you have a race for the ages. All three teams broke the previous world record and the new one set by Poland. USC clocked in a stunning 3:00.77. Their time will not be ratified as a world best since one of the members of USC’s 4x400 relay (Rai Benjamin) is a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda. Texas A&M was second in 3:01.39 and that will be ratified as the world record with all members from the United States. Florida rounded out the top three with a time of 3:01.43. All three times ahead of Poland’s 3:01.77, just remarkable.

On the USC 4x400 relay team was talented sophomore Michael Norman. Norman was top a recruit coming out of high school and was a high level 200-meter sprinter as well as 400. His 200 times in high school earned a qualifying mark to US Olympic Trials in 2016 and he made the finals. Under the tutelage of 1992 Olympic Gold medalist Quincy Watts, former NCAA record holder he is blossoming in his second year. He won the 400-meter dash in world record time of 44.52 removing Florida’s Kerron Clement from the record book. His performance was also recognized as number nine of SportsCenter top ten. This is also only his second race this indoor season meaning we could be in for an even better performance this outdoor season.

On the men’s side of the 200-meter dash senior Elijah Hall of Houston was fresh of his 60 meter dash win of 6.52 when he decided the crowd needed another great performance. In a heat with freshman stud Devine Oduduru of Texas Tech he got off to great start following Oduduru around the track. With the last 70 meters or so he blazed past his to an NCAA and world record time of 20.02.

NCAA Records

Just like this season it has been one record broken after another. Records are truly not safe anymore. In the women’s 60-meter dash senior Aleia Hobbs of LSU who ran a star studded 10.85 in the 100-meter dash last outdoor season began this season as the number one 60-meter sprinter. She was consistently challenged by her teammate senior Mikiah Brisco who the 100-meter dash last outdoor season with a time of 10.96 and led the NCAA in the 60 with a time of 7.10. Hobbs clearly was not fazed by the performance of her teammate, in the 60-meter final Hobbs led a 1-2 finish by LSU clocking a NCAA record time of 7.07. Her time ties Hannah Cunliffe of Oregon.

The 200-meter dash gave us excitement in both the men and women’s race. On the women’s side senior Ashley Henderson of San Diego State ran a blazing first heat clocking in at 22.41. She had nearly missed the NCAA record and was pretty much expected to be the victor. However, in the second heat Gabrielle Thomas of Harvard, yes Harvard, ran a sensational race winning in a NCAA record time of 22.38. Running out of lane five she left little doubt following true freshman Lynna Irby of Georgia around the turn.

The 400-meter dash was exciting on the women’s side too. Senior Kendal Ellis of USC used her fresh legs and strong lift to prove her early season loss was just a fluke. Two freshman, Sydney McLaughlin of Kentucky and Irby of Georgia were the perceived highlight of the meet. McLaughlin was considered the meet favorite with her NCAA leading time. However as stated here Ellis has fresh legs having only ran the 400 once this indoor season. She had Lynna Irby chasing both laps but used her signature leg lift in the final few meters to power pass her winning in a time 50.34 a new NCAA/American record.

Michael Saruni of UTEP led the NCAA this season with his performance of 1:44.89 early this on an over sized track. He had such an enormous gap that it was almost a forgone conclusion that he would easily win the title. He did not instill a lot of confidence in the preliminaries where he finished fourth and had to get an at-large bid to make it to the final. He left little doubt in the final winning with a time of 1:45.15 nearly a second ahead of runner-up Isaiah Harris of Penn State who ran 1:46.08. His time was an NCAA meet record and still leaves just a bit shy of the overall NCAA record.

Keturah Orji began the season breaking the collegiate record in the triple jump. The talented senior was looking to win her third indoor NCAA title in a row. It was her fourth-round jump of 46 feet 10 inches that helped her secure the victory. Her mark is a NCAA meet record and she won by a full foot over runner Yanis David of Florida. She has proven to be the triple jumper in American history and more maybe coming this outdoor season.

