2021 NCAA Indoor Week 2 Recap

 45.51!

(Matthew Boling- Georgia) 

We are now in full indoor mode. All teams have now competed in at least one meet so far. We had quite a few eye-popping performances this past weekend that we need to discuss. But first let me remind the entire track and field fanbase please do not let the Covid-19 challenges with Tokyo ruin your year. Let us celebrate the great indoor season we are having so far. We have not received a word of a major athlete testing positive. In this recap we are looking at the new number one 1 performances. 

WOMEN

There was a total of 8 new number one performances, including one by a defending champion.

Twanisha Terry of USC is the 2019 NCAA Indoor 60-meter Champion and the last person to win a NCAA Championship. At the Woo Pig Classic at Arkansas against a top tier group of programs the defending champion clocked a time of 7.14 to win the race. This is the same time she ran to win the Indoor title in 2019 and was an impressive indoor debut. In that same race was NCAA number one in the 200 Abby Steiner of Kentucky who finished in 7.22.

Another USC sprinter made an impressive indoor debut. Bailey Lear defeated a strong field that included 2019 Indoor Champion and teammate Kaelin Roberts, Kennedy Simon of Texas and senior Morgan Burks Magee of Arkansas. Her winning time of 52.55 placed at the top of the NCAA. Beating a field of this quality proves her number one preseason ranking was not in error.

At the same meet in Arkansas Lauren Gregory had her own impressive performance on her home track. The Arkansas athlete claimed the 3,000-meter title with a time of 9:01.41. A strong early season performance. In that same race was her teammate Katie Izzo. Izzo was ranked number one in the 5,000 in the preseason but she is also the defending SEC Champion in both 3,000 and 5,000. Defeating her early in the season in a event she is strong in proves that Arkansas has a lot of depth on this team.

New school same champion. Chanel Brissett who recently transferred to Texas from USC was the 2019 NCAA Indoor Champion in the 60-meter hurdles. Against a strong field of athletes that included former teammates she claimed victory with a time of 8.07. Texas and USC are locked in a tight team battle with USC having the edge. However, Texas is slowing churning into a hurdling juggernaut under the direction of Edrick Floreal.

Abagail O’Donoghue of LSU continues to impress and rewrite the school’s record book. O’Donoghue leaped to a mark of 6-2 ¼ to claim the high jump competition. LSU was also at the Woo Pig Classic and O’Donoghue dominated the field. She was the only athlete over 6 feet but also won by outjumping the competition by 6 feet.

Madi Malone of Auburn is placing her hat the in the ring for championship consideration. The senior had a throw of 72 feet 10 inches. She is currently one of three athletes to surpass the 70-foot mark so far this season.

It is early in the season, but you can never ignore a good pentathlon performance. Erin Marsh of Duke scored a total of 4,185 points to win the Hokie Invitational. Although Marsh was not mentioned as a contender for a national title, she is the defending ACC Indoor Champion and will most certainly make more noise later this season.

The 4x400 relay race at the Woo Pig Classic helped to end the meet on a big note. Arkansas, Texas, USC, Kentucky and LSU were all competing at the Classic on Arkansas’ track. The home team took the race with a time of 3:32.18 to beat USC 3:32.44. It may come down to the 4x400 relay for the team title between these two programs, this was a noteworthy early season victory for Arkansas.

On the men’s side there were a total of four number one performances and none more eye popping than the performance by Matthew Boling. The talented sprinter from Georgia proved his sprinting range by clocking a national leading time of 45.51 in the 400. He is also amongst the top 5 in the 60-meter dash. Boling was originally a 400-meter sprinter before changing to the 100 his senior season in high school so him performing at a high level in the 400 should not be a complete surprise. What is a surprise is running a national leading time in your first ever collegiate race, that is impressive.

