Women's NCAA Indoor Championship Preview 2019

(Alexis and Victoria- Arkansas Pole Vaulters)

It is finally here, the NCAA Indoor Championship. There is a lot of story lines heading into this meet and I will try to cover them all. Let us first get started with the women.

SPRINTS/HURDLES

In the 60 meter dash LSU is looking to continue their storied success in this event. Just last season Aleia Hobbs claimed the 60 meter title to add to their illustrious history. Her former teammate Kortnei Johnson is now the favorite to win it this year. The senior has the fastest time in the nation clocking in at 7.14. Kiara Parker of Arkansas is currently number two with a time of 7.15. At the SEC Championship Johnson defeated Parker at Arkansas making a large statement. Both are being heavily relied upon for the team title. Arkansas the big favorite is expecting big points from Parker. A dark horse in this race is former champion Teahna Daniels of Texas.

The 200-meter dash entered this season with Johnson of LSU as a heavy favorite. She’ll be in the field, but she is not listed as one of the top athletes. Instead we have three athletes who have run 22.8. First there is Anavia Battle of Ohio State, a talented sophomore won the Big Ten with a time of 22.80. Then there is senior Kayla White of North Carolina A&T who held the number leading mark for several weeks with a time of 22.82. Finally, there is true freshman Kynnedy Flannel of Texas with a time of 22.88, the early season leader. White is the only athlete of the three who will be competing in a second event, the 60-meter hurdles and led the NCAA for much of the season. However, you cannot ignore the race ran by Battle at the Big Ten Championship. With everything stated, this race is still wide open.

The 400 has been a bit quit majority of the season. Even now there is surprisingly not one athlete who has gone under 52 seconds all season long. Even favorite Lynna Irby of Georgia who ran a sub 51 second race last indoor season. She is still the leader with a time of 52.02 achieved at the SEC Championship. The race was without challenge as Syaria Richardson of Texas A&M stayed close with a time of 52.09. Kyra Constantine of USC ran a strong race of 52.07 out west to qualify. Even though Constantine and Richardson have times that could challenge Irby has the speed and endurance to dominate. I expect a big season’s best and a title.

The 60-meter hurdles figures to be huge in the team title picture. Both the top ranked programs, Arkansas and USC, have multiple athletes in this race. Arkansas has defending champion senior Payton Chadwick and number two ranked Janeek Brown. For USC there is number one ranked Chanel Brissett who defeated Brown already this season 7.90 to 7.95. USC also has three other hurdlers in Dior Hall, Anna Cockrell and Mecca McGlaston. It is possible that all six of these ladies may make the final but it will be difficult. This field is deep and there will be a few surprises. Brissett is the current favorite and has gone undefeated and topped every athlete considered a contender for the crown and as of now is my choice to win the title.

DISTANCE

At the beginning of the season Sammy Watson of Texas A&M and her teammate Jazmine Fray were among three favorites to contend for the NCAA Indoor title in the 800. Well fast forward, Watson has now turned pro, Fray has qualified but not considered a threat. To be fair Fray is the collegiate indoor record holder and could still pull out a title. However, Danae Rivers of Penn State has been on a tare this season. She has broken the collegiate record in the 1,000-meter run along with her top ranked mile performance has lived up to the lofty expectations placed upon her this season. Although her season best of 2:02.94 is not the top ranked time her performances on the track lead her to be the top favorite in the 800. Martha Bissah of Norfolk State leads the NCAA with her time of 2:02.58 and Allie Wilson of Monmouth is second with a time of 2:02.65 will make strong cases for the title but Rivers is still the favorite.

In the mile Danae Rivers of Penn State pulled out to focus solely on the 800. After more jostling by top athletes in the event Hannah Meier of Michigan and the Big Ten Champion will step in as the top entrant in the event with a time of 4:32.46. Challenging Meier will ironically fellow senior Ohio State Buckeye Julia Rizk. The two already had a great race at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Ann Arbor. Lauren Gregory a freshman from Arkansas will look to challenge the two Big Ten rivals with her time of 4:32.92.

Wisconsin has built quite the distance program. In the 3,000 Alicia Monson will serve as the top entrant with her NCAA leading time of 8:45.97. Monson will look to fend off mile star Jessica Hull of Oregon. Hull is ranked second with her time of 8:53.91. Hull has a national title already having won the 1,500 last outdoor season. Hull also finished third in the race last year and maybe looking for a little redemption. Monson has no national hardware but she did double at the Big Ten Indoor Championship winning the 3,000 and 5,000 meter runs. The time disparity of eight seconds cannot go unnoticed and gives a slight nod to Monson for the title.

