2022 NCAA Indoor Weekend Recap and Conference Championship Preview

44 Again? 

(Randolph Ross-North Carolina A&T)

We have officially made it to the post season. This past weekend was the last of the regular season and all that is left is championships. There were also a few championships of note that also took place already. Overall, the weekend was quiet with only one new number one performance. In this recap we will look at the major story lines heading into this weekend, conference championship weekend and the latest rankings.

SPRINTS/HURDLES

Women

In no other conference is the sprint battle more contested than in the SEC. What a loaded conference and to think they will be adding Oklahoma and Texas in the coming years. Perhaps the event that will likely garner the most attention will be the 400. This is shaping up to be quite the year in the event and the defending champion, Talitha Diggs of Florida, has only ran once all season in it. This is the perfect opportunity for her to reclaim her number one ranking and she has proven all season she has the speed to do it. Alexis Holmes of Kentucky and Charokee Young of Texas A&M will be there to challenge her. Holmes currently has the number one ranked mark with a time of 51.27.

The hurdles will be another hotly contested event with Grace Stark of Florida and Alia Armstrong of LSU going head-to-head again. Last go around Armstrong was victorious and Stark looked flat in the final. Florida will bring their “A” game to the SEC Championships and perhaps we will get a new SEC record out of this race. Stark currently has the faster 60-meter sprint time, but Armstrong has solid technique.

The last major headline on the women’s side in the sprints is perhaps what will happen in the rest of the nation. Anavia Battle announced herself with a 22.49 this past weekend good enough for number two. She will not have the same challenge as Abby Steiner of Kentucky will, but she is capable of a great time none the less. Also, what will Texas do, this team is reminiscent of the Bev Kearney coached teams back in the lates 90’s early 00’s. All that is missing is the hurdlers.

Men

Just like the women the SEC is loaded for the men, and they have several major headliners in that meet. Matthew Boling has been impressive all season and looks poised to defend his national title in the 200 with his season leading time of 20.27. However, he did not win the 200 last indoor season at the SEC meet and this would be his first SEC crown. He will face stiff challenge from Kennedy Lightner of Kentucky. He is also favored in the Long Jump.

Another highlight will come in the 400. We are left wondering what could have been with Elijah Goodwin of Georgia, he nearly stops in the race at the Tiger Paw Invite at Clemson assuming he tripped someone up. Randolph Ross of North Carolina A&T took that as his que to leap to the front and claim the nation’s top time. Goodwin still ran a 45.38. It will be interesting to see what he does this weekend. I sense he will go under 45 seconds. Ross will have a busy weekend running for North Carolina A&T but it will be on a flat track.

Our final men’s headline will come from Trey Cunningham of Florida State. This young man has been on fire all indoor season. He has even gone toe to toe with the world’s elite and only finished second to world number one Grant Holloway. Speaking of Holloway, he may lose his NCAA record of 7.35 this indoor season to Cunningham. Cunningham ran a time of 7.42 recently and looked relaxed while doing it. He can certainly lower his time and may do so breaking the NCAA record.

DISTANCE

Women

Senior Shafiqua Maloney of Arkansas is coming into her own this season. She has been a strong 400/800 runner for the Lady Razorbacks for several seasons. In this season she has taken more of a command running the 800. Her NCAA leading time of 2:01.74 is over a second ahead of her closest competitor. She has 51 second speed and I think she is capable of possibly going sub 2:00. Arkansas is currently ranked number three in the country and will rely heavily on this woman.

The next major headline is also in the SEC from Arkansas is Lauren Gregory. What an incredible career she has had at Arkansas, and she has another year of eligibility. Gregory is ranked number one in the SEC in two events, the mile and 5,000 and is currently ranked number two in the 3,000. The headline is what will Lauren run. Will she attempt a triple crown, or will she play it safe? Either way she is certainly likely to walk out of the meet with multiple gold medals and that does not include the Distance Medley Relay they are favored to win as well.

