2023 NCAA Indoor Preview Part 3: Field Events

 

(Ayden Owens-Delerme -- Arkansas) 

In our final preview for the indoor season, I will be reviewing the field event athletes. We have seen recording breaking performances over the past few years that include some world records, most notably Mondo Duplantis formerly of LSU. This year we have some special athletes returning to possibly break more records.

Women

Long Jump/Triple Jump

Regardless of what took place last year during the regular season Jasmine Moore of Florida found a way to win the national title whether indoors or outdoors. Moore had quite the season last year garnering 4 NCAA titles. The long jump is perhaps her weakest of the two events and the event she will find the most challenge this season. Already Ackelia Smith of Texas has jumped to a mark of 22 feet 1 inch (6.73m) last weekend. Her mark is one of the best in NCAA history and it is still very early in the season.

In the triple jump she set the all-time record with a mark of 47 feet 9 ¾ inches (14.55m). It is the event she has been most dominant in going back to her time as a high school athlete. No other athlete in the field has even hit 47 feet. Smith will again be her top challenger.

High Jump

It is Lamara Distin of Texas A&M and everybody else. Distin last season dominated the high jump and even broke her country’s (Jamaica) national record. Her top mark of 6 feet 5 ½ inches (1.97m) was earned during the regular season. I think Distin will challenge the NCAA record this year. Rachel Glenn of South Carolina will obviously be her top challenger. Glenn won the NCAA outdoor title in 2021 as a freshman. I look for Glenn to rebound in 2023 but it will be tough to take down Distin.

Pole Vault

Arkansas has regularly produced stellar pole vaulters each year. In 2023 I expect for that to continue. Amanda Fassold finished second at the outdoor championships after winning the SEC title and had a season best mark of 14 feet 11 inches (4.55m). Sydney Horn of High Point University had an impressive freshman indoor season where she finished second at the indoor championships along with a personal best mark. Fassold is the closest athlete to 15 feet and with the quality development that has taken place at Arkansas over the years that mark should be inevitable.

Weight Throw

Jasmine Mitchell of Ole Miss is the latest throwing star from Ole Miss and Connie Price-Smith. Mitchell has thrown over 80 feet with a personal mark of 81 feet 10 inches (24.94m). She has not been able to completely put it together outdoors, but she certainly is capable in the weight throw. Rebecca Mammel of Virginia Tech is second on the list of returnees and is one of the potentially strong challengers to Mitchell.

Shot Put 

Jorinde VanKlinken is the defending champion from last indoor season with a mark of 62 feet 7 ¼ inches (19.08m) for Arizona State. She is now at her third school competing for the Oregon Ducks as a graduate student. VanKlinken has one multiple NCAA titles before and this will be another opportunity with Adelaide Aquilla gone, to add to her trophy case. Axelina Johannson of Nebraska had a strong freshman year and will be the top challenger.

Pentathlon

Kristine Blazevica of Texas is the top returnee with a personal mark of 4,402 points. She was a freshman last year and will look to improve upon her performance from last indoor championships. Lexie Keller of Colorado State is another returning athlete with championship capabilities.

Men

Long Jump

Wayne Pinnock took the country by storm last year. A true freshman by way of Jamaica who always find a way to win in the biggest moments. Pinnock claimed the NCAA title in the long jump both indoors and outdoors for Tennessee. He has since transferred to Arkansas and under their coaching will likely reach new heights, also we may see him return to his roots as a spectacular hurdler. His teammate Carey McLeod followed him to Arkansas and will be one of his biggest challengers.

Triple Jump

The top returning triple jump based on performance is Owayne Owens of Virginia. He was expected to be the next great triple jumper out of Virginia and looked to be on his way last outdoor season after a personal best performance at the Penn Relays with a mark of 54 feet 6 inches (16.61m). He did not have the best outdoor championships and missing to score. I expect for him to pick things back up this indoor season. Salif Mane of Farleigh Dickinson is the next best performer and should challenge for the title in a event that will have a new champion.

