Weekend Recap 7

19-5 1/2!!! 

(Chris Nilsen-South Dakota)

The final weekend of the regular season has come and gone. As expected, it was a pretty quiet weekend. There were a total of two new number rankings and many top tier athletes rested this past weekend to prepare for Conference Championship weekend. There were still a few noteworthy performances that are worth mentioning.

NEW NCAA RECORD

As our NCAA record theme has continued the past few years another NCAA record fell this past weekend. In the pole vault KC Lightfoot of Baylor and defending outdoor champion Chris Nilsen of South Dakota have been trading the number one spot for the past few weeks. This weekend champion Nilsen took the ranking to the highest it has ever been. He leaped 19 feet 5 and ½ inches to not only notch the number one ranking but break the NCAA record held by last season’s indoor champion Mondo Duplantis. Duplantis is now the world record holder have broken it twice this indoor season as a professional. Nilsen is the last person to defeat Duplantis added to his impressive legacy. All that is left is for him to win the NCAA Indoor crown.

I AM NUMBER ONE 

Rachel Tanczos of Notre Dame impressed the home crowd this weekend at the Alex Wilson Invitational on the campus of Notre Dame. The talented junior launched a throw of 57’7 ½ to claim the number one ranking in the weight throw. The weight throw has been interesting all season and amongst the women throwers has seen the most interchangeable action to its list. Tanczos is now another threat to claim the title.

THE CHAMP IS HERE

Quincy Hall of South Carolina is having a relatively quite indoor season. The NCAA Outdoor Champion at 400 hurdles is also known for his blazing speed and smooth stride in the open 400. Depending on who you ask they believe Hall should stick to simply competing in the open 400. This past weekend he climbed back up the list with a time of 45.99. His time places him fifth in the nation. He seems to be rounding in to shape at the right time as the SEC Championships are this weekend. It will be interesting to see how he performs with such great competition.

MISSING HARDWARE

Devin Dixon of Texas A&M is the top returnee in the nation in the open 800. He has had quite the career at Texas A&M and put up some impressive times. The only thing missing from his trophy case is the NCAA title. Dixon has been quiet this indoor season focusing on the 600 and anchoring the Texas A&M’s really good 4x400 relay. This past weekend he ran an impressive time of 1:47.88. It is only his second 800 of the indoor season and a strong indicator that he is rounding into shape for a strong championship season.

TWO THROWERS OF NOTE

Khayla Dawson of Indian moved into the top five in the nation with her throw of 57’7 ½ in the shot put at the Alex Wilson Invitational. This now gives Indiana two athletes in the top five of the women’s shot put.

Kieran McKeag of Minnesota wowed his home crowd with his throw of 75’2 ¾ to claim the Minnesota Cold Classic Weight throw competition. McKeag is apart of a great conference of throwers that is having an impressive season. His mark moves him third in the nation, and he may even improve upon that throw due to the quality of the competition he will face at the Big Ten Championships this coming weekend.

Our next post will be a Big Ten Preview. The plan is to have as many of the power five conferences done by Friday to prepare for Conference Championship weekend. Keep checking back for more great information.

Weekend Recap 6

2:00.71!

There was a grand total of 16 new number one performances from this past weekend. As I expected and stated in last week’s recap this was going to be a busy and fun weekend. There was great competitive meets in multiple locations that all produced a bevy of number one performances. Let us recap the great weekend we had.

Blazing 200

It seems the 200 this season may perhaps be the most compelling sprint event. With no returning champion in either men or women we learn of a new candidate seemingly every weekend. On the men’s side Junior College Transfer Terrance Laird now of LSU ran only his second 200 of the season and clocked a national leading time of 20.43. It seems the folks at LSU are bringing him along slowly. With his next major meet being the SEC Championships look for his season best to fall again.

Anavia Battle of Ohio State is certainly no stranger to being at the top of the rankings. She experienced the top spot briefly last year before the NCAA Indoor Championship. This past weekend she ran an impressive time of 22.66. That time matches the winning time of last year’s indoor champion. There is still plenty of season left but that is quite a noteworthy time.

Bahamian Girl

Recently the Island known as the Bahamas has produced quite an impressive group of quarter milers. Perhaps the most known is Shaunae Miller-Uibo who has an Olympic Gold Medal to her name. Doneisha Anderson of Florida seems to be next in line to join that group. The talented sophomore ran a national leading time of 52.06 to defeat a field that produced several top 16 marks.

