Weekly Recap- End of January

Chanel Brissett

This past weekend was clearly the best weekend of the 2019 Indoor Season and was the final January weekend of 2019. February is almost here. There was a total of 16 number 1 performances and several school records. The team title picture is still cloudy after this weekend. Many athletes competed in events they have not before, and some athletes still have not competed in their primary event but the performances from this weekend were still impressive.

Grant Holloway is having an impressive indoor season. He is either ranked one or two in four individual events. That is not a typo, four individual events. To go along with his number one ranked 60-meter hurdle performance Holloway stepped in the 60-meter dash and ran away with the title at the Razorback Invitational winning with a time 6.51. His time is the new number one in the event in the nation and a school record. It remains to be seen if he competes in the event on the national stage but with his performance this weekend he may consider it, after all he made SportsCenter on ESPN.

At the same meet Kiara Parker of host Arkansas clocked the number one time in the women’s 60 meter by flashing a time of 7.15. Her time cements her status as a competitor in the event. It is also another clog in the Arkansas engine. Arkansas is perhaps the only team that has consistently proved they are ready to compete for a national title.

Senior Wil London of Baylor announced on his social media that his mother is battling cancer and he shaved his hair solidarity with his mother. If he was inspired his time at the Texas Tech Classic proved it. He clocked the national leading time of 45.73 to win the Texas Tech Classic over Bryce Deadmon of Texas A&M. The senior was a preseason favorite to win the event and is already living up to the hype. Baylor has not had a champion 400 runner since Olympic Gold Medalist Jeremy Wariner, London is their latest hope to reclaim their throne as kings of the 400.

Kaelin Roberts of USC did the exact same thing as London by garnering the number one ranking at the Texas Tech Classic. The talented sophomore won the race with a time of 52.25. She has had the number one time in the nation for back to back weeks. Former teammate Kendall Ellis is now a professional and has passed the baton to Roberts. This season we will be presented with a new champion and a new face for the event it looks as though Roberts will be it.

Also at the Texas Tech Classic we saw Devin Dixon of Texas A&M give an all-time performance. His winning time of 1:45.27 is the third fastest in NCAA history and the fastest by an American in NCAA history. Texas A&M has been quite successful with their string of 800 runners and Dixon is clearly carrying the torch the talented junior is now the number one runner in the NCAA and has over a second lead on the rest of the field.

Danae Rivers of Penn State is the new number one in the 800 after winning Penn State National meet in a time of 2:02.94. Her time is almost a full second ahead of former number one Abike Egneiyi of Middle Tennessee State. Rivers has a collegiate record in the 1,000 under her belt already and as one of the preseason favorites has clearly hit her stride.

Last season’s 1,500 NCAA Champion stepped up competing in the 3,000-meter run this past weekend at the Indiana Relays. Oliver Hoare of Wisconsin is no stranger to being ranked high. The talented distance runner is still considered a mile threat but his time in the 3,000 opens the door for more. He garnered the number one time in the nation with a time of 7:48.81 a new personal best. He has competed in the 3,000 and 5,000 in the past even winning both long distance events at the Big Ten Indoor Championships last season. It remains to be seen which events he will compete in during championship season. But his recent run in the 3,000 should give some pause that he could win that event too.

Jessica Hull of Oregon was one of the preseason favorites to win a national title. She is one of the few Oregon Ducks who remained after the change of distance coaches. Hull ran a dominating performance winning with a time of 4:31.03 at the Razorback Invitational. Her time against the number one ranked Razorbacks sent a clear message of what she expects to do during championship season. She already has one national title last outdoor season in the 1,500 so winning the mile indoors is something she is certainly capable of doing.

Abbie McNulty of Stanford gave the Cardinal distance core some recognition. She helped to lead a strong team at the UW Invitational. Her time of 9:05.66 was the top collegiate performance in the race and in the nation this season. Although she has no championship hardware she made a statement that as a senior she intends to get some. There is still plenty of time in the season, especially for the distance runners, to see improved times and dramatic changes in the list. But do not be surprised to see Abbie McNulty remain at the top.

Chanel Brissett of USC became our first sub 8 second runner in the 60 meter hurdles. She leads a strong contingent from USC who have four runners in the top 16 in the country. Brisett won the 60-meter hurdles at the Texas Tech Classic with a time of 7.98. What is more impressive about her performance is the quality of field she defeated. Brissett who the 100 hurdles at the Pac-12 Championships is rounding into quite the hurdler. 