High Jump

Vernon Turner of Oklahoma is the defending indoor champion in the High Jump. He had a remarkable indoor championship last year with a leap of 7 feet 7 ¼ inches (2.32m). Although it did not translate to the outdoor championships where he finished fourth. Turner is a senior and will look to go out on top. Corvell Todd of Southern Mississippi is the top returning challenger, but Turner will be tough to beat.

Pole Vault

The defending champion Sondre Guttormsen and his brother Simen of Princeton will look to have a strong 1-2 finish this indoor season in the Pole Vault. Zach McWhorter of BYU is their top challenger. The irony is that McWhorter like Sondre has a personal best of over 19 feet, but his personal record mark is better. McWhorter is certainly more than a challenger, but Sondre shows up at championship meets.

Weight Throw

Bobby Colantonio of Alabama returns at the defending champion in the weight throw. He is knocking on the door of an 80-foot throw. Colantonio will be exciting to watch this season and it will be interesting to see Jayden White of Washington transition after his freshman campaign.

Shot Put

The shot put will also have a defending champion in Turner Washington of Arizona State. Turner Washington is the NCAA record holder and has been riding high since 2021. He was taking off his square last outdoor championships falling to Adrian Piperi. Jordan Geist of Arizona will challenge him again and it will be interesting to see if Washington can return to the top.

Heptathlon

Ayden Owens of Arkansas is a generational talent. The record holder for the country of Puerto Rico. Owens had a remarkable indoor and outdoor season. Last indoor season he scored a total of 6,211 at the indoor championships. Owens is the class of the field, but Leo Neugebauer of Texas will be a strong challenger.

Closing

It will be a special indoor season. Although Covid is still present in our life, it is in the rear-view mirror. With a lot of transfers and talented incoming freshman it will be a season to remember. Gone are the days of no national records, it has been a habit the past few years of NCAA records falling. The team title battle will clear come mid-January and it will be interesting to see where the defending champion Florida Gators and Texas Longhorns stand.

2023 NCAA Indoor Preview Part 2: Distance

 

(Katelyn Tuohy-NC State)

Coming off an incredible Cross-Country season there were plenty of top long-distance runners who competed in the 5,000 in the first week of the season to further prove their fitness and get on the qualifying list as quickly as possible. The times displayed indicate we are in for a treat from the distance runners this season. In the post we will preview the big names expected to perform well.

Women

800-Meter Run

Lindsey Butler of Virginia Tech was the latest star half-miler to come out of Virginia Tech. She claimed the indoor title with a time of 2:01.37, just off her personal best. Unfortunately, she was injured during the outdoor season leaving a void of who the new lead will be. She has returned and perhaps looking for redemption after a disappointing end to her 2022 outdoor campaign and to remind everyone she is the defending champion after all. Her top challenger will likely be Claire Seymour of BYU who equally had a disappointing end to her outdoor season where she did not make the finals. However indoors she was a solid second to Butler.

1600-Meter Run

No race is perhaps wider open than the women’s mile. There will be a new champion with the graduation of Micaela Degenero and the professional signing of Sintayehu Vissa of Ole Miss. The top returnee is Olivia Howell of Illinois. Howell had quite the indoor season, winning the Big Ten title and finishing fifth overall at the indoor championships. Howell had an up and down Cross-Country post season, she finished 23^rd at the Big Ten Championship but won the Midwest regional title. Look for her to lead the way in the women’s mile.

3000/5000-Meter Run

Katelyn Touhy as a indoor freshman last season proved to be quite the gamer for NC State. She finished second in both the 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs. Although there are no preliminary races indoors for either event, it is still tough to attempt to a double. She came away with double silver against an impressive field. Touhy followed that up by winning the 5,000 outdoors and claiming the Cross-Country title as well. She will be challenged by Parker Valby of Florida who many thought would beat her at the Cross-Country national championship only for her finish second. Touhy is certainly capable of winning both events regardless of who is challenging her.

