2:58.53!
(Florida Men 4x4 Relay Record)
Incredible! That is the only word I could think of when
summing up the incredible weekend we had. The massive amount of number one
performances and several NCAA records just left me speechless. We have reached
the midway point of the regular season and clearly, we should gear ourselves up
for a dramatic postseason. There was a total of 26 new number one performances
and five NCAA records. In this post we will review the new number one
performances, the NCAA records, and the new NCAA Division 1 Rankings.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Women
Favour Ofili of LSU added to the LSU sprint legacy this
weekend at the Tom Jones Memorial. The star sprinter ran a dominating race in
the 200 to win in a time of 21.96. She eclipsed Abby Steiner of Kentucky as the
new number one and broke the NCAA record. This gives LSU the NCAA record in the
100, 200 and 4x100 relay. Records they have all had before but having them all
again is a testament to the coaching of Dennis Shaver.
In the 400 we almost had an NCAA record again. Texas A&M
junior Charokee Young by way of Jamaica will clearly be a star for her native
country is developing into the top NCAA quarter miler in the country. Young was
lined up against Indoor NCAA Champion Talitha Diggs of Florida on her home
track for the Tom Jones memorial and beat her by two seconds with a winning
time of 49.87. It has become common to see a quarter miler dip under 50 seconds
during the season and this gives Texas A&M two runners. I am curious to see
what Young does later in the season she has been impressive thus far.
Grace Stark proves that the Tom Jones Memorial had one of
the best meets this past weekend. Stark proves that she is certainly capable
and proves that her indoor record time was no fluke. Against the number one
runner Alia Armstrong of LSU, whose time is wind aided. Stark defeated her in a
close race to win in a time of 12.58. Stark has the fastest wind legal time in the
NCAA, match that with her defat of Alia Armstrong one on one, it’s clear that
Stark will be the one to beat again.
Men
Micah Williams of Oregon had a disappointing ending to his
Indoor Season. The super sophomore was the favorite to defend his 60-meter
crown. He unfortunately false started in the preliminary round and was
disqualified. At the Mt. Sac Relays he clearly has left that in the past and is
focused on having a championship season outdoors. Williams beat the
invitational professional field with a slightly wind-aided time of 9.83. Had it
been wind-legal it would have been a new NCAA record. Williams fast time should
cement the confidence he has as the preseason favorite.
In the same event Matthew Boling of Georgia became the fast
wind-legal runner in the country at the Tom Jones Memorial. Boling has been the
leader for most of the season and setting a new personal best in the 100 on
your rivals home track is impressive. Boling’s winning time of 9.98 makes him
one of two athletes who have a wind-legal sub 10 second performance during the
season. The challenge for Boling is to find a way to have a championship level
performance late in the outdoor season.
Senior Trey Cunningham of Florida State continued his
remarkable season. The super star hurdler started his outdoor season off with a
bang, clocking in at 13.22 to win the 110 high hurdles at the Tom Jones
Memorial. Cunningham set a new school record and set him up for what should be
a strong outdoor season. He was close to Grant Holloway’s NCAA record indoors;
can he challenge his incredible outdoor record that surpassed legendary hurdler
Renaldo Nehemiah? We will have to wait and see.
DISTANCE
Women
The distance events produced a heavy amount of new number
one performances equally between both men and women. On the women’s side the
800 received two number one performances, performed two days apart. LSU junior
Katy-Ann McDonald was first, winning the 800 at the Bryan Clay invitational
with a time of 2:00.98, almost sub 2 minutes. The junior defeated a strong
field that included a couple of professional runners.
Two days later, on her home track Sarah Hendrick of Kennesaw
State clocked that exact same time. She dominated her field winning by more
than 12 seconds. She ran an impressive race and time with virtually no
competition. It is going to be fun to see these two compete against each other
later in the season.
Abby Nichols of Colorado is having a strong outdoor season.
Just a few weeks ago she finished fourth overall at the Stanford Invitational
against professional athletes and came out with the top collegiate time in the
country. She again proved that she is no fluke competing against the top
collegians and professionals at the Mt Sac Relays. The senior finished fifth overall
with a new NCAA leading time of 15:15.95. After having an All-American season
in Cross Country, Nichols is looking for a greater impact outdoors. A great
sign is that in that same race she was able to outperform Mercy Chelengat of
Alabama.
Courtney Wayment of BYU has mentioned on this blog several
times in the past and for good reason. This senior performs at a high level
every chance she has and has national championship hardware in her trophy case.
She defeated an impressive field of professional and collegiate talent. She
came away at the victor with a strong number one time of 9:26.88 to claim the
3000-meter steeplechase. Wayment can compete in array of distance events put
clearly this is her favorite and with a time like that its clear why. She has
over a 14 second lead on the rest of the field in the performance rankings.
Wayment just fell short of a national title last year, this season it is clear
what the goal is.
MEN
On the men’s there is a new number one time for every
distance discipline. First there is the 800 were Moad Zahafi of Texas Tech went
toe to toe with Brandon Miller of Texas A&M at the Tom Jones Memorial. After
falling to Miller indoors and literally not finishing the race Zahafi stepped
up big time. He scorched the track with a time of 1:43.69 to take the national
lead. He has more than a two second lead on the nation and is the only
collegian with a 1:43 personal best.
In the 1,500 we treated to an impressive performance at the Bryan
Clay Invitational. Eliud Kipsang of Alabama is the defending SEC Champion and a
returning All-American. This past weekend he ran a phenomenal race clocking in at
3:33.74 to win the Invitational 1,500. His time is now an NCAA record and puts
him directly in the championship driver’s seat.