The Pole Vault had an incredible weekend. Superstar true freshman Mondo Duplantis competed in his first meet as an LSU Tiger. He claimed the Razorback Invitational with a mark of 19 feet 1 ½ inches to lead the NCAA. He is the preseason favorite to win the event after a stellar prep career. It is clear he is picking up where he left off. Senior Matthew Ludwig of Akron is the latest pole vaulter to come out of Akron and the senior tied his mark in their dual meet against Kent State. Duplantis is still the favorite but a new challenger has just stepped on the scene.

On the women’s side LSU had another star Pole Vaulter in Lisa Gunnarson go toe to toe with twin sisters Alexis Jacobus and Victoria Hoggard of Arkansas at the Razorback Invitational. Jacobus was revealed to be the winner taking fewer jumps to reach the winning height 14-9 ½, a mark that all would tie. The top four athletes in the country are all in the SEC which will make this event especially interesting come championship time.

Payton Otterdahl of North Dakota State is quietly putting together an impressive season in the throwing events. The senior is currently the leader is now both the weight throw and shot put. He got his number one ranking in the Shot Put this weekend with a personal best throw of 71-0 at the Mark Colligan Memorial. Otterdahl is certainly the new favorite in the throwing events, and the big-name schools clearly do not intimidate him.

Sade Olatoye of Ohio State is living up to the preseason hype about her. She won the weight throw at Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge in New York with a throw of 75-2 ½. Her winning mark moved her to number one over Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee. Both are preseason favorite to win the event but for now Olatoye is the current number one.

This was the last weekend in January. We are only a month a way from the start of the post-season. Over the next few weeks things are going to warm up as everyone tries to get one of the top 16 spots available. The qualifying lists will change every week in every event. All I have to say is get ready, get ready, get ready.

2019 Weekend Recap Number 2

7.49!

(Grant Holloway)

Another weekend has come and gone rearranging out Indoor Qualifying lists. There were new all-time great performances this weekend as well. In this post we will review the biggest performances of the weekend.

Grant Holloway of Florida continued to be Grant. In his season debut he notched the number five all-time performance by clocking in at 7.49 to win the 60-meter hurdles at the Clemson Invitational. He followed that up by winning the 200-meter dash in 20.69. His 200-meter time currently ranks number two in the country and may have been an event just simply for speed work. Add to that he ran a leg on Florida’s dominating 4x400 relay which one their race by more than 5 seconds in a time of 3:04.74 ranking them second in the nation. Keep in mind he still has not even competed in the long jump yet either.

Freshman Kennedy Flannel of Texas is making a name for herself. As this year freshman star Flannel vaulted to the top of the 200-meter lists by clocking in at 22.88 to win the women’s 200 at the Clemson Invitational. Flannel is one many talented freshman Coach Edrick Floreal has available to him. She defeated preseason favorite Lynna Irby of Georgia and is the only athlete in the country right now under 23 seconds. She also clocked in at 7.26 to win the 60-meter dash as well.

Andrew Hudson had quite the weekend. The senior from Texas Tech continues to prove that he is worthy of championship consideration. On his home track Hudson clocked in at 20.48 to win the Red Raider Invite in the 200. His time of 20.41 had to be converted down due to the high-altitude Texas Tech has. Hudson is now ranked number one in the country in the 200. His teammate preseason favorite Divine Oduduru has yet to run the 200 this season but trust that he has taken notice of his teammates string of great performances.

At the same meet senior Mario Burke of Houston is carrying the torch for the short sprinters of Houston. He clocked the NCAA leading time of 6.56. His time had to be converted as well to 6.58 but he will be recognized as the NCAA number 1 mark from the weekend and during the season. Burke has taken over the short sprints from Cameron Burrell and Eli Hall along with being a big piece of Houston’s team title hopes.

Senior Abike Egbeniyi of Middle Tennessee State is returning All-American from last season. She has great long speed and strong endurance. She proved herself a threat this past weekend when she earned the number one ranking in the 800 with a time of 2:03.77. After missing the finals last indoor season Egbeniyi is looking to make up for this season and match her outdoor championship performance earning All-American honors.

