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.