Perhaps the most interesting story of all will take place in the ACC. Who has the better distance program, NC State, Florida State, Virginia or Virginia Tech. This conference is becoming similar to the Big 10 with its plethora of strong distance programs. We cannot forget Notre Dame is also competing as well. But the four programs mentioned really have carried the conference this season. NC State seems to be the strongest in the longer distances will Virginia Tech is stronger in the shorter. NC State has 3 in the top 10 in the conference for the mile, 5 in the 3,000 and 3 in the 5,000. They are headlined by Kelsey Chmiel who is currently ranked number two in the nation in the 5,000.

Between all those talented programs we will certainly get a strong DMR performance and perhaps some changes in the national rankings. The lone national number one however comes from Florida State in Lauren Ryan who leads the 3,000. Expect big times from the ACC Championship.

Men

Texas has perhaps the deepest 800 group I have ever seen. They have a total of 4 athletes that can run 1:48 or better, that includes Jonathan Jones. Jones has primarily been an All-American 400 runner for the Longhorns and was expected to contend for the title. But he stepped up in distance to run his lone 800 of the season in a time of 1:46.93, currently number two in the nation and in the conference. With his speed he certainly can go faster, the question is will he run it.

The mile is also a favorite and this year has been incredible. There are over 50 men that have run a sub-4-minute mile this current indoor season. In fact, to even make the top 50 list you must run 3:58.7 or better. This includes the incredible mile performance by Morgan Beadlescomb of Michigan State. He currently leads the conference in both the mile and the 3,000 he may run the 5,000 since he claimed the title at the Outdoor Championships this past spring. My hope however is that he will still compete in the mile, a time of 3:52.03 that leads the nation is to hard to ignore. I believe he could potentially lower his time. He is in perhaps the best conference to do it. The mile will see its performance list change come Monday.

Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame has had such an incredible career. He has broken several NCAA records and even has an NCAA title in cupboard. Nuguse is currently ranked number one in the 3,000 with his NCAA record time of 7:38.13. The ACC is full of strong distance programs and on the men’s side Notre Dame is certainly one of the best. Nuguse is number one in both the mile and 3,000 in the ACC and should double for the Fighting Irish. Nuguse always brings his best to each race, and I believe this weekend will be no difference. I am almost certain we will be hearing from him again following this weekend.

JUMPS

Women

The primary headline for women’s jumps is will Jasmine Moore of Florida break the NCAA triple jump record again. Her national leading mark of 47 feet 9 inches (14.55m) was an impressive performance for the junior. She has been a top tier jumper since her youth days. She trains with the number two triple jumper in the country with Natricia Hooper. The SEC meet tends to bring out the best in people and if there is another national record in her, this would be the meet to show it.

15 feet anyone? That is the question heading into championship weekend for the Pole Vault. We have been spoiled the past few years with some record-breaking Pole Vault marks. We have forgotten that 14 feet is still good. Lisa Gunnarson, the defending champion from LSU, has only competed once this season and has a national leading mark of 14 feet 9 ½ inches. She is close to surpassing 15 feet and with the quality training program she is under at LSU this could be the weekend that she reaches 15 feet.

Men

On the men’s side of the jumps the Pole Vault is equally as interesting. There are three athletes with a personal best of over 19 feet. They are led by Zach McWhorter of BYU. He seized the number one ranking at the beginning of the season and has not relinquished it. Zach Bradford of Kansas who has been close to winning the NCAA title and has had a solid career for the Jayhawks is closing strong. He has yet to reach 19 feet this season, but he is clearly capable as he has done so in the past. They are ranked number 1 and number 3. The two schools will soon be conference foes but for now we will have to wait to see what these two do at Nationals in a competition against each other.

Matthew Boling is the other big headline in the jumps. He is not only leading the nation in the 200 but also in the long jump. He is currently the only athlete to have jumped 27 feet this season with his mark of 27 feet 1 inch (8.25m). Under the tutelage of Caryl Smith-Gilbert and her amazing staff at Georgia, Boling is having quite the season. I expect for him to improve upon his national leading mark in not just the 200 but the long jump as well.