We have a new number one in the mile and one of only three sub four-minute milers in the country. Sophomore Johnathan Davis ran a dominant race at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational on the campus of Iowa. His winning time of 3:58.06 was two seconds ahead of his closest competitor who did not finish under four minutes. In a conference full of great middle-distance programs Davis time will help him standout in a loaded field. It is still early in the season and expect for many more sub four-minute mile races.

Chanel Brissett of USC has taken the reigns as their top female hurdler. After winning the Pac-12 title last outdoor season she is proving so far this season that was no fluke. The talented sophomore launched to a new NCAA number one mark of 8.07. USC has the top two hurdlers in the NCAA currently and continue to prove they are the best hurdles program in the NCAA.

In the jumping events there are plenty of new number ones. In the women’s long jump senior Yanis David of Florida is living up to her preseason billing as one of the potential favorites. She leaped to a mark of 21 feet 2 inches to win the Hokie Invitational in Virginia. Fellow senior Andrea Stapleton-Johnson of BYU garnered the top mark in the High Jump with a height of 6-1 ½ to win the Air Force Indoor Team Challenge.

On the men’s side there are new number ones in all four of the jumping events. In the Triple Jump there is senior John Warren of Southern Miss with his mark of 55’2. The long jump has Rayvon Grey of LSU with his mark of 26-5 ½. The high jump has a tie with JuVaughn Harrison of LSU and Earnie Sears of USC with 7-5 ¼. Finally, in the pole vault on the contenders and former NCAA Champions Chris Nilsen of North Dakota reached a height 18-6 ¾ to take the top mark. The jumps have been crazy early this season with championship level performances. Many preseason favorites have yet to jump it seems as if it will be a crazy year.

Arizona State has found another star in the throws in sophomore Samantha Noenning. She threw the Shot Put at the Lumberjack Team Challenge winning with a mark of 58’5 ¼. Like the men’s jumps the shot put has been a hot event early this season for women and with the event not having a defending champion the crown is available to anyone.

RELAY OF THE WEEK

You would’ve expected to see the men of University of Florida here at their great relay performance this past weekend where they won their race by more than five seconds. The top performance however will go to Houston’s men 4x400 relay that clocked the fourth fastest all-time with 3:03.31. This again proves the seriousness of Houston’s team title hopes and their quality of their sprinters.

UPCOMING WEEK

This weekend will have plenty of big meets. The Razorback Invitational will be live on the SEC Network, there is also the Texas Tech Classic along with the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. There is the potential for every event to have a new number one come this weekend. The team title picture is still slowly forming.

2019 Opening Weekend Recap

2:38.58

(Danae Rivers)

Well we are picking up where we left off last season. A record breaking pace and times that are normally seen at the end of the season at the beginning. What makes this an even more impressive opening weekend is the fact that there are several ranked teams that still have not competed and the marks are still quite impressive, In this recap we are going to highlight some of the top performances from this weekend that are of notoriety. 

Obi Igbokwe was one of the many big transfers this off-season. The All-American transferred from Arkansas to Houston and is going to be a heavy lean for their team title hopes. He opened his season with a bang clocking in at 20.84 to lead the nation in the 200-meter dash. Igbokwe is primarily a 400-meter runner but with solid speed like that Houston could consider for the 200 meters as well.

*Another sprint mark of note is Kasaun James of Florida State. In the prelims of the 60 meter dash at the Orange and Purple Elite meet he clocked in a national leading time of 6.57 but was unable to win in the finals. 

Also, on the men’s Logan Orndorf of Portland gave us our first sub 4-minute mile of the season. The talented senior won the UW Preview at the University of Washington clocking in at 3:59.94. Although it is early it is still an impressive time for the senior.

On the women’s side Mary Best Sant of Colorado State continued her season of dominance. The senior further improved upon her number one ranking in the 60-meter dash with her winning time of 7.18. The competition was less than stellar but Sant’s time proves her exodus from Oregon was the smart thing to do.

Danae Rivers was our record breaker this weekend. Rivers now a junior at Penn State competed in the non-sanctioned 1,000-meter race at the Nittany Lion Challenge on her home track. The junior clocked in a record time of 2:38.58 breaking the old collegiate record held by Kaela Edwards of Oklahoma State. Rivers who competes in the 800 and mile for Penn State is having another great start to her season.