We thought Kentucky was finally going to break the strangle that Arkansas has had on the Pole Vault. That was not to be, after having lost the SEC title junior Alexis Jacobus of Arkansas got her revenge winning the NCAA title. The talented junior launched to an NCAA meet record mark of 15 feet 3 ½ inches. Number one ranked Olivia Gruver of Kentucky finished in a disappointing third.

It is not necessarily a record individual performance but a record by a team. The Georgia Bulldogs pulled for the first sweep of the Long Jump in NCAA history finishing 1-2-3. Kate Hall surpassed 22 feet with her winning mark of 22 feet 1 inch. Orji was second with 21 feet 4 ¾ inches and freshman Tara Davis was third with 21 feet 4 inches. This event helped to propel them to a NCAA team title, 24 big points in one event.

GOING for the DOUBLE

Senior Karissa Schweizer of Missouri had big aspirations for this championship meet. She is no stranger to championship hardware, but had yet to double at a NCAA Championship. After just coming up short last season by finishing in the 3,000 and winning the 5,000 Schweizer was determined to be a champion in both races. Schweizer completed the rare double winning the 5,000 Friday night and coming back Saturday to win the 3,000. Her times of 15:43.23 for 5,000 and 8:53.36 for 3,000 are not NCAA records but instead great times that propelled her to victory.

Junior Justyn Knight of Syracuse got a taste of what Schweizer went through last season. Knight won the 5,000 Friday night with a time of 14:14.47. He finished second in the 3,000 to Andy Trouard of Northern Arizona who won in 8:04.94, Knight’s runner up time was 8:05.76. Knight and Trouard played a great game throughout the last few laps of the race. Knight attempted to take the lead from Trouard who had too strong of a kick for Knight to close. Knight still leaves with a NCAA title however.

Senior KeAndre Bates of Florida has had an up and down season all year long. After winning the long jump last season and finishing runner-up in the triple jump Bates began the season on the Bowerman Preseason Watch list and was a candidate for the jump double. Bates performance at the meet was indicative of his season. Finishing sixth in the long jump with his season best mark of 25 feet 11 inches and finishing runner up in the triple jump with a mark of 54 feet 8 ¼ inches. Bates is talented and although this indoor season was up and down he can rebound outdoors and continue to be a major producer of points for the Gators. Winning the long jump in an outstanding competition was senior Will Williams of Texas A&M in 26 feet 10 ½ inches. In the triple jump O’Brien Wasome of Texas in 55 feet 2 ¼ inches.

Elinor Purrier of New Hampshire was also attempting a distance double competing in the mile and the 3,000. Her race in the mile was a success winning 4:31.76 over Dani Jones of Colorado who was a close second. Purrier took that momentum from the very first race of the day to the 3,000 which was two hours later. The competitive mile race may have taken too much out of her as Purrier finished 14^th in the race with a time of 9:25.93 well off her sub nine-minute season’s best.

As stated previously senior Eli Hall was successful in his short sprint double winning the 60-meter dash in a time of 6.52 over Raheem Chambers who clocked 6.53. Oduduru’s runner up time in the 200-meter dash was 20.21.

Senior Mikiah Brisco of LSU also fell short of her attempt to double. Brisco finished second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.11 and failed to qualify in the 200 after stumbling coming off the final turn in her preliminary race.

Freshmen Lynna Irby of Georgia and Sydney McLaughlin of Kentucky both fell short of championship hardware in their races. Irby finished third in both the 200 and 400 running times of 22.55 and 50.87 respectively. While McLaughlin finished second in the 400 and fourth in the 200 with times of 50.36 and 22.80. McLaughlin’s 400 time however is a world junior record.

Taliyah Brooks of Arkansas fell short of her goal of a double as well. The talented senior got her meet started right winning the pentathlon in a season’s best performance with a total of 4,572 points. Having to compete in the pentathlon and turn around and compete in the long jump may have been too much for her as she was unable to earn points by placing 14^th with a mark of 19 feet 6 ¼ inches.