THROWS

Women

There have been two women who have dominated the throws discussion all season. First there is Adelaide Aquilla of Ohio State, she is the defending champion in the shot put. She is also the national leader with her mark of 62 feet 7 ¾ inches (19.09). Aquilla has seen no competition at all this season and the Big Ten Championships will be an opportunity for her to improve upon her number one ranking.

Shey Taiwo of Ole Miss is the other headline. The senior has literally dominated the event all season, she has improved upon her own national leading mark a few times this season. She currently leads with a throw of 82 feet 7 ¾ inches. She has a 7-foot lead over her closest competitor her teammate Jasmine Mitchell. Her other teammate Jalani Davis sits fourth nationally. Including the number three ranking athlete from Auburn and the SEC meet has another headlining event that should produce some fireworks.

Men

Adrian Piperi of Texas has not defeated defending champion Turner Washington head-to-head. He has however taken over the number one ranking and has the only 70-foot throw of the season with his mark of 70 feet 4 inches. Piperi is a big clog in Texas’ team title hopes. Piperi has carried that great throwing tradition at Texas and will look to further improve upon his marks to strengthen his chances for a national title.

I do not get to gloat much but in the weight throw I certainly will. My alma mater Eastern Michigan has two athletes in the top five in the nation with Newlyn Stephenson and Taije Bryant. They will be competing in the Mid-American Conference Championships this weekend and conference foe Jake Wickey of Kent State (currently ranked in the top five) will be there to challenge them. Eastern is always either the favorite or close second to win the title every championship. This is no different. They will need big points from the throwers to overcome a strong Akron team.

MULTI’S

Women

I think the obvious headline is what will Tyra Gittens do. She already stunned this season when she transferred from Texas A&M to Texas. She has only competed in one meet this season, not in the pentathlon but in the long jump and high jump. Both marks are ranked in the top 12 with her high jump mark tied for 2^nd. Gittens is the defending champion and a juggernaut in the event. She is capable of breaking records in multiple events. With no pentathlon score on the season this is a perfect time for her show that she is still that girl.

Men

Ayden Owens of Arkansas has been on a new level since transferring from Michigan. In the heptathlon he has set a new school record and Puerto Rican record with his score of 6,272 points. He has another school record on his resume thanks to his performance as a member of their 4x400 relay. Owens has only scratched the surface of his potential and as the preseason favorite it looks as if he will continue that. Will he compete in the heptathlon, or will he compete in a myriad of individual events? That remains to be seen but he is certainly going to draw attention wherever he competes.

RELAYS

I know this may sound like a broken record but for the 4x400 relay races the SEC will be king this weekend. On the women’s side five of the twelve teams in the nation will be competing at the meet alone. Leading the way is the national leading Kentucky Wildcats. Arkansas is always championship ready and South Carolina along with Florida have been here before. This should be an excellent race.

On the men’s side there are seven teams in the top twelve in the country in the SEC. Leading the way is the Florida Gators with their time of 3:02.09. They are so close to not only breaking their indoor school record but also the NCAA record. Having three athletes on your team that can run sub 46 is a big part of the reason why. The Gators are in always in a team title hunt and will look to close out the weekend strong.

Will the DMR be a factor this weekend? That is the big question heading into championship weekend. Many teams use the week before to garner DMR marks. Their athletes are competing in too many individual events to put together a strong mark to qualify for nationals. However stranger things have happened. Keep an eye out for a team or two to sneak into the top twelve. Our lone number one ranking came from Washington with their time of 9:21.10. They are not competing this weekend as there is no Indoor Pac-12 championship meet.

RANKINGS

Arkansas men regain the top ranking and Texas women further strengthen their position as the number one team. Both are favorites to walk away as conference champions. The one thing about Conference Championship weekend is that it always brings out the best in teams. We will see what the teams are made of, there are always surprises.

2022 NCAA Indoor Weekend Recap 5

 22.37!

