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.