Men

800 Meter Run

Brandon Miller formerly of Texas A&M has recently turned pro and moved to Los Angeles to train under Bobby Kersee leaving the race wide open. The top returnee is 400-meter favorite Jonathan Jones of Texas. Remember last indoor season he moved up to the 800 and finished second to Miller. In the outdoor season he moved back to the 400. He may repeat that same process. His teammate Yuzuf Bizimana is also a top returnee finishing fourth last indoor season. Challenging both will be Navasky Anderson of Mississippi State by way of Jamaica. His performance at the outdoor meet last season with a time of 1:45.02 broke the Jamaican national record. I will lean towards Bizimana but this race could go to anyone.

Mile Run

Perhaps the most glamorous distance event, or maybe just my personal favorite, its one in the same. This event will also have a new champion as Mario Garcia Romo has turned professional. Joe Waksom of Washington was the only person to defeat Romo last year but at 1,500 meters. He did not compete in the indoor mile but having a NCAA Outdoor title in the 1,500 is certainly worth the title preseason favorite. Isaac Basten of Drake is the highest returning performer from the last indoor championship and will lead the challenging field.

3000/5000-Meter Run

The 3,000 and 5,000 will also have a new champion and perhaps my preseason favorite may not even compete in both events at the championship, but he deserves to be mentioned here. Charles Hicks of Stanford the 2022 Cross Country champion. He is the top returnee from last years indoor championship in the 3,000 having finished third. His teammate Ky Robinson has taken an early lead to the season with a mark this top four all time with 13:11.53 at the Boston Season Opener this past weekend. Together they make a powerful 1-2 punch in the 3 and 5k. Nico Young of Northern Arizona is certainly worth mentioning here along with Adrian Wildschutt of Florida State. These four names have been synonymous with the distances for the past year and that should not change. pre

Closing

No DMR prediction yet but let’s not forgot about the depth of the Stanford men. I think this will be a great year for distance races and I am excited to see what the 3k and 5k look like come championship season for both men and women. In our next post we will talk about those amazing field athletes.

2023 NCAA Indoor Season Preview- Part 1 Sprints

 

(Micah Williams-Oregon)

The indoor season has officially arrived. This past weekend we were tribute to some special performances in non-traditional events and some special performances in traditional events. The 2022 season was quite special, we saw so many new stars and our theme of breaking long standing NCAA records continued, there are hardly any left. In this post we will begin the first of our indoor series, as usual starting with Sprints & Hurdles, followed by the Distance runners and then our field event athletes. In this post it will be the sprints preview.

Women

60-meter dash

Julien Alfred of Texas has been a headliner since arriving at Texas. Last season she set the NCAA record in the 60-meter dash at the Indoor National Championship during the preliminaries with a time of 7.04. Things did not quite go her way in the finals and finished in fifth place with a time of 7.15. Alfred redeemed herself by winning the outdoor 100-meter title. She returns this season with the goal of adding the indoor title to her trophy case and with Melissa Jefferson gone to the professional level there will be a new champion. Jadyn Mays of Oregon clocked a time of 7.09 last indoor season and will look to challenge Alfred for the crown. Mays will have to match the amazing start that Alfred is known for.

200-meter dash

Favour Ofili of LSU had a prolific sophomore season last year. She is on the all-time top five list for both indoors and outdoors. With all those accolades you would expect her to have a national title to her credit, but she does not. Abby Steiner of Kentucky set an indoor and outdoor record in this event taking it to new heights and claimed both titles for herself. Ofili has run sub 22 seconds outdoors with her personal record of 21.96 and will likely challenge Steiner’s records this season. Challenging her will be Kevona Davis of Texas. Davis came on strong last outdoor season and lived up to the hype she built up after an impressive high school career at Edwin Allen High School of Jamaica. The topic of many discussions on social media, she is now a major factor and threat to win.

