PART 2
As we continue our preview. Remember that the NCAA
Championship meet will start today with Multi’s. Live championship coverage will be streamed on
ESPN3. A re-air of the championship will take place starting at 9 p.m.
Eastern time Sunday, March 14 on ESPNU. In this preview we will
discuss the distance events, throwing events, multi-events, and relays.
DISTANCE
In the mile Oregon produced a total of 4 sub-4-minute milers. Although
Charlie Hunter scratched from the mile to focus on the 800 Oregon still has two
in the race. Headlining the group is the number two ranked runner in Cole
Hocker. Hocker along with teammate Cooper Teare broke the NCAA record in the
mile. Teare has decided to focus solely on the 3,000. Hocker’s time of 3:50.55
is almost five seconds ahead of his closest competitor Sam Tanner of Washington
(3:55.23). Hocker should easily win this race but with it being the mile you
can never be too sure.
Teare of Oregon is the top ranked athlete in the 3,000 with his mark of 7:46.10, his teammate Hocker will be in the race as well as he is ranked number two with a time of 7:46.44. Teare will only be competing in the 3,000 and should be fresh enough to defeat his teammate Hocker he will also have to deal with the mile. Teare is also a senior and a savvy veteran. I think Teare will take the title giving another 10 points to the Oregon Ducks.
The 5,000 is the only distance event where a Duck is not favored. The top three runners in the country all ran for BYU and all three have scratched in favor of running the Covid delayed NCAA Cross Country Championship on Monday. Wesley Kiptoo of Iowa State immediately becomes the top ranked athlete in the field with his mark of 13:31.70. He will be followed by two Cincinnati Bearcats in Aaron Bienenfield and Alec Sandusky. Kiptoo was a junior college national champion in cross country and record holder. This is his opportunity to stamp his name on the Division 1 level and I think he will.
On the women’s side, the big news was that Athing Mu would not be competing in the 800. She broke the collegiate record indoors in the event but has decided to focus on the 400. Lindsay Butler of Virginia Tech becomes the top ranked athlete in the race with her mark of 2:01.96. The talented sophomore is the last 800 star for Virginia Tech which has produced some solid half milers of the years. Senior Laurie Burton of Clemson has run a 2:01.99 and is currently being coached by Mark Elliott who has had success developing 800-meter runners at not only Clemson but LSU. Recently for Clemson in Natoya Goule. I think Burton’s championship coaching will lead her to victory in a great race with Butler.
Top Miler Courtney Wayment of BYU has decided to focus solely on the 3,000. We had a brief discussion recently about the decision she will have to make since she is ranked number one in both. She instead has decided to focus on one event. The number two ranked Allie Schadler of Washington and her teammate Olivia Hoj who is the number three ranked miler both decided to join her scratching from the mile. This moves Sage Hurta of Colorado to the front with her time of 4:31.80. Colorado has consistently put out great milers and Hurta is the latest to be the front runner. She will be challenged by Krissy Gear of Arkansas who has run 4:31.83. Gear will be running on her home track and Arkansas expects to score big points in the distance races. I think Gear takes it with the help of her home track.
In the 3,000 Courtney Wayment of BYU leads the way as previously stated. She will be helped along with her teammate Olivia Hoj. Schadler of Washington is from great coaching pedigree, but I think the indoor season Wayment has had is too hard to ignore. She has been pushing towards this moment and the national title seems to be hers for the taking. Joyce Kimeli of Auburn who has run 8:56.02 will certainly challenge her as well.
In the 5,000 all eyes will be on Katie Izzo of Arkansas. She was the unquestioned leader of the Arkansas distance squad going into the season. She has had to deal with the sting of defeat in both the mile and 3k. Things seem to have swung back her way and she has the number one ranked performance in 15:36.22. However, she did in fact lose to Kimeli of Auburn at the SEC Indoor Championship. The time was still shy of her number one mark ran in late January. Kimeli is also taking on the daunting task of competing in both the 3k and 5k. Both will have fresh legs for the race, and I think Izzo will be looking for a little revenge.
THROWS
Men’s weight throw record maybe under threat. Senior Thomas Madral of Florida launched a 79-foot throw to win the SEC Championship. His exact mark was 79 feet 3 ¼ inches. The Collegiate record is 83 feet 11 ¼ inches while meet the record is 80 feet 10 ¼ inches. I think it is more likely to see the meet record fall but would not at all be surprised if the NCAA record fell. Madral is a big meet performer and has performed during his tenure as a Gator. The Gators are not as strong as they were in 2019 when they won the National title, but they still possess a strong unit. If they are to have any chance, they need 10 big points from Madral and should get it.
