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.
No comments:
Post a Comment