Grant Holloway of Florida is the last of the top tier athletes that were in legitimate consideration to attempt a double. Holloway nearly claimed his first NCAA title on day one in the long jump. He leaped to a personal best of 26 feet 8 ¼ inches on his fifth jump and lead the competition. Senior Will Williams of Texas A&M surpassed him in his final jump with 26 feet 10 ½ inches. Holloway still claimed a title by winning the 60-meter hurdles in 7.47 tying the third fastest time in history. Holloway was the lone victor for the NCAA team title winning Florida Gators.

LIST OF CHAMPIONS

(Below is a list of champions not mentioned in our recap)

Men

Mile- Josh Kerr (New Mexico) 3:57.02

Shot Put- Sr Mustafa Hassan (Colorado State) 68-5 ¼

Weight Throw- David Lucas (Penn State) 78-9 ¾

Pole Vault- Hussain Alhizam (Kansas) 18-8 ¼

High Jump- Sr Randall Cunningham Jr (USC) 7-6

Heptathlon-  Sr Tim Duckworth (Kentucky) 6,188

DMR- Virginia Tech 9:30.76

Women

800- Sabrina Southerland (Oregon) 2:01.55

60 Hurdles- Payton Chadwick (Arkansas) 7.93

4x400 Relay- USC 3:27.45

Shot Put- Maggie Ewen (Arizona State) 60-8

Weight Throw- Kaitlyn Long (Minnesota) 76-5 ½

High Jump- Nicole Greene (North Carolina) 6-1 ½

DMR- Oregon 10:51.99

The Indoor season is officially finished and next up should be an exciting outdoor season. This weekend is the first outdoor action following the indoor season and athletes who missed the NCAA Indoor Championships can use this as a meet to test the fitness before the outdoor season is in full swing.

NCAA Indoor Championship Women's Preview

(Keturah Orji-Georgia)

In this post we will continue our 2018 NCAA Indoor Championship Preview. Just like the men, the women have had a record breaking season. Although there a lot of new faces and few returning champions this meet still shapes up to be one of the best.

SPRINTS/HURDLES

Senior Mikiah Brisco of LSU began this indoor season as one of the dark horses to potentially compete for the National title. Although she is the defending outdoor 100-meter champion she has was not in the 60-meter dash. Oregon’s Hannah Cunliffe was the headliner at the beginning of the season but she has since left school and turned pro. Brisco also had the challenge of dealing with her own teammate in Aleia Hobbs who is the top returning 100-meter athlete in NCAA history with her personal record of 10.85. Brisco has led since late January and further cemented her status as the top short sprinter at the SEC Championships with her national leading time of 7.10. Teammate Hobbs has a personal record of 7.12 and will give strong chase leading to a potential 1-2 finish for the Lady Tigers.

Brisco will also compete in the 200 where she is ranked number two with a time of 22.81. However, a talented freshman in Lynna Irby from Georgia leads the way. Irby is attempting to double in both the 200 and 400. She is ranked number one in the 200 with a time of 22.66 and number two in the 400 with a time of 50.62. Irby is being ask a lot for team title contending Georgia but the true freshman has already proven she is capable of so much more.

In the 400 another true freshman leads Irby, Sydney McLaughlin of Kentucky. McLaughlin was an Olympian as a high school athlete and is the world junior record holder at the 400 hurdles. McLaughlin also set many indoor records in the open 400 and has proven to be on that path again now that she is at Kentucky. Her time of 50.52 is the fastest non-altitude time in collegiate history. At just a freshman McLaughlin is truly living up to the hype. Like Irby she is also attempting to double and is currently ranked 9^th in the 200. Irby and McLaughlin gave us our first preview of the race at the SEC Championships with McLaughlin prevailing. The dark horse for this race is the top outdoor returnee in senior Kendall Ellis of USC. She has only run the 400 once this season and her fresh legs maybe too much for the young freshmen to overcome.

The 60-meter hurdles race is poised to be a fantastic race. The top three have times so close together either of them could win. Leading the way however is Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Kentucky with a time of 7.95. On her heels are Dior Hall and Anna Cockrell of USC at 7.96. Quinn and Hall have not raced this season however Quinn and Cockrell have with Quinn getting the edge in 7.95. Both Cockrell and Quinn have great speed over 200 meters and will be threats to score this outdoor season. Hall however has shown to have more polished technique throughout her career. Hall was one of the preseason favorites this season and has yet to lose this season. Hall has all the intangibles need to win the NCAA title.