In the field events number one ranked men’s team Texas Tech has taken a page out of Florida’s book and developed some quality jumpers. Seniors O’daine Lewis and Charles Brown both surpassed 26 feet this past weekend. Lewis with a mark of 26 feet 2 ½ inches for the win and Brown for runners-up with a mark of 26-0 ½. Their marks are currently ranked number 1 and number 2 in the nation in the early season but a great sign for the team title hopes of Texas Tech.

On the women’s side Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee has continued her strong start to the season in the weight throw. Scarvelis this past weekend broke the school record and further increased her grip on the number one ranking with a mark of 73-11 ¼. Scarvelis is one of the contenders for the NCAA title in this event as well and with this past weekend’s performance she made a strong case to be considered the favorite.

RELAY OF THE WEEK

Relay of the week will go to the South Carolina’s women 4x400 relay. Their mark of 3:34.43 ran at the Clemson Orange and Purple Elite meet is two seconds ahead of the next closest competitor. This is an impressive mark early in the season.

2019 NCAA Division 1 Indoor Preview

LYNNA IRBY

Welcome to 2019, what a season this should be. The past few seasons we have season the NCAA record book change consistently almost every week. There are still old records left to be broken and it remains to be seen if this is the season for those old records to fall. The team title on both sides is wide open with major transfers from not only athletes but coaches as well. Although the indoor season started in December 2018 we are heading into the first full week of the indoor season.

60 Meter Dash

On the women’s side Natalliah Whyte of Auburn by way of Jamaica stormed onto the scene last scene. As a stellar freshman she clocked in at 7.12 finishing 2^nd last indoor season. Although sprints coach Henry Rolle has left and now focusing on professional sprinters, head coach Ralph Spry should still be able to coach her to championship form. Kortnei Johnson of LSU is her main challenger and the top returner for the Lady Tigers. Former NCAA Champion from 2016 Teahna Daniels of Texas who is now under new head coach Edrick Floreal.

On the men’s side there is Andre Ewers of Florida State and Raheem Chambers now of Miami formerly of Auburn. Ewers is named to the preseason Bowerman’s list and has been nothing but sensational. The talented sprinter dipped under 10 seconds in the 100 and 20 seconds in the 200. He is the only returning athlete to do so. His personal record time of 6.52 will likely improve and we may see him run 6.4. Chambers is now under new tutelage having left Auburn, while under a new coaching staff it remains to be seen what he will do but we know he can run 6.53 and challenge Ewers for the title.

200 Meter Dash

Lynna Irby of Georgia will have all eyes on her. The talented sophomore burst onto the scene as a freshman setting records in both the 400 and 200. She set an NCAA record in the open 400 last outdoor season. Irby is the lead candidate to complete the long sprint double. NCAA Champion from 2017 Ariana Washington is looking to rebound and push Oregon towards another Championship after an eventful offseason. Also, we must not forget the 2018 outdoor champion in Angerlene Annelus of USC, she has already beaten Irby one on one. Annelus can use the indoor season to prove her win was no fluke.

Divine Oduduru of Texas Tech was the darling of this event for men for majority of the year last indoor season. At the championship meet Eli Hall flew past him for a NCAA/World record mark of 20.02 indoors. Oduduru who is from Nigeria was able to redeem himself by winning the outdoor title over Ewers of Florida State. This could be round two of their battle and a new NCAA/World record maybe established to win.

400 Meter Dash

Irby as previously stated is the highlight here on the women’s side of this season. After chasing Sydney McLaughlin and Kendall Ellis she is now alone at the top. As the top returnee on the only athlete in the field who ran under 51 seconds indoors this looks to be her best event to win. Sharrika Barnett of Florida will be close behind and will look to close out a stellar career in style. Barnett has had an impressive career that includes a SEC title but she is missing a national title and it will require a personal record to take down Irby.

Last year was another record breaking year in this event on the men’s side. Michael Norman set the world record indoors in this event and broke the NCAA record outdoors as well. Kahmari Montgomery of Houston is the top returnee. After having been overshadowed by the stellar work of Norman last year all eyes will be on him this season. Wil London of Baylor a senior who has previously made Team USA in the event will be a solid challenge as both will look to close out their senior years in style.