Best in Class

Trey Cunningham of Florida State continued his impressive season competing at the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson this weekend. Cunningham ran 7.51 to finish second in the men’s 60-meter hurdles. He lost to former NCAA Champion and current World Champion Grant Holloway. His time further cemented his number one ranking and all-time status.

All-Time Great!

Nia Akins joined the collegiate all time top five list in the 800 after her impressive performance this past weekend. Akins clocked a national leading time of 2:00.71 at the Valentine Invitational at Boston University. Her time ranks her as number two all-time and firmly plants her as the favorite to win the Indoor National title.

Super Jumpers

The jumps performances this weekend was incredible. A total of six new number one performances alone came from the jumps area with both men and women producing three.

On the men’s side KC Lightfoot of Baylor took back the number one ranking in the Pole Vault with his mark of 19 feet 1 ½ inches. Chris Nielsen of South Dakota remains the favorite to win the title but the performances of Lightfoot this year make it hard to bet against him.

Jordan Scott re-established his position in the men’s triple jump. The senior from Virginia leaped to a top 20 all-time mark of 55-10 ½. As the defending champion Scott quietly reminded everyone why he is the favorite to win. It will also be interesting to see how high he climbs on the all-time list.

In the long jump Carey McLeod of Tennessee leaped to a national leading mark of 26’9 ¼. He also finished second to Scott in the triple jump with his number two ranked mark of 54’8 ¾. McLeod is have quite an impressive season for Tennessee and should remain a real challenge for all competitors for the rest of the season.

On the women’s side Olivia Gruver further improved her grip on the number one ranking and drew closer to the top performance all time. Her mark of 15-5 at the USA Indoor Championships increases her lead on the national list and proves that she is ready for major competition.

Ellen Ekholm of Kentucky took back her number one ranking in the high jump. Ekholm leaped to 6-2 ¾ to win the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson. Her next big competition will be against the number two, three and four ranked performers in the country at the SEC Indoor Championship. We will have a clearer National title picture after that meet.

Taishia Pryce of Kansas State was not a name mentioned on the preseason watch list. This past weekend she proved why she should have been with her mark of 21’10. Pryce is the latest talented field event athlete to come out of Kansas State which has become the best program to challenge Georgia for top field event program title. Pryce has almost a three-inch lead on her closest competitor and will likely improve her national leading mark later this season. Keep an eye out for this new challenger.

Going the Distance

Northern Arizona has truly taken over as the premier program for men’s long-distance racing. The men from Flagstaff flew all the way to Boston to compete at the Valentine Invitational. In quite an impressive performance they finished 1-2-3 in the 3,000. All three performances are also the top three in the country. Sophomore Luis Grijalva led the way with his time of 7:43.73. The men from Flagstaff now have top times in the 3,000 and 5,000. Keep in mind that Tyler Day finished third in the race. Expect more top performances later this season from Northern Arizona.

Whittni Orton of BYU ran an impressive race at the Husky Classic on the campus of the University of Washington. The senior finished second overall losing only to professional Emily Infield of the Bowerman Track Club. Orton did however beat an impressive field that included 7 top 16 marks.  Orton is having an impressive season for BYU and her time of 8:49.63 is currently the only sub 8:50 mark in the country.

GOING, GOING, GONE

Alyssa Wilson of UCLA is apart of the throwing resurgence of UCLA. Wilson took over the number one ranking in the weight throw with a mark of 75’4 ¾. The junior also competed two days later at the USA Indoor Championships were she would finish second with a mark of 74’9 ¾. Her mark there would have also been a number one ranking. This proves her level of fitness and capability to win the NCAA title.

Adrian Piperi of Texas is continuing their championship throws tradition. Piperi launched the shot put to a mark of 68’4 ¼. Piperi is the defending outdoor champion and is clearly focusing on avenging his runner up performance from last indoor season. This performance proves he is on the right track.

Championship Relay Performance

The Kentucky women’s 4x400 relay did it again. This past weekend they began the first team on the season to go under 3:30 with their winning time of 3:29.74 at the Tiger Paw Invitational. What is perhaps more impressive is that they did it without their top performer Alexis Holmes. That is an indication of their depth and how well they can perform.

Up Next

This coming weekend should be quiet as many top stars prepare for Conference Championships weekend. Their will be a few smaller conference championships, but we are heading towards the post season expect for more records to fall and the national list to change.

Weekend Recap 5

(Tamara Clark- Alabama)

We have just finished the second weekend in February. No major splashes this weekend, there were still a few new number one rankings, however. Perhaps it was noticeable that quite a few big-name athletes took the weekend off in preparation for the bevy of major meets happening this coming weekend. In this recap we will review the new number one rankings as well as preview a few of the big meets coming this weekend.