DISTANCE

The 800 looks to be one of the best in history. In this field is Indoor Collegiate Record holder in Jazmine Fray of Texas A&M and talented senior from Middle Tennessee State Agnes Abu. Joining the two will super sophomore Danae Rivers of Penn State. Abu and Fray currently share the number one ranking with their time of 2:02.30 this season and Rivers follows them with a time of 2:03.13. Fray has not been able to match the speed that she presented last season when she ran the collegiate record of 2:00.69. However, with the meet being held on her home track Abu and Rivers may challenge but expect the home crowd to give Fray a favorable lift.

The mile is set to be a two-woman race. There is NCAA leader Elinor Purrier of New Hampshire with her time of 4:26.55 and Dani Jones of Colorado with her time of 4:29.32. Jones is moving down from the 3,000 which she won last season. Purrier was second in this event last indoor season and will be looking to prove herself to be among the distance elites in the NCAA. Purrier comes from a smaller school that does not have the long-storied history that Colorado has. Purrier has not let the small school title hold her back. With the NCAA lead she is great position to win the title but will have to fight off the championship pedigree of Jones.

In the 3,000 and 5,000 Karissa Schweizer has been commander in chief. She is currently ranked number one in both events with time of 8:41.60 and 15:17.31. The talented senior from Missouri has plenty of championship pedigree including winning the 5,000 both Indoors and Outdoors last season. She did finish runner up in the 3,000 and will look to avenge her lone defeat. Purrier of New Hampshire is also attempting to double by running the 3,000 and is currently ranked second with her time of 8:55.68. As great as she has been it looks like it she may not have enough to defeat Schweizer in the 3,000. Junior Ednah Kurgat of New Mexico is currently the only athlete in the field of the 5,000 within striking distance of Schweizer. Kurgat has a season’s best of 15:19.03 and looks to be the only challenger in the field.

JUMPS

When you think of jumps you think of the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs have been so dominant in recent years in the jumping events the trend looks to continue. However, in the high jump we see the defending champion unable to produce at the same level as a season ago. Senior Madeline Fagan is currently ranked seventh this season and does not even appear to be a threat. She is the defending champion so she still should earn respect. This is the business of what you have done for me lately but this is athlete still capable of winning. Her personal best of 6 feet 3 ¾ inches is still the class of the field including current number one ranked senior Logan Boss of Mississippi State. Boss defeated Fagan at the SEC Championships a few weeks ago and currently has the season lead with a mark of 6 feet 3 ½ inches. Boss now has the confidence and evidence that she can beat Fagan for the title all she needs now is to simply put it together and do it again.

In the long jump Kate Hall of Georgia is continuing her success as dual threat for Georgia. She has qualified for the meet in two events both the 60-meter dash and the long jump. It is her performance as a jumper that the team is focused on. Hall is the number one long jumper in the nation and a critical member of the Bulldogs team title hopes. Her NCAA leading mark of 21 feet 9 ½ inches is one the best indoor marks in NCAA history. It remains to be seen if she will join her teammate Keturah Orji and set an NCAA record in the event. Her performance is more critical because of her challenger the number two ranked Taliyah Brooks of Arkansas. Arkansas is also in great position to win the team title and Brooks with her personal record 21 feet 6 ¾ inches are huge piece to that puzzle. They’ve already met and competed with Hall coming out on top, but with this being the biggest stage in college upsets always happen.

Senior Keturah Orji of Georgia is the triple jump. She has set the American record both indoors and outdoors multiple times and broke the collegiate record multiple times. It is hard to believe this talented athlete is now a senior but four years have truly gone by. She is looking to win her third straight indoor title and is great position to do so. Her NCAA record performance of 47 feet 8 inches was done in one jump early in the season. She just recently finished fifth at the Indoor World Championships and again won her fourth straight SEC Indoor title. The title was more difficult to earn than she thought. Yanis David of Florida led the competition for majority of the rounds. Her number two ranked performance 46 feet 3 ½ inches led until the final round when Orji surpassed it to win. David beat Orji when they were competing at the IAAF World Youth Championship, David may not have the 47 feet jump but has proven to herself she can compete and beat Orji. Orji however, will still be confident that she can win.  

