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.