In the 5,000 New Mexico is looking to get a 1-2 punch. The National Cross-Country runner-up have become a distance powerhouse and with the top two entrants they will look to make a big statement. Senior Ednah Kurgat leads the NCAA with a time of 15:14.78. Her time stood number one the entire indoor season. Her teammate Weini Kelati has sat in the second position with her time of 15:15.24 all season as well. Both are competing in the 3,000 but the 5,000 is where they are expecting big points. The only challenger to them in the field seems to be Sharon Lokedi of Kansas who is third with a time of 15:15.47.

FIELD EVENTS

In the High Jump Andrea Stapleton-Johnson of BYU garnered the number one ranking in mid-January and never relinquished the ranking. Loretta Blaut of Cincinnati did tie her mark of 6 feet 1 ½ inches but was unable to surpass it. With a total of nine athletes that have surpassed six feet making for this to be an interesting competition. The winner will be decided by who can handle the pressure of a championship meet. For this event I push with no clear favorite.

The Long Jump is led by Rougui Sow of Florida State a senior who transferred from South Carolina. Yanis David of Florida was the favorite in the event at the beginning of the season and was the favorite for the triple jump as well. Currently David is ranked second with a mark of 21’2 ½ in the long jump and first in the triple jump with 45’5 and is coming off two strong performances at the SEC Championships to win both. Davis who is also a senior is looking to continue Florida’s championship jumping tradition. Sow has beaten her already along with leading the nation with 21’3 ½ and has the added motivation of attending a rival school. However, with the spotlight David has shown over the years to perform at her best. I look for her to pull of the double winning both the Long Jump and Triple Jump. Keep an eye on Marie-Josee Ebwea-Excel of Kentucky who led the NCAA for much of the season with her mark of 45’2 ½ in the triple jump.

The Pole Vault figures to be a critical event for the top ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. They have the twins Alexis and Victoria looking to go 1-2 and score 18 team points. However, they are not the only Razorbacks in the field. There is fellow senior Desiree Freier. Although she enters the event ranked seventh it not out of the realm of possibility that they could take a 1-2-3 sweep. The twins are the only the athletes in the field having jumped over 15 feet this season and outside of their teammate the only real challenge is Donnie Braxler of San Diego State. She has a season record of 14’10. A championship meet brings out the best in true competitors, but I am not sure anyone can overcome Alexis Jacobus’ leading mark of 15’4 ¼.

On both the men’s and women’s side the throwing events look to be dominated by one person. For the women it is Ohio State senior Sade Olatoye. She entered the season as a favorite to win the Weight Throw with Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee. Throughout the season Olatoye has stepped up as the sole favorite with her NCAA leading mark of 78’11 ¾ She is only a ½ inch ahead of Scarvelis but that is all that is needed to win. She has taken over as the favorite in the Shot Put after earning her second NCAA leading mark of 58’8. In both events she has competitors within striking distance, but she has defeated everyone she has come against this season there is no real reason why she should not be able to continue.

Senior Michelle Atherley took the reigns as the favorite to win the pentathlon after a strong showing at the ACC Championships amassing a total of 4,498 points. Her conference performance was dominant and saw her earn first place in majority of the events in which she competed. She has over 100 points on her closest competitor Aliyah Whisby of Georgia. Whisby is the latest multi-event talent out of Georgia to vie for a national title. If Atherley’s performance at the ACC Championships is any indication of how she will perform this week, this will be a tall order for Whisby.

RELAYS

The 4x400 relay looks to be a barn burner. The SEC Indoor Championships produced four 3:30 teams in Texas A&M, South Carolina, Arkansas and Florida. A&M came out on top with their NCAA leading mark of 3:29.15. Although USC sends a strong group they are not in the final heat with the top four teams and the lack of competition could cause them the title with time. A&M is bringing three athletes in the open 400 showcasing their strength in this event. It looks as if they have what it takes to win but you cannot ignore South Carolina who is second with 3:29.56. This reminds me of the old South Carolina teams that used to regularly compete for a national title and win the Penn Relays. Expect for some fireworks in this event.

The Distance Medley Relay has Michigan as the leader. The Wolverines broke their school record just before the Big Ten Championships and ran the fastest time ever by a big ten school. Their time of 10:54.47 was quite impressive. There is only one athlete on their squad who will be competing in another event and that is anchor Hannah Meier who is the favorite in the mile. A fresh rested squad with the lead miler on the anchor makes for a tough group to beat. However, Oklahoma State had the number one ranking early in the season and barely relinquished it. Michigan also proved they are human after losing on their home turf to rival Michigan State at the Big Ten Championships. Oklahoma State has an impressive group and could easily win this race.