200 METER SPEED

Tamara Clark of Alabama became the latest sprint queen to claim the number one ranking in the 200. Clark blazed the track in New Mexico with a time of 22.81 that was converted to 22.88 because of the altitude. She surpassed Anavia Battle of Ohio State with her first attempt of the season. This event has a lot of contenders since the defending champion is gone and she has added herself to the list.

Not a number one performance but it is worth noting the impressive performance by true freshman Langston Jackson of Kentucky. He ran an impressive time of 20.58 that was converted to 20.65 due to altitude. Keep an eye on him for the future.

BIG TIME JUMP

Chris Nilsen of South Dakota is having a great season so far. He solidified his number one ranking in the Pole Vault again with his mark of 19 feet 1 inch. Nilsen is weekly creating more distance between himself and KC Lightfoot of Baylor in the rankings. Nilsen is a big meet performer so with championship season coming soon expect even bigger marks.

MILLROSE GIRLS

Two number ones came from distance runners competing at the Millrose Games. Dani Jones of Colorado claimed the top ranking in the mile with a time of 4:27.88. Alicia Monson of Wisconsin claimed the top ranking in the 3,000 with a time of 8:53.69. Jones was seventh in her race overall against a strong group of professionals including new American record holder Elle Purrier. Monson was sixth overall and right behind her in seventh is the number two ranked Weini Kelati of New Mexico.

QUIET TAKEOVER

It was a big weekend on the professional circuit, there was the Millrose Games and the European Circuit. A new world record in the Pole Vault by Mondo Duplantis and a few other American records at the Millrose Games. Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame quietly took over the number one ranking in the 3,000 with his time of 7:46.71 to win on his home track at the Meyo Invitational. Nuguse has a national title in his trophy case already having won the 1,500 outdoors last season. Will he step down to the mile this indoor season or remain competing in the 3,000? It remains to be seen.

BIG WEEKEND

There are several big meets this weekend, the Tyson Invitational at the University of Arkansas, Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson, Grand Valley State Big Meet, Iowa State Classic, Don Kirby Collegiate Elite at New Mexico and the Texas Tech Shootout. The rankings should change next week individually as well as a clearer picture for the Team Battle will appear as well. Also keep in mind that it will be a big weekend on the high school circuit as well. This should be an exciting week.

Expect for the biggest performances to come out the Tyson Invitational. This meet has been scaled back from it hey day when it was the biggest regular season meet on the indoor track and field calendar along with a dedicated professional circuit as well. The meet still draws in major competition such as LSU. With the bevy of access we have through streaming I encourage you to watch at least one great meet this weekend.

Weekend Recap 4

9:24.52!

(Oregon DMR)

It is the beginning of February and the sparks have begun to fly. This weekend produced a total of 21 new number one rankings with 13 on the men’s side. The irony is that there are still a few athletes waiting to debut their seasons this coming weekend. In this recap however we will review last weekend and talk about our trend of collegiate records falling.

RECORD RUNNING RELAYS

How about Oregon winning the Distance Medley Relay in record breaking fashion. We have not gone a season without a NCAA record over the past years and we were overdue for a record-breaking performance this season. The talented group from Oregon clocked in at 9:24.52. The team consisted of James West, Jacob Miller, Charlie Hunter, Cooper Teare.

Texas A&M has become kings of the men 4x400 relay. For the past eight seasons they have had a top ranked 4x400 relay every year. This season is no different after the claimed the event title at Texas Tech with their time of 3:02.77 that was converted down to 3:03.21.

BYU women have developed quite the distance program and their Distance Medley relay team this year seems to be their best event. This past weekend they clocked a NCAA leading time of 10:53.95. An impressive time with a month in the season still left to go.

BLAZING QUICK

Raymond Ekevwo of Florida is certainly living up to the hype produced last outdoor season. Last season he ran a personal best of 9.96 breaking the school record and joining the all-time list in his native Nigeria. The senior blasted off to a time of 6.53 to win the 60-meter dash over a strong field at the Razorback Invitational. He moved squarely into the number one ranking solidifying his contender status.

Michaiah Harris of Texas was on the same wave this weekend. The talented junior has been the talk of the 200 majority of this season. At the Razorback Invitational he too solidified his number one ranking clocking in at 20.49 to win the event title. He has been on a hot streak all season and it looks to continue.

Randolph Ross son of Olympian and North Carolina A&T Head coach Duane Ross is living up to the lofty standards set by his father. The super true freshman clocked a winning time of 45.44 in the 400 at the Texas Tech Invitational. Due to the altitude his time was converted down to a 45.55 which is still the number one ranking. Trevor Stewart his teammate debuted this weekend but could not keep up with the outstanding freshman.