Tennessee is really making a case that they are the new home of Jumps U. Associate Head Coach Travis Geopfert spent his coaching career at Arkansas from 2009-2018 developing all those championship jumpers. Not at Tennessee he is starting to do the same. Outside of Carey McLeod the Volunteers have another talented triple jumper in Jalen Tate. Tate clamed the number one ranking in the country winning at the Hokie Invitational. The senior leaped to a mark of 53 feet 9 inches. With Geopfert success at developing jumpers look for Tate to improve upon this mark and remain a contender throughout the season.

Senior Adrian Piperi of Texas draws closer and closer to a 70-foot throw. The Champion shot putter again dazzled against strong competition. His winning throw of 69 feet 3 ½ inches at the Hokie Invitational further cemented his stranglehold on the number one mark in the nation. He has over 3 feet on the number two ranked athlete, Darius King of Northern Iowa.

The 4x400 relay has North Carolina A&T written all over it. Daniel Stokes, Randolph Ross, Elijah Young and Trevor Stewart warped the track and dominated with a time of 3:04.62! Stokes was a featured athlete with us before having a personal best of 44.25 in the 400. Add a talented young Randolph Ross to the mix and you have a team poised to win.

 

On our next post we will break down the discussion of who is the real jumps U. With Florida, Tennessee, LSU, Kentucky, Texas, Georgia, Florida State and USC this will be interesting discussion that will differ based on the sex.

2021 NCAA Week 1 Recap

BANG!!! 

(KC Lightfoot-Baylor)

Our first taste of serious competition and we were provided with some great performances. With the recent news about Covid-19 and the more contagious variant the season is still in jeopardy. However, this past weekend we got to enjoy how great it is to be a track and field fan again. Our previous theme was NCAA record breaking before Covid shut everything down. This weekend we were reminded that the record breaking is still on. 

NEW RECORD

The national record breaking theme continues this season. This time in what has become one of the hottest events, the Pole Vault. I thought we were all out record breaking for this event since after Chris Nilsen and Mondo Duplantis had moved on. Clearly, I was wrong. Lightfoot was apart of a solid meet at Texas Tech this past weekend. He leaped to a mark of 19 feet 5 ¾ inches. A new NCAA indoor record. He had over two feet against the closet competitor. It was clear that he was simply competing against himself. He begins the season with a serious bang!

 

SPRINTS

Whew! That was all that I could say at the end of the weekend. What great performances in this area. In the men’s 60-meter dash Kasaun James of Florida State launched a time of 6.57 to open the season. James is one of Florida State’s premier sprinters and this time just proved that he is the next in line. Will we see a sub 6.5, maybe but his time of 6.57 is a great start to the season.

In the men’s 200 Courtney Lindsey made his Division 1 debut in spectacular fashion. The former junior college star is now competing for Texas Tech. He launched a time of 20.45 on their fast track. This is after he ran a number two nationally ranked time of 6.59 in the 60. 20.45 is now laughing matter, it was only a few years ago were that would have one him the national time. To see a time of this magnitude tells us we are in for a special season from this talented junior.

In the 400 senior Bryce Deadmon of Texas A&M did what we expected for him to do. Claim the top national ranking at the start of the season. What we did not expect is the time. Deadmon added some spice to his home track completing the two-lap long sprint in a time of 45.68. No other athlete this season has gone under 46 seconds. Although it is the beginning is still an impressive time. Perhaps even more impressive is that it was done with a large lead. No other athlete in the race even went under 47 seconds, proving his impressive performance and status at the top runner.

On the women’s side Tamara Clark of Alabama proved that her times from last season were no fluke. It took until the SEC Championships for her to lose the 200 but she has proven to be quite the well-rounded sprinter. Her time of 7.26 in the 60-meter dash moves her to the number one spot. How long she holds on to it remains to be seen.

It was Abby Steiner of Kentucky who dethroned Clark from her number one ranking in the 200 at the SEC Indoor Championships last season. She ran a national leading time of 22.83 on her home track. A sub 22 performance to debut the season is the type of performance we expected from the favorite to win the national title.

The women’s 400 displayed the strength of Texas A&M in the event. Senior Syaria Richardson won the race with a time of 52.92. Not a super impressive time but a solid performance none the less.