800 Meter Run

Both sexes have broken the NCAA record in the event in the past two years. Jazmine Fray for women of Texas A&M and Michael Saruni for UTEP. Saruni is the defending champion and will have all eyes on his this indoor season with Marco Arop of Mississippi State chasing. Fray is a different story, although she is the indoor record holder she has no national titles to her credit. Her talented teammate Sammy Watson and Danae Rivers of Penn State will likely challenge her for the title. If there is any event that has a record more under threat it would be this one.

Mile

Dani Jones

Dani Jones of Colorado is the favorite for women to win this race. She is the top returnee in the event and is coming off a stellar cross-country campaign that saw her win the NCAA title both individually and as a team. Jones will like to add another NCAA title to her trophy case here. Millie Paladino of Providence is the only returnee capable of competing with Jones.

Johnathan Davis of Illinois is the top returnee based on time in the mile in an event that technically is wide open. The former NCAA Champion Josh Kerr turned professional early leaving a major void in the event. Kasey Kevelbaard of Southern Utah should challenge.

3,000/5,000

There is the potential for two double champions. Ednah Kurgat of New Mexico along with her teammate Weini Kelati are top returnees in both events. Kelati is coming of a stellar cross-country campaign where she finished 2^nd at the national meet. Both events will have new champions and it is possible that either Kurgat of Kelati could win both or they could split events.

Grant Fisher is the big gun in the longer distance races. Fisher finished 2^nd at the NCAA Cross Country Championship and is the top returnee in the 3,000 from last indoor season and in the 5,000 last outdoor season. Each event will present a challenge, in the 3,000 Cameron Griffith from Arkansas and in the 5,000 Vincent Kiprop of Alabama. It remains to be seen if he competes in both events but for now he is the favorite.

60 Hurdles

Payton Chadwick of Arkansas returns as the defending champion on the women’s side. Chadwick has sub 23 second speed in the 200 and the height to improve greatly in the event. After having clocked 7.93 last season we should not be surprised to see if she goes under 7.9. On her heels will be Anna Cockrell of USC who finished in a closed second last season. Also, Dior Hall and Channel Brissett of USC will be challengers as well.

Grant Holloway

Grant Holloway of Florida is the two-time defending champion. He has won every NCAA Championship race since he arrived as a freshman. Now as a junior and the NCAA record holder he is still the favorite to win. However, he will not be without challenge, Trey Cunningham is now a sophomore and will have adjusted to the increase in height. Chad Zallow of Youngstown State has also been chasing Holloway, the talented sprint hurdler from Ohio is now a senior and has one last shot to win the title.

High Jump

Nicole Greene of North Carolina is the defending champion for the women’s high jump. She had a season’s best of 6’2 last indoor season and went into the championship meet ranked number three but came out on top. Zarriea Willis of Texas Tech had the higher ranking but was unable to out jump Greene. Both are seniors looking to end their indoor careers with a bang.

A new champion will be crowned now that Randall Cunningham of USC has exhausted his indoor eligibility. He is also recovering from a devastating leg injury that he sustained while winning the NCAA title. Vernon Turner who was a stud as a freshman returns as the top performer from last season. He will have to deal with the outdoor champion Tejaswin Shankar of Kansas State. Shankar who set the Indian National Record last season indoor season will look to avenge his lost.

Pole Vault

Mondo Duplantis of LSU is perhaps the most talked about freshman in the NCAA this season. He is already a American National Record Holder and World Junior Record Holder. He has already been added to the Bowerman Watch List. He is number two all-time on the outdoor world list. His accolades go on and on. With a personal best of 19-10 ¼ he is clearly the favorite to win the NCAA title. The defending champion Hussain Alhizam of Kansas will most certainly have his hands full.

Formerly known as the Weeks sisters, Alexis Jacobus and Victoria Hoggard of Arkansas have continued Arkansas strong tradition of great pole vaulters. They finished 1-2 last indoor season with Alexis setting a NCAA meet record with a mark of 15 feet 3 ½ inches. Olivia Gruver of Kentucky has the marks to compete with them as well but will hard pressed to surpass both Arkansas sisters.

