What a weekend! The conference championship weekend certainly did not disappoint. There were 13 new number one performances and some surprises regarding certain teams. I felt that the men in the Big 12 had a lot to say this past weekend, specifically Texas Tech. In this post we will recap the new number one marks, discuss potential team rankings heading into the NCAA Indoor Championships and discuss the crazy 4x4 final at the SEC Championship meet.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Women
Julien Alfred of Texas did the unthinkable at Texas Tech
this past weekend. She dominated the Big 12 field with a new NCAA record time
of 6.97 in the 60-meter dash. She becomes the first woman in NCAA history to break
7 seconds in the 60-meter dash. Alfred is a powerfully built sprinter and it shows
in the start of her race which is so devastating. She followed up her NCAA
record mark with the number two performance all time in the 200 winning in a
time of 22.26. The only thing left for Alfred to do is to do win the NCAA
Indoor title.
In the 400 the NCAA record was broken twice in one day.
Rhasidat Adeleke of Texas broke the record at the Big 12 Championships with a
time of 50.33. Literally a couple of hours later Florida junior Talitha Diggs
broke not only the NCAA record but also the American record by winning the SEC
Championship with a time of 50.15. Talitha comes from Olympic pedigree but is building
her only impressive legacy at Florida. Could we possibly see Diggs go sub 50
indoors?
Men
Terrence Jones of Texas Tech set the NCAA ablaze early last
season with a sub 6.5 performance in early January. Only for him to suffer an
injury and for us to not see what he could’ve done at the end of the season.
Fast forward to this season he debuts at the Big 12 Championship and stuns
everyone by running a 6.46 in the 60-meter dash in the prelims. He almost broke
the NCAA record in the preliminary rounds, just incredible. In the finals he
clocked 6.48 but celebrating before he crossed the finish line. Micah Williams
of Oregon has held the top mark the entire year but Jones took it in one
weekend and may have moved Williams out of the favorite spot.
In the 200 Texas Tech got their second number one mark of
the weekend with Courtney Lindsey claiming the conference title in a time of
20.13. Lindsey was number one early last season as well but was injured also. Lindsey
could potentially go faster and challenge the NCAA record but his time
highlights what an impressive weekend the Red Raiders had.
Elija Goodwin of Georgia has had quite the collegiate
career. He was impaled by a Javelin early in his career and almost lost his life.
He has since rebounded and become one of the best 400 runners in NCAA history.
At the SEC Championship he became the first sub 45 second runner of the year
with a winning time of 44.75. Goodwin may have been overshadowed throughout his
collegiate career but now it is his time to shine. A time of that caliber
indicates that the preseason hype around him was certainly warranted.
The 60 hurdles was another opportunity for Texas Tech to
highlight their impressive group of sprinters. Caleb Dean certainly has the
speed to be a great hurdler, he only needed a great hurdle mark to prove it. His
winning time of 7.52 moved him to the top of the rankings. With a personal best
of 6.59 in the 60, I am willing to bet that he could potentially run faster in
the 60 hurdles. Perhaps low 6.4’s maybe high 6.3. Dean is certainly a speedy hurdler
and he is capable of doing so much more. We will have to wait and see what
happens at the Indoor Championship.
DISTANCE
There was no new number one distance mark this weekend but I
want to highlight the incredible performances of Washington’s elite 8 men’s
mile group. They have a total of eight men who can run a sub 4 minute mile.
Which although it has lost its luster still impressive. The depth they have is
enough to really do some damage at the Indoor Championships. They have the
number 2-6 performers in the nation on one team. I do not think I have ever
seen such an impressive group of runners. My hope is that that they all have
something special for us at the Indoor Championships.
Another highlight to call out is Katelyn Touhy of NC State
continues to be special. Although there was no Parker Valby this past weekend,
and we have no clue what means for the future, Touhy continues to shine bright.
She is ranked number one in the mile, 3k and 5k I hope she chooses to double at
the Indoor Championship because she is certainly capable of winning any race
she lines up in.
JUMPS
Women
Jasmine Moore of Florida continues her reign at the top jumper
in the NCAA. She leaped to a new number one mark in the long jump with a mark
of 22 feet 8 inches (6.91m). Moore now leads the NCAA in both the long jump and
triple jump which should not be a surprise since she is the defending champion
in both. Moore performs her best at Championship meets so it will be exciting
see what she does at the Indoor Championships.
Men
Vernon Turner of Oklahoma is another returning champion and it
looks like he is rounding into shape quite nicely. The senior leaped a to
another Big 12 title mark of 7 feet 5 ¾ inches (2.28m). Turner’s name has been
mentioned multiple times on this blog and continues to be at the top or near
the list. I am curious to what else the senior has in store for us.
Cameron Crump of Mississippi State won the long jump upsetting
defending champion Wayne Pinnock now of Arkansas. Crump leaped to a winning mark
of 27 feet 6 ½ inches (8.39m). Crump’s mark is certainly impressive, nearly hitting
28 feet indoors. At the Indoor Championships expect for Pinnock to be prepared
to defend his title with an equally impressive performance.
True freshman Jaydon Hibbert of Arkansas is apart of Jamaica’s
young core of extremely talented jumpers. A country known for their speed has
recently produced some incredible jumpers. Hibbert claimed the SEC title with a
mark of 56 feet 1 ¼ inches (17.10m). Hibbert is having a great freshman season
and has vaulted himself to the top of the rankings and is the favorite heading
into the championship meet.
THROWS
Jalani Davis of Ole Miss continues their impressive streak
of great weight throwers. Davis improved upon her number one mark by winning the
SEC title with a throw of 80 feet 9 ¾ inches (24.63m). Davis is the defending
SEC Champion and a disappointing Indoor Championship last season. This year I
believe she will rebound and continue that impressive streak of champions at
Ole Miss coached by Connie Price-Smith.
MULTI’S
Jadin O’Brien put Notre Dame on the map in the women’s
pentathlon winning the ACC Championship with a mark of 4,377 points. The super
sophomore finished in the top three in all five events winning two (shot put
and 800). O’Brien’s individual marks are strong and will make her a great
contender at the Indoor Championships.
4x4 Relay Debacle
The SEC Championships either indoor or out prove often to be
the top meet throughout the year. The competition is heavy and world class
along with several teams being built for national titles. Points are at a premium
and often I find that at this meet coaches will push there athletes a lot. The 4x4
looked as if every runner was already exhausted. Seeing Jacory Patterson run
the first leg of Florida’s 4x4 and pull up after an impressive weekend was disappointing.
The physical battle in the women’s 4x4 was not enjoyable either and I think Arkansas
proved all season to have the depth that other teams did not have. I am hoping
for no major scratches at the Indoor Championships but I thought Texas Tech was
wise to not run their 4x400 relay since they had asked so much of the guys
during the meet. The lack of rest shows up in a meet like this.
TEAM RANKINGS
The team title picture cleared up some. On the men’s
Arkansas proved their depth, Florida showed why they are one of the premier 400-meter
development programs in the country. Texas Tech put the entire nation on notice
where their incredible sprint depth.
On the women’s side Arkansas, Florida and Texas are looking
to clash for the team title. Both have high scoring potential in several different
events. Every race will matter at the Championship meet.
The declaration list will come out tonight and we should
have a better picture of what the team title race will look like.
NEXT
My next post will be an NCAA Indoor Preview. That should
appear early next week either Monday or Tuesday.
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