The Pole Vault was supposed to be led by Arkansas, it has been an event they have been highly successful at for many years. Oliva Gruver of Kentucky has proven that winning this event is not a rite of passage for Arkansas as she proved that by winning the SEC title. The Arkansas Razorbacks have a total of three athletes in the top 8 and look to score huge team points but Gruver is the leader in the pole vault with her mark of 15 feet 3 3/4 inches. Alexis Jacobus of Arkansas is the only other athlete in the field over 15 feet but Gruver has the advantage having already won.

THROWS

Maggie Ewen’s dominant performance is the shot put this season has not allowed us to miss Raven Saunders who left school (Ole Miss) for personal reasons. Ewen leads the NCAA with a throw of 63 feet even. She is the only athlete in the field over 60 feet and her closes competitor is nearly four feet behind. Ewen could further set herself apart break the NCAA record and restore the great throwing tradition that Arizona State had developed.

The weight throw is full of heavy hitters, senior Annette Echikunwoke of Cincinnati, senior Kaitlyn Long of Minnesota, senior Janeah Stewart of Ole Miss and junior Sade Olatoye of Ohio State. Echikunwoke is the current leader with her mark 81 feet 3 ¾ inches. She is the only athlete over 80 feet in the field but the field is special as they all have joined the all-time collegiate top ten list this season. It is not inconceivable that one of the other three ladies could defeat Echikunwoke. This is a special group and we are in for a treat and a great competition.

PENTATHLON

Nina Schultz is the latest multi-event athlete from Kansas State. This talented sophomore proved that she would be a great reminder of a previous great Akela Jones. Schultz leads the NCAA in the Pentathlon with a point total of 4,502. She has high jumped over 6 feet and long jumped over 20 feet. She will also be competing in the long jump as she qualified for that event individually. Taliyah Brooks of Arkansas is a close second with her season’s best of 4422 which is currently ranked number two in the nation. Just like in the long jump Arkansas is relying on Brooks to provide them with huge team points.

RELAYS

The 4x400 relay seems to be USC’s to lose. The lady Trojans lead the NCAA with a mark of 3:27.56 and are the only team under 3:30. Purdue and Oregon have outside chances but USC should not only win but should break the NCAA Indoor record of 3:27.03 which they own.

In the distance medley relay Boise State has vaulted to the top of the NCAA with their mark of 10:55.32. Allie O’Strander anchors this great quartet and she has proven to be quite a threat in the mile as well as the 3,000 for which she is competing in. With a two second lead on the field Boise State is clear favorite to win.

TEAM TITLE

This will be a two-team battle between Arkansas and Georgia. Arkansas will be able to compete with Georgia is some of the jumping events as well as the sprints and hurdles. It may simply come down to the mile or the pentathlon, or potentially the sprints. Either way it will be a great team battle that will be decided before the 4x400 relay. Dark horses in this meet will be Kentucky who are heavy favorites to potentially win four events and USC who is bringing a fully loaded sprint core with a great 4x400 relay.

NCAA Indoor Championship Men's Preview

(Grant Holloway)

(Potential double and leader of the Florida Gators)

We have made it to the finish line of the 2018 Indoor Season. This has been quite a year with several NCAA records broken and even nearly a world record. With the Indoor World Championships coming to an end last weekend, it is entirely possible that the NCAA Indoor Championships will be a more competitive meet in several events.

SPRINTS/HURDLES

In the sprints a huge hole was left after Christina Coleman of Tennessee left before his eligibility expired to compete on the professional circuit. This clearly has turned out to be good idea as he is currently the world indoor champion at 60 meters and clearly in the driver’s seat to be the new world number one in the 100-meter dash.