400-meter dash

Florida returns this best 400-meter runner in the country with Talitha Diggs. Diggs is the defending indoor and outdoor champion and the only athlete to have run under 50 seconds. Diggs is the daughter of Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs and niece to Olympian Hazel Clark. This season not only will Diggs look t defend her crown she is likely chasing the NCAA records for both indoors and outdoors. Expect for Coach Holloway to have her prepped and ready. Kennedy Simon of Texas will be her strongest competitor as she was last season. Simon and Diggs went toe to toe last season with Diggs coming out on top.

60-meter hurdles

Grace Stark of Florida wowed us last season. She was a top 10 60-meter sprinter and that translated well in the hurdles. She is the defending champion in the event having run a stellar time of 7.78. Her time ties the NCAA record, and she will look to defeat the record this indoor season. Stark also would like to redeem herself after a disappointing outdoor season that ended prematurely due to injury. Alia Armstrong had the impressive outdoor season and won the outdoor title along with making team USA in the 100 hurdles. Armstrong like Stark is a top 10 60-meter sprinter and that will likely continue for this season. Expecting for one of these two ladies to break the NCAA record.

Men

60-meter dash

Davonte Burnett of USC is the defending champion in the event. Having to run the race twice due to a timing malfunction he won both times getting faster the second race. USC has developed quite the impressive short sprints crew to match their impressive 400-meter crew. Burnett will be challenged by Micah Williams of Oregon. Williams is the only athlete in the field to run under 6.5. He unfortunately false started in the preliminary round and never made it to the finals. I expect for him to redeem himself and fully challenge Burnett for his title. A dark horse could be Favour Ashe formerly of Tennessee and now of Auburn being coached by Leroy Burrell.

200-meter dash

Javonte Harding of North Carolina A&T returns at the defending champion. He followed his coach Duane Ross to Tennessee along with a host of other teammates. Harding chased Matthew Boling of Georgia all indoor season last year and claimed the crown at Indoor Nationals. That did not carry over to outdoors thanks Joe Fahnbulleh of Florida who claimed the title. Boling had a disappointing end to his indoor season with a disqualification. Harding is now competing in the SEC and will get more chances to go against Boling. I think Boling may finally get a NCAA title, but Harding will be tough to defeat.

400-meter dash

Both the indoor and outdoor champions have moved on leaving us to crown a new champion. Jenoah McKiver of Iowa is the top returnee. Iowa has become a national power in the sprints and taken the title as the sprint kings of the Big Ten from Ohio State. McKiver finished second last indoor season and had a strong regular outdoor season clocking in at 44.74. Jonathan Jones of Texas is quite the versatile runner and should be McKiver’s main threat. Last indoor season he stepped up running the 800 indoors and finished second at the indoor championships. He was fourth overall last outdoor season but had a personal best of 44.4. Jones is primed to claim the title, but McKiver has earned the right to be the favorite.

60-meter hurdles

Trey Cunningham of Florida State has graduated and moved onto to the professional ranks. That makes things much easier for the returning athletes because Cunningham was a dominant hurdler. Leonard Mustari now of Tennessee by way of North Carolina A&T, had an impressive freshman campaign. He returns this season to prove it was not a fluke. He clocked a top returning top of 7.55. Joshua Zeller had a solid indoor season, but his outdoor season is where he came alive. Clocking in at 13.19, he competed at the World Championships last summer and is the top returning outdoor hurdler. I expect for both Zeller and Mustari to take the next step in their indoor technique, and we could be in for a special season. Keep an eye out for Jamar Marshall of Arizona State.

Closing 

No 4x400 relay previews this early. I still need to see what depth each team has but for the record I think Texas women and Florida men. In my next post I will preview what should be a spectacular season for distance runners.