NOTE: In the men’s 60-meter hurdles Trey Cunningham of Florida State began his season in impressive fashion. The senior dominated the field with his time of 7.64.

 

DISTANCE

The 800 on both men’s and women’s side saw impressive marks. On the women’s side former High School star Athing Mu debuted with a time of 2:01.07. She won the race by over 8 seconds and has over 4 seconds to her closet national ranked competitor. Again, it is early in the season, but one could not have noticed how close she was to run sub 2 minutes in her debut. What could have happened had she had some competition. It is clear she is already living up to the hype.

Texas Tech was again treated to another top ranked performance. Such a shame took away an opportunity for many fans to see this meet up close and person and witness the great marks and performances. Takieddine Hedeilli of Texas Tech won the Big 12 Indoor title last year in the mile. He has had great 800-meter performances in the past but none like this past weekend. The senior cleared the track in four laps with a time of 1:45.98. A sub 1:46 performance this early and we have yet to see what he could do in the mile. Whether he competes in the 800 or mile or even both at the national level he has proven with his speed that he will be a competitor in either race.

Jenna Magness of Michigan State ran a top time in the 3,000 this past weekend with her national leading time of 9:20.65. A personal best and a strong time to begin the season. Magness beat out a strong Michigan contingent on their home track and is showcasing her ability to win against strong competition. After finishing second in the 5,000 at the Big Ten championships last season, Magness is off to good start.

Connor Mantz leads in the men’s 3k. The BYU standout debut’s in the 3,000 with a sub-8-minute performance. He won the race with a time of 7:58.03. Mantz is normally a long-distance runner competing in the 5,000 and 10,000. Although 3k is not short it was likely a speed workout for the talented runner.

Bethany Hanz of Minnesota has the last distance performance we will discuss. She ran a 15:50.74 to win the 5,000-meter run at the Husker Invitational. She is the lone athlete to have run under 16 minutes so far this season.

In the mile the top performance came from a division two runner. Christian Noble of Lee University dominated with a time of 4:00.60. He will likely run a sub four minute mile later this season but that is an impressive season debut.

It is still early, and the women’s mile did not produce any top tier performances like the sprints or even as we will discuss, the jumps. However, the times we did see prove that this should be an exciting season.

Jumps

Outside of KC Lightfoot there were some impressive marks this past weekend. At the same meet at Texas Tech (Corky Classic). Ruth Usoro a senior from Texas Tech leaped to a national record for native country Nigeria and had the second-best mark in NCAA history with 46 feet 10 ¼ inches. On Keturah Orji of Georgia has performed better.

Georgia may no longer have Orji, but they have multi-event star Anna Hall. She can add high jump to a list of events she can nationally challenge for. She will begin the season as the new number one with her mark of 6-1 ¼. Three other athletes join her leaping over 6 feet. Hall is apart of the field event machine at Georgia and now doubt will be able to perform at a high level all season long in any event.

Tyra Gittens was favored to win the Pentathlon. Like Hall she is nationally competitive in almost all her events. The long jump is no exception. The star from Texas A&M beat out her teammate Deborah Acquah who is a potential favorite in the event. Her mark of 21’8 ¾ is quite impressive so early in the season. However, a mark that strong does prove she is a serious threat outside of the pentathlon like Hall. Gittens potential in the High Jump will also prove as equally strong.

Outside of KC Lightfoot in the Pole Vault, the only other jumping performance of note was in the long jump. Isaac Grimes a senior from Florida State, proves that the Noles are still quite sufficient at producing great horizontal jumpers. At the Gamecock Opener on the campus of South Carolina he leaped to a mark of 26-3. The mark ties his personal best set last indoor season. Although early Grimes performance will garner a target on his back from his competitors.

 

Throws

Adrian Piperi of Texas is beginning his senior campaign with a BANG! The defending outdoor champion and the obvious favorite had a great start to his season with a mark of 67-7 ¾. Perhaps what makes this mark impressive is not that the fact that he has three-foot lead on the nation, but perhaps it is the fact he bit his meet competition by almost 10 feet. That included his younger brother. 70 feet is the mark I am waiting to see. I am sure Piperi can get to it.