Turner Washington of Arizona State broke the NCAA record early this season with a mark of 71-8 ¼. I had a feeling that the record would be broken in the shot put as mentioned here before, but I thought it would Texas senior Adrian Piperi. Instead, it was Washington living up to that great throwing tradition at Arizona State. Piperi has been a champion and records clearly do not phase him. I think we are in for a treat here and I hope it is round to round coverage of their throws. I think the NCAA record holder cannot be ignored, a 71-foot throw is a big deal and I think he will ultimately be declared the victor.
On the women’s side Jasmine Mitchell of Ole Miss leads the way. Her teammate Shey Taiwo was the preseason favorite but she has surpassed her. They are 1-2 and apart of Connie Smith’s great throwing program. Mitchell’s mark of 76 feet 3 inches is a slight lead over Taiwo but I think Mitchell has proven herself capable this season and should claim the title.
In the shot-put Samantha Noennig of Arizona is a familiar face to the top of the list. She was previously a student at rival Arizona State where she won national titles for them and was a bit of star. Things have been quiet, but she remains at the top. The senior has a NCAA leading mark of 59 feet 10 ½ inches which is also her personal best. The NCAA record of 64 feet 2 ¼ inches seems to be a bit out of reach but I do expect for Noennig to surpass 60 feet to claim the title.
MULTI
In the men’s heptathlon, which is a two-day event. We have come accustomed to a Georgia athlete winning the competition. This year it seemed that probably would not change. The Bulldogs had 2019 Decathlon NCAA Champion Johannes Erm and upcoming star Kyle Garland who lit it up in the high school ranks. Erm is now a scratch and all eyes will turn to Garland. Garland is the only athlete in the field of 6,000 points this season. He achieved the mark of 6,012 points winning the SEC title. Leo Neugebauer of Texas and Ayden Owens of Michigan will certainly give him a challenge. Both are high level performers and will bring their best to the meet. Due to Georgia’s recent history in the event and Garland’s solid season performances I think it is fair to declare that Garland will claim the NCAA title as well.
Anna Hall of Georgia looks to follow in Garland’s footsteps and win the Pentathlon title for Georgia. Hall defeated the number one ranked Tyra Gittens of Texas A&M at the SEC Championships. I do not however expect for Gittens to have two poor outings back-to-back. I expect for Gittens to perform well, just not well enough to beat Hall. Both will be competing against each other again in the high jump.
RELAYS
On the women’s side the 4x400 relay record has been broken already this season with a mark of 3:26.27 by Texas A&M with Athing Mu anchoring. The Aggies did not bother to compete at the SEC Indoor Championships and allowed Arkansas and Kentucky duke it out. Both teams registered a sub 3:30 mark with Arkansas winning in a time of 3:28.50. The Razorbacks will be on their home track and will boast four athletes in the open 400. That still does not negate the fact that A&M has a two second lead and will be in better position to prove how strong this group is.
In the DMR Arkansas has led the way all season. They have beaten everyone in this field already and will certainly be ready to defend their home track. Their top time of 10:53.77 is nothing to slouch at and they have a three second lead on their competition. I think Arkansas wins this race convincingly.
On the men’s side the 4x400 relay has seen a new leader recently with Tennessee winning the 4x400 relay at the SEC Championships. It was a bit of a surprise especially since they had no athlete make it to the final. North Carolina A&T is sitting comfortably in second with their time of 3:04.62 which stood as the number one for majority of the season. A&T also has not faced a challenge once this season. Expect for A&T to really prove they belong and take down the SEC leader.
Oregon has already broken the NCAA record in the DMR. Not only do they have the best milers in the country, but they also have the best 800 runner as well. The Ducks are loaded with distance talent and are so far ahead of the rest of field I believe their only challenge will be the clock.
TEAM
On the women’s side Arkansas, Texas A&M and Texas are the big three and bring three strong teams. Arkansas is perhaps strongest in the distance, Texas A&M in the jumps and Texas most certainly in sprints and hurdles. The irony in that is that each time can score well in all three areas. I think Arkansas can perhaps score the best since they have a strong sprint core to match their distance core. I think the Arkansas Razorbacks have too much fire power to be dethroned.
On the men’s side I do not think defending champ Florida has enough to win it all. They do have an impressive team that literally has gotten better over the season. I think the top three Oregon, LSU and Arkansas just simply have more firepower. Oregon will be scoring in the distance events as well as the sprint events. They bring a strong DMR as well. LSU will be scoring in the sprints, hurdles, jumps, and relays. The Tigers are also ranked in the top 3 in several events. Arkansas has the most entries with 18 and can score in the hurdles, distance, multi-events, jumps and relays. Arkansas can score in so many areas it will be hard to defeat them. I still expect for Oregon to overwhelm the score build with their performance in the distance events and take home the team title.
No comments:
Post a Comment