(Abby Steiner-Kentucky)

Another weekend has passed and just as we expected it was a major weekend. There was 17 new number one performances and quite a few impressive performances that were not number one. We saw an NCAA record broke again this season, keeping up with our theme for the past few years. In this recap we will look at the new number one performances as well as discuss our team title race now that the post season is only one week away.

SPRINTS/HURDLES

Women

Enough cannot be said about the talented Abby Steiner of Kentucky. She has consistently broken NCAA records over the past two years and during her senior year she is having her best season yet. Over the weekend at the Tiger Paw Invitational on the campus of Clemson University, she tied the NCAA lead in the 60-meter dash in the semi-finals with a mark of 7.12. In the 200 is where she truly shined. The senior scorched the track in a time of 22.37 to set a new NCAA record. Kentucky has come on as a real team title threat thanks to Steiner and her amazing teammates. With the post season coming up it is very likely she may break this record again.

Steiner’s teammate Alexis Holmes at the same meet topped the 400-meter field in an impressive run. Holmes won against a strong Texas contingent with her time of 51.27. In that same race she competed against two other athletes who went under 52 seconds proving how strong her performance was. With her top time the Kentucky Wildcats have the top sprint marks in the 60, 200 and 400. Holmes has continued to impress this whole season and is a big piece of her team’s title hopes.

LSU has been on fire in recent years with their hurdlers. This is not to negate their incredible history but to bring attention to the high level of performances we have recently seen. Super sophomore Alia Armstrong just broke the school record this past weekend with a time of 7.81. Her new time is the top time in the country, and she did that while defeating previous number one Grace Stark of Florida. She also has the top 60-meter sprint time for the Lady Tigers as well. Armstrong and Stark will be competing against each other again at the SEC Championships and I expect a better race between the two.

Men

Randolph Ross has been the undisputed leader of North Carolina A&T all season. That is not because his father is the coach, but it has been his leadership on the track that cannot be ignored. Ross this past weekend at the Tiger Paw Invitational ran against a strong field in the 400 that included Elijah Goodwin of Georgia. After a strange moment at the 200-meter mark where it appears that Goodwin thought something had happened behind him his lack of focus allowed for Ross to surge to the front. Ross would not relinquish his position and claimed victory with a time of 44.83. He is currently the only athlete under 45 seconds in the nation. A hope for a rematch at the Championship meet so we can see Goodwin at his best.

Trey Cunningham of Florida State is becoming Grant Holloway like in the 60-meter hurdles. The senior just has far superior technique to the rest of the field and each time he competes it becomes more and more apparent. Cunningham dominated the Tyson Invitational field with a new number one time of 7.42. The NCAA record is 7.35 and is clearly not out of reach for Cunningham.

DISTANCE

Believe it or not Arkansas does truly have a strong team. You probably have forgotten since Florida and Texas have been so strong throughout the season. However, do not forget about the Lady Razorbacks and their distance strength. This past weekend on her home track at the Tyson Invitational, Shafiqua Maloney ran an impressive race clocking in at 2:01.74. Her time is a full second ahead of the rest of the field and validates her claim to being the preseason favorite.

Emily Mackay of Binghamton has been the leader of the women’s mile for a quite a while now, and that does not look to change. This past weekend at the Valentine Invitational at Boston University, Mackay completed against the professionals and was able to hold her own. She was sixth overall but the top collegian with a time of 4:30.94. Her time keeps her atop the performance list and she has become the new favorite.

Florida State consistently puts out top distance talent year after year and this season they may have one of their best in Lauren Ryan. Majority of her stats are from cross country but she has been competing at a high level all indoor season and like Mackay hopped into a race with the professionals and came out finishing 2^nd in the 3,000. Her time was 8:47.88 and she is two seconds ahead of the field, a field that includes Courtney Wayment of BYU.

Men

Moad Zahafi of Texas Tech delighted his fans with a strong home performance this past weekend. On a elevated bank trach Zahafi was far superior to his competition with his winning time of 1:46.29 which is the number one time. Due to the elevation his time was converted up to 1:45.99. Zahafi is now the clear number one heading into the post season. Do not count out Brandon Miller who has had an impressive indoor season, but I am not sure if he has a 1:45 indoors like Zahafi.