Long Jump

Georgia has dominated the women’s jumps in recent years with Florida hot on their tails their entire way. With Tara Davis transferring to Texas and now ineligible for the 2019 indoor season all eyes point to Yanis David of Florida. She is the top returnee in the event and already the favorite to win the triple jump. The men of Florida have great success in both horizontal jumps it is now the women’s turn.

The long jump is another event that Grant Holloway has been a star in. However, he has yet to claim the long jump title. He finished 2^nd last season indoors and did not score outdoors hurting the Gators team title hopes. We do not know when he will decide to go the professional route this maybe his last opportunity to win the event. Charles Brown of Texas Tech is the top returnee and will have the help of his teammate Odaine Lewis to pressure Holloway. This event will be key for both universities in the team title chase.

Triple Jump

As stated previously Yanis David is the favorite to win the event. She spent the past few years chasing Keturah Orji. With Orji out of the way David steps into the forefront. She will not be without competition, Marie-Josee Ebewea-Bile of Kentucky is close behind and should be a strong challenger to David’s attempt on the jumps double.

O'Brien Wasome

O’Brien Wasome of Texas returns as the defending champion in the triple jump. He stunned KeAndre Bates last season by winning it all. After a disappointing outdoor season that did not even see him compete at the national meet Wasome will look to rebound this indoor season under a new coach. His coach Edrick Floreal is former NCAA Champion in the triple jump from the great Arkansas days and expect for him to impart great wisdom to Wasome. Chengetayi Mayuba of TCU will be there to challenge along with outdoor champion Tahar Triki of Texas A&M. Triki will be especially difficult for Wasome and could technically be considered the favorite after his great outdoor season. He was also absent during the indoor season making this event more interesting.

Shot Put

The shot put on the women’s side will birth a new star. With most of last year’s All-Americans and champions gone in this event it will be time for new blood to rise up. Lena Giger Stanford is the top returning All-American from last season. Not only does she have the rigors of a brutal academic load at Stanford but also the weight of being the top returnee. Kelly Sabin of Minnesota will be a quality challenger.

Denzel Comenentia of Georgia a huge part of their field event machine. He is also the defending outdoor champion and the runner up from last indoor season. As the top returnee from a school that produces great field athletes Comenentia will look to continue the tradition and live up to the hype. Last year’s freshman stud Jordan Geist will have something to say about that. He was not able to claim the title at either meet but was quite impressive as a freshman and is the next top returnee in the event.

Weight Throw

Sade Olatoye of Ohio State and Stamatia Scarrelis of Tennessee are the top returnees in this event. Like the shot put there is no returning champion and a new one will be crowned. Scarrelis has already gotten the season off to a good start with her early season throw of 72-5 ¼. Both can win the event and it is clear between the two there is no obvious favorite.

David Lucas of Penn State is the defending champion in the event. He also was not the conference champion. It was Michigan’s Joseph Ellis who won the Big Ten title and will be a strong challenger to Lucas this season. Also, there is Daniel Haugh of Alabama and Denzel Comenentia of Georgia looking for the chance to double.

Pentathlon

Payton Chadwick of Arkansas is also the number 1 ranked pentathlete with Nina Schulz not returning to Kansas State. Chadwick is well versed athlete with great speed, strength, endurance and jumping abilities. With another great off season of technical training beating Chadwick in this event will be extremely difficult. Michelle Atherley of Miami should be the primary challenger.

Heptathlon

Johannes Erm of Georgia is the latest multi-event athlete to come from Georgia. Georgia has done a great job over the years in this event with quite a few All-Americans and National Champions. As the top returnee Erm will look to continue the tradition. TJ Lawson of Kent State will be close behind. His personal best is only 50 points below, that could change with just improvement in one event. This event will go down to the wire.

RELAYS

Every year I do a preview for the relay events, this year I will post our predictions until around mid-season. With transfers and new freshman, it feels that this year is the best time to postpone that preview.

TEAM

Although the relays are postponed the team battle can be previewed. Currently Texas Tech has the number one ranking on the men’s side and defending champions Florida are 2^nd. Texas Tech returns a bevy of talent and is loaded. Texas Tech has room to spare in terms of errors, it will be interesting to see what happens come March, I will still rock with Florida. On the women’s side I do not see anyone other Arkansas. If you think Texas Tech is loaded, Arkansas is even more so. With great athletes in every area of the sport the Razorbacks have far more than any other team.