On the women’s side Anavia Battle of Ohio State clocked a time of 22.86 at the Texas Tech Invitational and saw her time converted to a 22.93 which is still the number one time in the country. Last season Battle was one of the top sprinters in the country and nothing has changed this season. Expect to see more from her later in the season.

Kennedy Simon of Texas is living up to the expectations set by the University of Texas under Bev Kearney. Kearney made sure that Texas was known for the 400-meter dominance and current head coach Eldrick Floreal is keeping the trend going. At the Razorback Invitational Simon ran a dominant race that saw clock in at 52.20. This event is wide open, and Simon has proven that she is a legit contender.

JUMPING FOR JOY

The jumpers this weekend was on a mission to rewrite the rankings. Chris Nilsen of South Dakota lived up to his preseason hype after winning the NCAA title last outdoor season. The senior joined the 19-foot club this indoor season with his winning mark of 19 feet ¾ inches. An interesting battle is brewing between him and KC Lightfoot of Baylor. We should know more in a few weeks.

Ravyon Grey of LSU reclaimed his number one ranking at the Razorback Invitational. The senior leaped to a winning mark of 26-6 ½. Grey is a having great senior season fresh off a strong junior season. The question now is can he repeat as champion and get to 27 feet.

Grey’s teammate Abigail O’Donoghue has proven that the jumping events at LSU is under a resurgence. O’Donoghue leaped to a number one ranking with a mark of 6’2. Her mark is a school record and marks her as a contender for the title.

Jasmine Moore a true freshman at Georgia is proving why Georgia is perhaps the best at developing female triple jumpers in the nation. The super freshman is picking up where Keturah Orji left off. Moore leaped to a mark of 45-7 ¼. She is the only athlete over 45 feet this season and has over a foot lead of the closest competitor. Moore is having one of the more dominant seasons as a jumper, but she is doing it as a freshman.

Deborah Acquah of Texas A&M is continuing her record season in the long jump. The junior still leads the way and broke the school record again this weekend with her mark of 21-7 ¼.  She has a 5 inch lead over the rest of the field with the potential to improve upon this season.

BIG TIME RUNS

The 800 this weekend introduced to a returning contender, Isaiah Jewett of USC. The talented 800/400 runner dazzled the field this weekend at Texas Tech. He ran a NCAA leading time of 1:47.12 that was converted to 1:46.82. Devin Dixon of Texas A&M debuted this weekend running the 600 but it remains to be seen what those two do later this season but for now Jewett makes a impressive season debut.

Joe Klecker of Colorado is another athlete who had his time converted. The senior ran a time of 4:01 on his home track which is a flat 200-meter track. It was converted to a time of 3:55.13 vaulting him to the number one ranking in the NCAA. Although converted his 4:01 mile time is still impressive on a flat track. Klecker is more of a 3k, 5k competitor but with a time like that maybe he should consider the mile this championship season.

Kieran Tuntivante of Harvard stunned the 3,000 field with his impressive performance clocking in at 7:49.15. He finished second chasing professional Willy Fink at Boston University. His time is still impressive enough that he may want to consider the event as the event he will compete for at nationals.

UP, UP AND AWAY

Samantha Noennig of Arizona State reclaimed the number one ranking in the women’s shot put this past weekend. Her winning mark of 59’7 ½ is drawing us closer and closer to a 60-foot performance.

Shay Taiwo of Ole Miss strengthened her lead on the nation. Her mark of 74-5 ¾ earned this past weekend helped her further distance herself at the premier weight thrower in the nation.

McKay Johnson of Cal is the latest top thrower in the men’s shot put. His mark of 67’8 ¼ moved him past Jonathan Thraldsen of Minnesota. This event has seen the number one ranking change four times this year showing how wide open the competition is for this event.

MULTI’S

Georgia continues to prove they are the best at developing multi-event athletes. They swept the Razorback Invitational this weekend led by Johannes Erm who was the preseason favorite. Erm score a total of 6,114 points to win the Heptathlon. What’s perhaps is more impressive is that they are currently ranked 1-2-3 in the nation in the event displaying their incredible depth.

Lauren Taubert a senior from Kansas State is now the number one ranked pentathlete with her score of 4,352 that helped her win the Razorback Invitational. Kansas State over the years has proven to be no slouch in developing their multi-event athletes, Taubert is proof that they are a still a top tier program.

The season has finally started to pick up, expect more this coming weekend and for the team rankings to shift.