Morgan Beadlescomb of Michigan State had one of the most impressive mile debuts in history. Beadlescomb not only competed against professionals but a recent NCAA Champion and Olympian in Cole Hocker. Beadlescomb mile debut time of 3:52.03 was good enough to finish third in the race. His time however was truly eye-opening. His debut is the best in collegiate history and his time is fourth all-time. Beadlescomb has been an impressive long-distance runner but proves he is a gamer no matter the race.

Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame takes the cake for the weekend. The former NCAA Champion proved that he still has it by winning against the professionals in the 3,000-meter race. His winning time of 7:38.13 is a new NCAA record. Nuguse is no stranger to being a favorite or being at the top, but he did in fact take down Beadlescomb number one time and become the all-time leader.

Florida State is not just great at developing sprinters on the men’s side, but they have had a top tier distance program for quite a while. Adrian Wildschutt is their latest star. He claimed the nation’s top 5,000-meter time competing at the Valentine Invitational against the professionals. His time was 13:09.30 and was good enough for 11^th overall.

JUMPS

The lone top jumping mark comes from Lamara Distin from Texas A&M. At the Don Kirby Open at New Mexico University Distin leaped to a mark of 6 feet 3 ½ inches (1.92m). She was one of only two athletes in the field to go over 6 feet. With the amount of space, she was able to clear that height with it is certainly possible for her to further improve that mark before the end of indoor season.

THROWS

Our lone top throwing performance comes from Shey Taiwo. She again improved upon her number one ranking in the weight throw. This weekend she launched a throw of 82 feet 7 ¾ inches (25.19m). She is still the only athlete over 80 feet this season. She has made this a one-woman competition with the distance she consistently creates between herself and her closest competitors.

RELAYS

The 4x400 relay leaders Kentucky women and Florida men improved upon their number one rankings again against strong competition. Kentucky’s women 4x4 ran a time of 3:27.27, one of the fastest in NCAA history against Texas who clocked a runner up time of 3:28.05. Florida’s men 4x4 ran time of 3:02.09 to Iowa’s 3:02.40. Florida had an impressive weekend in the open 400, no surprise to how well their 4x4 performed.

TEAM RANKINGS

On the women’s side Texas surged passed Florida for the number one spot. I think Florida had a flat weekend in some areas and will perform better at the SEC Indoor Championships. You cannot however ignore the impressive weekend Texas had. They have deepest sprint squad in the country. Have Tyra Gittens on their side gives them an even stronger boost, especially after the impressive season debut, she had. I feel this coming outdoor season the Lady Longhorns will be even stronger.

On the men’s side North Carolina A&T reclaimed their number one ranking. Their strength lies in the speed which they have plenty of. Georgia moved to second and no surprise there. The Bulldogs have quietly put together perhaps their best team. Keep an eye out for the Texas men who are number three, they still have not put it all together, but I believe after the Big 12 Championships many eyes will be opened.

For Florida I am still not sure of the team yet, I expected Kurt Powdar to be amongst the top 10 hurdlers in the country and he is not there yet. The jumpers have not looked like the dominant program they once were years ago. Also, no Joseph Fahnbulleh yet, I think we will get our questions answered from this squad at the SEC Championships.

NCAA Weekend Recap 4

 7.47!

(Trey Cunningham-Florida State)

It is officially February, and we are drawing closer and closer to the postseason. This past weekend was quiet on the number one performances front with a total of six, but this coming weekend is expected to be major.  In this recap we will discuss the new number one performances, notable performances from this weekend and look at this week’s team rankings.

Sprints/Hurdles

There was only one new number one performance in the sprints/hurdles, and it came from Trey Cunningham of Florida State in the 60-meter hurdles. The senior competed at the New Balance Grand Prix in New York against the professionals. He was quite impressive finishing second with a time of 7.47. The only hurdler in the field to beat him was Olympic Medalist Grant Holloway. Cunningham has been incredibly dominant this season and at least for now no one seems capable of challenging him, but it is the hurdles.