Andre Ewers of Florida State sent a warning shot early in the season that he was the replacement. His debut for the Scarlet and Gold saw him clock in at 6.52 to win the 60-meter dash at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational. Since then he has yet to meet that time and even lost the ACC Championships. However, he still leads as the nation’s best and cannot be ignored. Jeryl Brazil of Louisiana Lafayette is currently second and in great position to challenge Ewers. Elijah Hall of Houston is also a serious threat with his time of 6.58.

In the 200-meter dash talented freshman Divine Oduduru of Texas Tech by way of Nigeria is the obvious headlining favorite to win this event. He clocked in a time of 20.18 on his home track a few works sending a warning shot throughout the world. However, since his performance was at altitude is was converted to a time of 20.25, his time was still number one in the nation. Senior Ncincilili Titi of South Carolina and Nick Gray of Ohio State are tied for number two in the nation with a time of 20.45. Gray coming on strong later in the season looks like a real threat to Oduduru as Titi ran his top time early in the season and has just not performed at the same level.

The 400-meter dash is finally going to give a much-anticipated match up. Two sophomores Michael Norman of USC and Akeem Bloomfield of Auburn. Both were high school studs and garnered plenty of attention from their country, Norman the USA and Bloomfield Jamaica. Norman leads the nation in his lone performance of this season with a time of 45.00 and Bloomfield is a close second with a time of 45.02. Bloomfield has competed far more this season than Norman and now has SEC title to his credit. However, Norman’s fresh legs maybe just what he needs to beat Bloomfield in a race where 44 seconds is likely.

The 60 meter hurdles there is one of our few defending national champions. Grant Holloway is the leader of the Florida Gators and a lot of their team title hopes are riding on him performing well. His national leading time of 7.42 is the new NCAA record and still the world number one. Senior Ruebin Walters of Alabama is currently the closest challenger with a time of 7.61, however he has already been beaten by Holloway. If Holloway sticks with his technique he should successfully defend his crown.

DISTANCE

No event is the gap greater between the leader and the rest of the field than in the 800. Michael Saruni of UTEP by way of Kenya is the latest 800 prodigy to come out of UTEP and his time not only leads the nation it would have earned him a gold medal at this past weekend Indoor World Championships. Saruni leads the nation with a time of 1:44.89. The next closest athlete is more than two full seconds behind him in Bryce Hoppel of Kansas who ran 1:47.09 during the season. Saruni is just a sophomore but his time shows that he is extremely talented and capable of running a great time without having to have great competition.

The mile is one of the few events were there is a defending national champion. Josh Kerr shocked the nation when he defeated superstar Edward Cheserek of Oregon last season in the mile. He followed that up in the outdoor season by winning the 1,500. The tables have turned on the young sophomore this season as he has the target on his back and leads the nation with a time of 3:54.72. He has a strong challenger in Jonah Koech of UTEP who has ran 3:55.81. Although Kerr has the top time it will likely take his best to fight of the supremely talented Koech.

Justyn Knight of Syracuse is attempting to complete the long-distance double. The talented junior has clearly filled the void left by Cheserek after he graduated. Knight has competed and performed well in the mile, 3,000 and 5,000 throughout the season. He is currently ranked number one in the 3,000 and number two in the 5,000. Adding to both those top tier rankings is his number four ranked mile performance. The 3,000 is perhaps his best bet to win it all, he currently holds more than a two second lead with a time of 7:45.86 over Northern Arizona senior Andy Trouard who has ran 7:48.21. The 5,000 has Mike Tate of Southern Utah as the leader with a time of 13:37.33 to Knight’s 13:39.59. Knight won the Cross Country national title this past fall proving that he is championship ready but this is a big step up, however Knight seems poised to do it.

JUMPS

Senior Trey Culver of Texas Tech and true freshman Vernon Turner have dominated the high jump all season long. Culver is just the latest athlete to dominate in the high jump for Texas Tech. He is the defending Indoor National champion and is currently tied for the number one ranking with a mark of 7 feet 7 ¾ inches. Turner is the guy tied with him and in the first championship meet Culver was successful in winning the Big 12 title. Turner is a freshman and truly has nothing to lose, Culver has the pressure and the target on his back as the defending champion. The edge is still with Culver but Turner makes an interesting case to win it all.