Junior Josie Schaefer of Wisconsin almost broke 60 feet on her home track this past weekend. Her mark of 59-4 ¼ gives her some distance on the national list, almost three feet. In an event that is looking for a challenge to star Samantha Noennig. That type of mark I am sure Noennig noticed.

Rebecca Mamel of Michigan State leaped over the 70 feet mark in the weight throw with a mark of 72-9 ¾. She was another Michigan State athlete to win on her rival’s home track. The all Big Ten athlete is beginning her season with a personal best.

 

It is still the first major weekend of 2021, but it was a great one. To all the track and field fans I hope that we can continue moments like this past weekend and that the season will not be derailed again.

2021 NCAA Indoor Preview Part 4

                                                            (Carey McLeod-Tennessee)

Part 4: Jumping and Throwing

The senior men had an outstanding season in 2020 before the pandemic. Five out of six field athletes had a senior ranked number one. The long exception being the long jump. The depth of the performances last year was impressive, and we seem poised to have another year were a historic NCAA record fell. The pandemic did take a way a chance but there is one-star athlete returning.

Cary McLeod of Tennessee set the long jump world on fire last season. The talented Jamaican led a banner year for Tennessee jumps as well as Jamaican jumps. McLeod leaped to a national leading mark of 26 feet 10 ½ inches. The Division 2 transfer led a new group of jumpers at Tennessee to challenge the jumps domination of Florida, Arkansas, Georgia, and LSU. With the growth of Texas A&M in the jumping events, the conference has become not only competitive in sprints and distances but in their field events too.

Florida has an impressive list of newcomers but will be hard-pressed to challenge McLeod in the long jump. He will be joined by high school star Wayne Pinnock of Jamaica, who will perhaps be the top freshman in the NCAA this season.

In the triple jump a new face will emerge as the leader. Ironically, McLeod is the top returnee with the expired eligibility of Jordan Scott of Virginia, who is also from Jamaica. McLeod had a personal best of 54’8 ¾ . The last athlete to compete the jumps double would be Marquis Dendy of Florida. Winning the double would truly signal the beginning of the new Jumps U.

The High Jump was going to be one of the highlighted events last Indoor Championship. This season even though Darryl Sullivan of Tennessee has expired eligibility during the indoor season we still will have quite the field. Earnie Sears of USC and JuVaughn Harrison of LSU are both big time championship level performers. Both schools will be competing for a team title and a victory here will definitely tip the scales. Sears has the luxury of this being his only event while Harrison will have to concern himself with a challenging long jump field. I think Sears who has the top returning mark in 7-6 ½ is a shoe in for victory.

The Pole Vault should be a treat this coming indoor season. Even with Chris Nilsen of South Dakota moving onto the professional ranks, we have three athletes returning who have gone over 19 feet. KC Lightfoot of Baylor is the top returning athlete with a mark of 19-1 ½. Zach Bradford of Kansas and Branson Ellis of Stephen F. Austin both come up tied for number two with ther mark of 19-0 ¼. Nilsen of South Dakota had an entertaining and successful career, but it is time for a new star. Perhaps Lightfoot is ready to be that guy.

The Shot Put brings 2019 NCAA Outdoor Champion Adrian Piperi of Texas back to the front. He was second to Andrew Liskowitz of Michigan last indoor season but is the top returnee thanks to Liskowitz expired eligibility. Piperi has a leading mark of 69-3 ¼. Texas has been quite successful over the years with great throwers and Piperi looks to not only add to their legacy but his as well.

The Weight Throw will have a little SEC flavor to it. Two of the top three returning athletes are both from the SEC. Leading the way is Bobby Colantonio of Alabama. He had a mark of 77-2 ¾ last season. Thomas Madral of Florida will start the season ranked third with his mark of 75-1 ¼. Madral will be counted on in a big way for team title points for the Gators and although Alabama is a top tier program this season is does not look as if they will have the athletes to compete for a team title. But Colantonio will proudly represent.