Distance

It has been a busy few weeks for the University of Michigan regarding athletic news, some good and some bad. This recent weekend Aurora Rynda gave them some extremely good news. The super senior vaulted to the top of the rankings in the 800 this past weekend winning at the Meyo Invitational. Her winning time was 2:02.89 and is now a school indoor record. Considering the great 800 runners from Michigan this is an impressive feat. She won her race by over 2 seconds potentially signaling that she could go even lower.

Jumps

Women

Lisa Gunnarson of LSU is the defending champion in the Pole Vault, and she made an impressive seasonal debut. Gunnarson leaped to a mark of 14 feet 9 ½ inches to claim the number one ranking on her first outing of the 2022 season. LSU as always is prime position to compete for the team title and Gunnarson is a big piece in their hopes.

Men

Zach McWhorter of BYU improved upon his lead this past weekend. At the Dr. Sander Invitational McWhorter leaped to a mark of 19 feet 2 ¼ inches. He remains as the top of the rankings and is the only athlete in the country over 19 feet.

Chengetayi Mapaya of TCU again improved upon his number one ranking. At the New Mexico Classic Mapaya had a dominant weekend. He leaped to a mark of 55 feet 1 ½ inches. He had over a 4-foot lead on his closet competitor and further solidified his number one status.

Throws

Adrian Piperi of Texas had a big weekend competing in the shot put at the New Mexico classic. His winning throw of 70 feet 4 ½ inches is the only throw over 70 feet this season. Turner Washington of Arizona State is the defending champion put Piperi’s throw was great and worthy of recognition. Washington is still the favorite, but Piperi is coming on strong.

 

Notable Performance

Justin Robinson of Arizona State was highly sought-after recruit in 2019. He broke the U-18 world record runner 44.84 as a high school student. This past weekend he finally made his collegiate debut clocking in at 46.06 over Jonathan Jones of Texas who ran 46.10. Robinson has run under 45 seconds twice outdoors so there is certainly curiosity to how well he performs this coming season after missing last season. A time of that quality is great sign of things to come. Also, quite impressive of Jones to run a top time in 400 along with running a top 600-meter time in the same weekend.

Team Rankings

On the women’s side Florida is still number one and Texas is number two. Florida has such a loaded team. Two top jumpers in both the long jump and triple jump. Great in the heptathlon, sprints, relays, hurdles and even distance. The only thing missing from a traditional great Florida team is throwers and that will come as their new coach settles in. Texas incredible sprint depth reminds me of the Bev Kearney coached teams in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. They have six athletes in the 200 in the top 11 in the country. I think this team is going to be hard to beat.

On the men’s side I somewhat disagree with the rankings. North Carolina A&T did nothing to indicate they should have been moved to number two since they did not compete this past weekend. I do believe that Texas has a very strong team, but I think North Carolina A&T is still incredibly strong in the sprints and hurdles. Although Texas can score in many different areas the question is can, they score as high as North Carolina A&T. I also think that Florida ranked at 9 is very low. But with the Tyson Invitational this weekend it will be interesting to see what the performances due to the team rankings.

2022 NCAA Indoor Weekend Recap 3

 6,272!

(Ayden Owens-Arkasas)

It is now the end of January and that is when things start to heat up. Right on schedule we had a solid weekend with 20 number one performances. We have a new national collegiate record along with a new national record for the country of Puerto Rico. In this recap we will look back at the top performances from the weekend while looking at the noticeable changes in the team rankings.

SPRINTS/HURDLES

Women

Grace Stark of Florida has consistently been a headline every time she has competed throughout her college career. She already had a number one mark in the 60-meter hurdles set in her seasonal debut. By the way that time was third best mark in collegiate history in her debut. This past weekend at Clemson University she ran a 7.12 in the 60-meter dash in the semi-finals and came back in the finals to run a 7.14.