At the same invitational in the men’s 5,000, Bryan Fay of
Washington dueled Morgan Beadlescomb of Michigan State. After the indoor season
Beadlescomb had he was clearly favored in this event. It was Fay who came out
on top with his time of 13:16.52. Defeating an athlete of Beadlescomb caliber is
a positive sign for All-American Fay. The Washington coaching staff has put
together quite the program and Fay’s performance this past weekend is further
proof of that.
Dylan Jacobs of Notre Dame was a top tier performer all-indoor
season. He has been mentioned on this blog before and has carried his indoor success,
outdoors. In one of the most grueling events, the 10,000-meter run. Jacobs
competed against a strong professional and collegiate field at the Mt. Sac Relays
and came out on top. His winning time of 28:01.94 is just slightly ahead of the
number two ranked Amon Kemboi of Arkansas who was also in that race. An
excellent cat and mouse game played between them with Jacobs coming out on top.
BYU has built themselves quite the program. Their distance
program is a regular in the top five and they have another number one
performer. Kenneth Rooks took the reins of the performance list in the 3,000-meter
steeplechase. The sophomore defeated a deep field at the Mt. Sac Relays to
clock a time of 8:32.75. This is a personal best for Rooks and his third race
of the season and his most impressive by far.
JUMPS
Women
Monae Nichols of Texas Tech has found a way to be at the top
of the performance list multiple times in the indoor season. She returns to the
top of the performance list outdoors by tying the national leading mark of 22
feet 7 ¼ inches (6.89m). Texas Tech has really produced at a high level in
recent years and Nichols is apart of their elite group. There should be more to
come from this talented young woman, especially with a mark of this type.
In the triple jump a familiar name leaped to the top mark,
Jasmine Moore of Florida. The star jumper broke the NCAA Indoor record in route
to a national title. This past weekend on her home track at the Tom Jones
memorial Moore leaped to a national leading mark of 46 feet 2 inches (14.07m). The
Florida Gators now have the number one and two times in the nation in this event.
For Moore this was a season’s debut so expect even greater performances later
this season.
Men
Emmanuel Ihemeje of Oregon leaped to the top of the performance
list in his outdoor debut in the triple jump. At the Mt Sac Relays Ihemeje
leaped to a mark of 55 feet 9 ¼ inches (17.0m). This was an impressive debut
against a field that included collegiate and professional athletes. Ihemeje has
quickly become in his short collegiate career a consistent championship/high
level performer. He is a marquee name every time he shows up.
In the high jump Earnie Sears of USC has had a great career
at USC. He is looking to add to his legacy and the performance he gave this past
weekend is a sign he is heading in the direction that he wants to go. The
senior jumped to a mark of 7 feet 6 ½ inches to tie the nation leading mark set
by Vernon Turner. Sears has been consistently over 7 feet over the years, but
this mark ties his best that he set back in 2020 before the pandemic shut down.
In the pole vault we finally have a 19-foot jumper. It came
from a name I have not mentioned here before. Clayton Fritsch of Sam Houston leaped
to a mark of 19 feet ¼ inches (5.8m). It still isn’t champion season yet, but a
mark of that caliber shows what type of talent Fritsch has.
THROWS
Our top throwing performances all came from the women’s
side. First there is Jorinde Van Klinken of Arizona State. She is keeping that throwing
tradition alive at Arizona State and Van Klinken is now a leader in two events.
She surpassed Aquilla of Ohio State in the shot put with her throw of 59 feet 2
¾ inches (18.05m) to win the event at the Mt Sac Relays. On that same day she
claimed the top mark in the discus throw as well with a mark of 207 feet 11
inches (63.38m). She is the only athlete in the nation with a mark over 200
feet. In one weekend Van Klinken solidified her lead in the discus and took the
lead in the shot put. I think we know how this will end.
Defending champion Camryn Rogers of California has been so
dominant over the years in the hammer throw and this year will be no different.
The senior broke the NCAA record yet again with a mark of 248 feet 5 inches (75.73m).
Rogers is having quite the season as a defending champion and likely will break
the record again.
North Carolina is slowly developing a strong throwing program
and there is a new leader among them. Madison Wiltrout took the national lead
in the javelin throw at the Tom Jones Memorial. Wiltrout launched the javelin 187
feet 4 inches (57.11m). This is the second time this season that a throws
athlete from North Carolina has climbed to the top of the rankings.
RELAYS
Florida men’s 4x400 relay takes the cake for relay racing.
The men’s 4x400 went against a professional team that included Olympic Champion
Steve Gardiner of the Bahamas. The men went wire to wire against the professional
team and finished as the top collegiate relay falling just short of victory. However,
their consolation prize was a new NCAA record with a time of 2:58.53. Two sub 45 sescond relay legs and one 43.7 split on the anchor made this possible. Florida
is the first team to run under 2:59 in a season in NCAA history and it is still only April! The Gators now own the NCAA record in both the 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay.
MULTI’S
The lone multi performance came from Ayden Owens of Arkansas
in the decathlon. Owens again proves that he is the head of the class with
another record-breaking performance. Owens scored a total of 8,528 points in
route to victory at the Mt. Sac Relays. Not only did he break a NCAA record,
but he also broke a national record for Puerto Rico. This is an extremely
talented young man and for this to be his outdoor debut, just impressive.
TEAM RANKINGS
Texas again is the number one team in the land in both men’s
and women’s rankings. No argument here, they have cemented themselves a
juggernaut with a solid performance all around. Florida is coming on strong, it
still is the regular season and neither team has fully revealed themselves.