On the women’s side the jumping events had been dominated by Florida and Georgia. Both schools recruited extremely well last year and have some talented freshman to replenish their ranks and some top returning sophomores already in contention but in the long jump it looks like a new champion will be crowned.

Taisha Pryce of Kansas State led the nation last season with a mark of 21-10. She nearly broke 22 feet indoors and had quite the impressive indoor season. Expect for more of that to continue this year. Kansas State has done quite the impressive job of developing their field event athletes. Pryce is simply next in line.

Jasmine Moore of Georgia is entering her sophomore campaign with all eyes on her. Although she was not the top threat in the long jump she was in the triple jump. After Keturah Orji dominated the NCAA for four years, Georgia found another jumps star to lead the way. Moore returns with a NCAA leading mark of 45-7 ¼. The super sophomore will look to put Georgia back on top, but she will be challenged by Deborah Acqua of Texas A&M who had a mark of 45-2 ¼. Moore has already beaten Acqua before but do not assume that is the end all to be all, Acqua can jump and will give Moore a run for her money.

Abigail O’Donoghue is the latest star of the resurgent LSU jump core. The talented high jump is the top returnee with her mark of 6-2 ¼. She leads a strong field of SEC jumpers which last season had the top four marks in the country and four the five jumpers that went over 6 feet. O’Donoghue is going to be relied upon for team points and LSU has a strong team that will be in serious contention. She has beaten everyone returning and should be able to do it again.

Rachel Baxter of Virginia Tech is the top returnee with her mark of 14-10 ¼. Baxter will step into the spotlight with Olivia Gruver having expired her eligibility. Baxter does not come from Arkansas or Stephen F. Austin but can make a name for herself and Virginia Tech as a budding pole vault power.

Perhaps the biggest throws story line is not that Samantha Noennig is returning. It perhaps that she is returning as a defending champion at now a different school, Arizona, awkward. This is after having won nationals titles as Arizona State. She almost broke 60 feet last season with a mark of 59-7 ½ in the shot put. 60 feet is within her grasp. However, she was beaten at the MPSF Indoor Championships last year by Alyssa Wilson of UCLA. Wilson returns and will be a stiff challenge for Noennig to overcome.

NCAA 2021 Indoor Preview Part 3

 

(Weini Kelati- New Mexico)

Post 3 Distance Runners

The pandemic has really put a damper on the 2020 season. A storyline that we will not get to see play out is if Northern Arizona’s distance dominance could have propelled them to a national title. Also, Colorado’s Joe Klecker was having a great indoor season running the mile. Thankfully there a few athletes who are now redshirt seniors and many top ranked athletes returned with plenty of eligibility left.

In the 800 Isaiah Jewett now a redshirt senior for USC will return as the top man. As the only athlete in the country who ran a sub 1:47 performance last season, he is the clear favorite to claim the 2021 crown. Jewett is the school indoor record holder and has been a reliable scorer for the Trojans. USC has legitimate team title hopes and Jewett will be a big part of that.

With Joe Klecker out of indoor eligibility the mile will be interesting. It would have been nice to see what type of performance we could have delivered but we must move on. Charlie Hunter of Oregon is joined by his teammate Cooper Teare to form quite the 1-2 punch for the Oregon Ducks. However, you cannot forget the man who was overshadowed last season and this Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame. Yes, all three names mentioned before ran better times during the season but Nuguse claimed the NCAA 1,500-meter title for Notre Dame in 2019. Teare and Hunter will have their hands full with Nuguse if he chooses to participate in the mile.

Luis Grijalva of Northern Arizona is a name we will likely hear quite a bit this indoor season. He was the ranked runner in the 3,000 last season and is one of the top ranked runners returning this indoor season in the 5,000. The current graduate student had quite a few impressive performances last season including running national leading time of 7:43.73 in the 3K at the Valentine Invitational at Boston University. He will face off with Edwin Kurgat of Iowa State who was ranked number two in the 5k last season. It will be interesting to see which distance power, Northern Arizona, Iowa State or Oregon will be deep enough to threaten for a team title. Both these athletes will be relied upon by their schools and should have an impressive season.