Although Julien Alfred of Texas ran a time of 7.10 it was converted down to 7.12 due to the elevation. Her number one ranking is now shared with Stark who is tied for first in both the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles. It seems as if she is following the exact same process as Grant Holloway. She was a contender for national titles in both events in high school and now we are seeing the same in college.  

In the 400 we had a surprise number one ranking. We expect top marks from the Power 5 big name schools. But in the women’s 400 our new number one time comes from a smaller school. Lauren Gale of Colorado state defeated her field on an elevated 300-meter track by more than a second. She clocked in at 51.50. Her time easily makes her the NCAA number one and currently the only athlete under 52 seconds this season.

You were probably wondering who tied Grace Stark’s number one mark in the 60-meter hurdles. This past weekend Alia Armstrong of LSU became that athlete. Clocking in at 7.86 at the Razorback Invitational. The super sophomore is picking up were Tonea Marshall left off. LSU has really done a phenomenal job at developing hurdles throughout their history, but this recent crop of hurdlers has been special. Armstrong may not have the speed that Stark has put she has proven that she does have strong technique.

Men

I know it would not be long before Matthew Boling of Georgia returned to the blog. This past weekend he ran a dominant race against strong competition at the Razorback Invitational and again cemented himself as the top 200 runner with his mark of 20.27. Boling is currently number one in both the 200 and long jump. It remains to be seen if he steps down to run the 60-meter dash. With his 200-meter mark I am sure we will get a great time. He has run the race more smoothly than in recent years coming off the final turn with such determination and an incredible stride.

Senior Trey Cunningham of Florida State continues to roll on in the 60-meter hurdles. Although he did not run the finals at Texas Tech, he ran sub 7.5 in the preliminaries and semi-finals. In the preliminaries he ran 7.49 and, in the finals, he ran 7.46. That was two 7.4 performances in one evening. Again, he did not run in the finals surprisingly, but he reminded the nation why he is number one.

DISTANCE

Women

This past weekend something rare happened in the women’s 800. At two different locations two athletes ran the exact same time. Quinn Owen of Arkansas ran at the Razorback Invitational on her home track to clock in at 2:04.03. At the Sykes & Sabock held at Penn State freshman Allison Johnson won on her home track with the exact same time. This a great sign for both programs, Owen gives Arkansas another 800 threat with Shafiqua Maloney. For Penn State Johnson is the next threat they have since Danae Rivers.

Courtney Wayment of BYU is at the top again. Wayment already holds the number one 5,000-meter time set early December. Now she can add the 3,000 on her list. Both the top male and female performers in the 3,000 came this weekend from the Millrose Games. Wayment finished 6^th overall in the race but top among collegiate athletes with a time of 8:50.05. Wayment is the defending 3,000-meter champion and is already off to a great start this season.

Men

Senior Morgan Beadlescomb of Michigan State is the lone new number one mark on the distance side for men. Like Wayment he competed at the Millrose Games among the professionals. He was the top collegian finishing seventh with a time of 7:43.22. Beadlescomb is a returning All-American who will likely hear more from throughout this season.

JUMPS

Women

There were three new number one jumps marks for women. The first big mark goes to Jasmine Moore of Florida. The transfer student has lived up to the hype throughout her career and had a big weekend. Moore won the Triple Jump competition at Clemson with a mark of 47 feet 9 inches (14.55m). Her mark is a new NCAA record, and it is official. Moore is having another solid year and is also currently in the top 5 in the long jump as well. With Florida’s new team ranking Moore is huge piece in their team title hopes.

Alysah Hickey of Oregon is the latest jumps star from the Ducks program. The super sophomore tied the number one mark with a jump of 21 feet 10 ¼ inches (6.66m) at the Razorback Invitational. The defending Pac-12 champion is off to a great start this season. Maybe by the end of the indoor season we will see a 22-foot jump.

Sidney Sapp of Texas is having an impressive season. Up until a few weeks ago Sapp had never even gone over 6 feet. In the past few weeks, she has gone over twice. She even tied the number one mark at Texas Tech this past weekend with a leap of 6 feet 2 inches (1.88m). This is a testament to her hard work but also to the quality program being ran at Texas under Edrick Floreal.