KeAndre Bates of Florida has been up and down all-season long. He is the defending champion in the long jump and was runner up in the triple jump last indoor season. Last outdoor season he completed the double by winning the NCAA titles in both events. Those same expectations were placed on the senior entering the season. Currently he is ranked tenth in the long jump and second in the triple jump. Bates however is still capable of pulling off the double it will be challenging to do so. In the long jump fellow senior Zack Bazile of Ohio State is rounding into shape at the right time and leads the nation with his leap of 26 feet 8 ¼ inches which is farther than Bates’ personal best. His teammate Grant Holloway is also a threat to win it but he also has been off currently ranked seventh in the nation.  In the triple jump another senior in Scott Newsome has lead the with a mark of 54 feet 6 ¾ inches. Although Bates has a personal best that is farther he has not hit that mark this season. It will likely take a 55-foot jump if he is to win the NCAA title.

Chris Nilsen of South Dakota has been the man in the Pole Vault the entire season. He is the only athlete in the field with a mark over 19 feet. He won this event last indoor season as a freshman and is in great position to defend his title. Matthew Ludwig is the latest prospect from Akron and he is currently ranked second with a mark of 18 feet 6 ¾ inches. Although Ludwig’s mark is impressive is does not seem to be enough to currently challenge Nilsen for the title.

THROWS

The throwing events are quite exciting this season. Each week there seems to be a new number one in one of the throwing events and all-time top 10 greats. In the shot put a freshman will lead them in Jordan Geist of Arizona. Geist was the number one athlete in high school last season and has not skipped a beat. His leading mark of 70 feet 4 ½ inches is the only mark in the NCAA over 70 feet. He will face a strong challenge from the defending champion in senior Mostafa Hassan of Colorado State who is currently ranked number three and SEC Champion senior Josh Awotunde of South Carolina who is ranked number two. Hassan was the preseason favorite obviously returning as defending champion but his personal best from last season has been surpassed by both Geist and Awotunde. Their marks are still close together and Hassan is still the defending champion. It would not surprise me nor should it surprise you if he puts everything together to successfully defend his title.

In the weight throw two heavy hitters already have competed against each other. Number one ranked senior Josh Davis of NC State and number three ranked junior Joseph Ellis of Michigan. Ellis took the number one ranking from Davis during the season and during the head to head beat Davis. Davis used the ACC Championship to reclaim his number one ranking with a mark of 78 feet 2 ¼ inches. Ellis also set a personal record at the Big Ten Championships with his mark of 77 feet 6 ¾ inches. Ellis has already proven he can beat Davis regardless of his ranking or previous performance a guy to keep an eye on is the number two in Denzel Comenentia of Georgia the field event school. Either of these three men could win it.

HEPTATHLON

This event is Kentucky’s Tim Duckworth’s to win. He has been the favorite sense the preseason. He finished second last indoor season and has the top performance this season with a total of 6,071 points. However, he will still have to earn the victory and will have strong competition from fellow senior Hunter Veith of Witchita State who has scored 6,023 points.

RELAYS

The 4x400 relay will be quite interesting there are three solid teams capable of winning. USC, Florida and Texas A&M. Florida and Texas A&M have been rivals for the past decade so nothing is surprising there. USC has the best quartet is school history and that is saying a lot for a school with such storied history. The USC Trojans lead it with a mark of 3:01.98 and are currently the only group under 3:02. Florida has run 3:02.23 and Texas A&M has run 3:02.35. The team title could certainly come down to this event and I would not put it past any of these times to win it.

The Distance Medley relay is currently led by New Mexico who has ran a time of 9:24.73 and have the courtesy of having Josh Kerr on the anchor. Utah State is a close second with a mark of 9:25.91. The two schools gave us a preview at the Mountain West Indoor Championships were the finished 1-2. Expect for the battle to be even more intense with a national title on the line.

TEAM TITLE

I’ll keep it simple, Florida. Georgia, Texas Tech and Arkansas will be close.