Carly Thomas of Washington will take over as the favorite in the women’s 800. Nia Akins of Pennsylvania had exhausted here eligibility and joined a professional running team. Thomas had the number two ranked mark of 2:02.75. Although it was at a last chance meet when she ran that time, it was still impressive. Even with the pandemic she will have notched a season under her belt and will be a strong front runner to win the 800.

Dani Jones of Colorado is another athlete that turned professional due to the pandemic. The impressive star dazzled last season running a sub 4:30 mile. The top returnee is Weini Kelati of New Mexico. The talented long-distance runner has been a mainstay on the national stage since she arrived a freshman after a highly touted high school career. She has been a national champion multiple times and in different long-distance events. She is primarily a long-distance runner and the mile maybe too short for her. It remains to be seen if she will compete in the event at the national level but with her performance last season, she certainly has the time as the top returnee. She is also the top returnee in the 3,000 and the number two returnee in the 5,000.

The number one returnee in the 5,000 is Katie Izzo of Arkansas. The Razorbacks have become a juggernaut in women’s track and field. Their championship meet performances are reminiscent of the great Arkansas teams under John McDonnell who is the winningest men’s coach of all time.

Izzo leads the way here with a time of 15:03.09 that was ran at the beginning of last indoor season, December 2019! Izzo is a big meet performer and from a school that generally performs well at major championships. Expect for Izzo to be a big piece of their championship aspirations.

Our next post we will look at what should be a excellent year for field event athletes, especially jumpers. 

2020 NCAA Indoor Preview Post 2

 

(Johannes Erm-Georgia)

Post 2: Hurdlers/Multi's 

In this post we are going to look at the events that I think have the deepest talent pool. The hurdling events last indoor season were on fire along with the multi’s. We have a new World Junior Record in the women’s 60-meter hurdles and Florida State trying to attempt a 1-2-3 sweep on the men’s side and Georgia attempting the same feat in the men’s indoor heptathlon. So much of that talent is returning for what should be some exciting competition.

In the men’s 60-meter hurdles Trey Cunningham led a strong a contingent from Florida State last season. His national leading time of 7.51 made him the favorite heading into the nationals meet before Covid-19 shut it all down. He is the only athlete in the field with a performance under 7.6 and with another year of training we will likely see a 7.4 performance from him as well. Eric Edwards of LSU will be a name to remember for this event. He has a personal best of 7.61.

In the men’s heptathlon Georgia again leads the way with the top three returning athletes this season. They were ranked 1-2-3 last indoor season and we should expect much of the same. Leading the trio is national champion Johannes Erm. Erm won the 2019 Decathlon NCAA Outdoor title and was the obvious favorite to continue Georgia’s trend of talented multi-event athletes. With a personal best of 6,114 points Erm will remain the driver’s seat. His teammate Karel Tilga is close behind with a personal record of 6,009 points and last year’s freshman star Kyle Garland was close behind with 5,994 points. They will be close behind Erm or will unseat him as the favorite.

In the women’s 60-meter hurdles Tonea Marshall of LSU set the country ablaze with her time of 7.86, a school record. Unfortunately, she was a senior and her indoor eligibility has expired but we will get to see her this outdoor season. Grace Stark of Florida burst onto the scene as a freshman last year with her personal best mark of 7.91. Her mark is a world junior record and a school record. She gave Marshall a chase at the SEC Indoor Championships and with her out of the picture, she is in good position to win it. Keep an eye on Tiara McMinn of Miami, she also had a personal best under 8 seconds last season with 7.93.

In the women’s pentathlon there is major transfer news. Sterling Lester formerly of Georgia now competes for rival Florida. She was a bronze medalist at the SEC Outdoor Championships and is looking to return to top tier form. She will likely do that at Florida and potentially be a challenger.