Men

Roberto Vilches of Missouri broke the tie at the top for number one High Jump ranking among men. Vilches competed at the Razorback Invitational against stellar competition. The junior outlasted the competition with a leap of 7 feet 5 inches (2.26m). Vilches still has not matched his personal best. We could potentially be hearing more from him later this season.

Chengetayi Mapaya of TCU was the top performer for much of the regular season last indoor season. It was a stunning upset when Oregon’s Emmanuel Ihemeje took over on his final attempt at indoor nationals 2021. This is his first number one mark since before that moment. He defeated a strong field at Texas Tech with a mark of 54 feet 1 inch (16.48m). Ihemeje has yet to compete this indoor season but that was a strong mark by Mapaya.

THROWS

Women

Shey Taiwo of Ole Miss continues to stay in the spotlight. She broke though this past weekend at surpassed 80 feet. At Indiana University the senior launched the weight throw a total of 82 feet 1 inch (25.02m). She is currently the only athlete over 80 feet this season and has almost a 5-foot lead on the next top thrower, which is her teammate, Jasmine Mitchell. Taiwo is on fire!

MULTI’S

Women

Kristine Blazevica is a talented young athlete from Latvia. This is hopefully her first full indoor season after her last season ended after one competition. She is off to a great start in 2022, representing Texas she scored a total of 4,402 points to win the Pentathlon at Texas Tech. With Anna Hall having score 4,370 for Florida to finish second overall for the weekend, that is a testament to how well Blazevica performed.

Men

Ayden Owens transferred to Arkansas after completing his degree at Michigan. Owens is one of the top athletes in the world in both the heptathlon and decathlon. Owens had an impressive weekend and one of the all-time best. Owens scored a total of 6,272 points in the men’s heptathlon against a strong field that included Kyle Garland of Georgia. His mark is number two in NCAA history only behind Ashton Eaton. It is also a new national record for his native Puerto Rico. He is also currently number one in the world. I do not how you could debut any stronger than that.

RELAYS

Women

A banner weekend for relays with some impressive performances. On the women’s side we have our top DMR time and the first sub-11-minute group of the season. Of course, that would be Arkansas. The Lady Razorbacks dominated the competition and never really saw a challenge clocking in at 10:51.63. They are 8 seconds ahead of the closet competition this early in the season. Is it to early to predict a new NCAA record?

Men

There are two new number one rankings in the relays for men. First in the 4x400 relay we were treated to a great race between Florida and North Carolina A &T. Florida held on to win with a time of 3:03.21. Randolph Ross of North Carolina A&T ran a great anchor leg with a time of 44.1.

In the distance medley relay Oklahoma State became our first sub 9:30 team. The Cowboys ran against two other top tier programs in Oregon and Stanford at the Razorback Invitational. Their winning time was 9:28.88, more than two seconds ahead of runner-up Oregon.

TEAM RANKINGS

Women

Florida took over the number one ranking this weekend and you can certainly see why. This weekend they highlighted their diversity in ability to score. They have two top three relays, the top two triple jumpers in the country. Two distance runners ranked in the top 10 in their events. The top sprint/hurdler in the country, great long jumpers, high jumpers, multi-event athletes and of course great long sprinters. They have a similar blueprint to Arkansas which is the reason for their number one ranking.

Men

North Carolina A&T ascended to the number ranking after quite an impressive weekend. Head coach Duane Ross has been inching his team ever so close to this number one ranking. They have been a household name for quite a while, and they truly are title contenders. They may have the deepest hurdle stable in the country, no surprise there since Coach Ross is a 110-meter hurdle Olympian. The sprints are perhaps where they can do the most damage with their ability to score anywhere from 60-400. Having the top 400-meter runner in the country in Randolph Ross does not hurt either. Javonte Harding a talented young sprinter (20.33/200) will certainly challenge Boling and Fahnbulleh for the 200 title.