Tyra Gittens of Texas A&M is the top returnee in the pentathlon. She earned the nation’s top mark last indoor season by winning the SEC title with a total of 4,391 points. True freshman Anna Hall of Georgia was a star last season. With a year under her belt look for major improvement and for her to be a true challenger to Gittens. Gittens is a well rounded athlete with good speed, jumping capability and solid strength as a thrower. 

Our next post we will discuss the distance runners this season. There are some big names returning looking to make a major impact.

2021 NCAA Indoor Preview Part 1

 2021 NCAA Indoor Preview Part 1- Sprints

                                                                (Julian Alfred-Texas)

It is officially 2021. We have been fed the idea that magically live will be better once the clock struck midnight. Then reality set in. Covid numbers have increased and several states are returning to lock down, including a few countries. Even with the advent of two vaccines it seems as if we cannot shake this virus. The year will begin with plenty of empty seats and competitions without fans.

 If College Track and Field is anything like College Football or College Basketball, there will be some challenges. Athlete, coach, and trainer responsibility will be at an all time high. Athletes will be tested on site and a star athlete testing positive can changed the trajectory of the team. Imagine an athlete at Arkansas testing positive at the SEC Championships. Will the entire team be subject to quarantine? What about the venue itself? There are many questions and concerns about the season along with there is still no guarantee that the season will finish. Let us hope. Will all that, this is still our indoor season preview.

For our senior sprinters it will feel like a season was taken from them. Teams had arrived at the NCAA Indoor Championship last season ready to compete regardless of their circumstance and found the meet cancelled. Instead of granting those seniors another indoor season, All-American performances were assigned to athletes based on their top performance during the season. This means new faces will become champions and stars. The year 2020 will have no Champions. 

Brendon Stewart of USC and Waseem Williams of Purdue are the top returnees from the 2020 Indoor season. Stewart is a key piece in USC chances for a team title. Williams is coached by Norbert Elliott at Purdue who has developed national champions before.

In the 200 Micaiah Harris of Texas was sensational last season. He was ranked number two (20.49) in the country and was headed for a great challenge with the number one ranked sprinter in Terrance Laird (20.43) of LSU. Both Texas and LSU will be competing for a team title and will be relying on their sprinters to produce.

In the long sprint, the 400 Bryce Deadmon of Texas A&M returns as a graduate student and the Texas A&M legacy. Pat Henry brought the 400-meter success he had at LSU over to Texas A&M and it has translated tremendously. A&M has had plenty of NCAA Champions in this event over the years and Deadmon looks to be next in line. Randolph Ross of North Carolina A&T had an impressive indoor freshman campaign. I expect this season we will find out who is the better quartermiler.

On the women’s side Julien Alfred of Texas was quite impressive all last indoor season. She began the season with a number one ranking and held on to it all season long collecting some impressive wins. She will return this season as the obvious favorite. However, you cannot leave out 2019 Indoor Champion and now senior Twanisha Terry of USC. Terry has the championship pedigree to outduel Alfred but can she is the question.

In the 200 Abby Steiner lit up the track last season on her way to impressive SEC Indoor title with a time of 22.57. She will return as the number one athlete but keep an eye on Anavia Battle of Ohio State (22.66). Battle and Steiner swapped number one rankings a few times last season and a head-to-head matchup between the two is inevitable.

The 400 is perhaps the most intriguing event. No one athlete truly cemented their dominance last season. Bailey Lear of USC is the top returnee based on time (51.60), but you cannot leave out SEC Champion Alexis Holmes of Kentucky and or Kennedy Simon of Texas. Lear also has the challenge of defeating her teammate and 2019 NCAA Indoor Champion Kaelin Roberts. Roberts indoor personal record is the best time and I think a year off to heal her injuries should put her in perfect position to reclaim her title.

 

On Post 2 of our Indoor Preview, we will look at the Hurdlers and Multi-Event athletes. This preview as always is speculative but must sincerest hope is that we are able to have a full track season.