The final preview of the Division 1 NCAA Outdoor
Championships. This post I will be discussing those amazing field athletes. I
will be previewing jumps, throws and multi’s. I think we are clearly in for a
treat as we know of several records that have been broken and under threat to
be broken again.
JUMPS
Women
High Jump- Lamara Distin of Texas A&M is not only
the defending champion but she is the clear favorite heading into the meet. She
has been dominant over the past two seasons. Having claimed three NCAA titles,
two indoors and one out she looks to complete the set by winning another outdoor
title. She has yet to surpass her personal best jump of 6 feet 5 ½ inches (1.97m)
but that has not been a need. We will likely see Distin at her very best at her
final NCAA Championship.
The top two challengers are Elena Kulichenko of Georgia and
Cierra Tidwell of BYU. Kulichenko is the latest jump star out of Georgia and
has been the closest to beating Distin. I still think Distin will run away with
the title but expect for Kulichenko and Tidwell to show up.
Pole Vault- Nastassja Campbell of Washington formerly
of Arkansas has been the leader all season. The change clearly has done her
some good with her national leading mark of 14’11 (4.55m). She has not been
flawless with a few second place finishes here and there but she has been a top
tier performer. Chloe Timberg of Rutgers and Olivia Lueking of Oklahoma will
make things interesting. No one has reached 15 feet this season we may finally
see it here.
Long Jump- This event is where could see the NCAA
record break. Jasmine Moore of Florida has been the class of the field for the
past two years. She enters the meet ranked number two but if you have been
paying attention Jasmine performs at her best on the Championships stage.
Leading the nation and main challenger will be Ackelia Smith of Texas. Smith
will be on her home track and has the only outdoor jump over 23 feet this
season. Moore’s teammate Claire Bryant is the final challenger in what should
be a true showdown. Until Moore is beaten, I feel she is the favorite to win
and will.
Triple Jump- Jasmine Moore of Florida is the
defending champion here as well. She broke the overall NCAA records indoors at
the NCAA Indoor Championships and I expect for much of the same here. She is
the overall leader and will look to defend her title. Mikeisha Welcome of Georgia
and Charisma Taylor of Tennessee look to challenger her. Welcome held the
number one mark early in the season until Moore took it by defeating her at the
SEC Championships. Taylor was also beaten in that same competition. Taylor will
also be competing in the long jump as well as the 100 hurdles. Taylor’s very busy
weekend make it difficult for her to win. My vote is for Moore.
Men
High Jump- Vernon Turner of Oklahoma has a NCAA title
on his resume. He claimed the 2022 NCAA Indoor title and was on a winning
streak until last outdoor championships were he finished fourth. He has been
back to winning ways this outdoor season and leads the nation with a jump of 7
feet 6 ½ inches (2.30m). The irony is that is still not his personal best and he
is the clear favorite. He has two strong challengers in what is a great field.
Trey Allen of Louisville and Romaine Beckford of South Florida. Beckford rises
to the occasion against strong competition and will give Turner a true
challenge for the title.
Pole Vault- Defending Champion Sondre Guttormsen of
Princeton has done everything he could to cement favorite status. He is having
an impressive 2023 and it looks like he will finish with a cherry on top by winning
the NCAA title this weekend. Zach Bradford who transferred to Texas Tech in the
off season has been his biggest challenger and having an equally impressive season.
Both have jumped over 19 feet and have looked impressive while doing it.
Rounding out the top three is Branson Ellis of Stephen F. Austin. That program
continually produces great vaulters. Guttormsen has not been dethroned yet and when
challenged he steps up. I predict here not only does he win but an NCAA record
is to follow.
Long Jump- Wayne Pinnock has been on a tear since he
arrived too college. Last season he arrived at Tennessee and started winning
titles right out the gate. This season he transferred to Arkansas to follow his
coach and he does not have an NCAA title. This past indoor season it was
teammate Carey McLeod that followed the same coach, that claimed the Indoor
title. The jump marks have been impressive, they were over 27 feet indoors! We
have not seen a 28-foot jump outdoors yet, but it may take that to win the
title. Jeremiah Davis of Florida State is certainly capable and finished second
to McLeod indoors. Davis is a dual threat that will truly challenge the field
in both events. I pick McLeod to show up big again.
Triple Jump- Jaydon Hibbert of Arkansas, a true
freshman from Jamaica, has been the most talked about freshman this season. He has
let the triple jump on fire. He owns the NCAA record already and NCAA Indoor
title and has been unstoppable this season with zero losses in the triple jump.
I expect for him to win convincingly and break the NCAA record again.
In the field we will see Russell Robinson of Miami and Sean
Dixon-Bodie of Florida. Robinson has been impressive all season long and for a
moment was the number one ranked athlete. Dixon-Bodie has been injured and has
been coming on strong as we enter the post season. His mark at the Eastern
Regional pushed him to the number three spot. As his health improves, we may see an
impressive mark from him this weekend.
THROWS
Women
Shot Put- A new champion will be crowned. Axelina
Johansson of Nebraska took the reigns after Adelaide Aquilla’s final indoor
season ended. Johannson is the national leader with a mark 64 feet 1 ¼ inches
(19.54m). She has been the top collegian all season long and is a returning All-American
looking to finally claim a title. Josie Schaefer of Wisconsin and Jorinde Van Klinken
of Oregon will challenge her. Van Klinken already has an NCAA title in the event
and with Aquilla out of the way has an easier path back to the title. Johannson
has beaten her before so it will not be easy for Van Klinken. Schaefer has sat
in the shadow of Johansson all year long and it looks like it will continue. My
vote is for Johansson.
Discus- This is where Van Klinken is truly favored.
She has been the number one discus thrower this season and needs another NCAA
title to further cement her legacy. This is her third school, and she has a
title at each. Veronica Fraley of Vanderbilt and Faith Bender of Ohio State
will give challenge, but I believe this is Van Klinken’s title to win.
Hammer- Cal is just spitting out stars in the
throwing events. Their new star is Anna Purchase. She has been a household name
but not as a champion. She has to sit in the shadow of Camryn Rogers who dominated
for Cal over the years, and she even shockingly finished 2nd at the
Pac-12 Championships a few weeks ago to Shelby Moran of Oregon. Purchase
however is the number one ranked athlete and I think she will be looking to
better her performance from the conference championship. Stephanie Ratcliffe of
Harvard rounds out our top three performers and being the east coast thrower of
the group, she may be on the outside looking in but with her marks she is
clearly capable. I think Purchase takes the title here, but Moran will push her.
Javelin- Rhema Otabor of Nebraska leads what should
be a 1-2 punch from Nebraksa with her teammate Maddie Harris. Nebraska a great
field event school will be flexing their throwing muscles this weekend with the
possibility of two champions in the throwing events. Madison Wiltrout of North
Carolina rounds out the top three. Otabor has been the national leader since
late April and only has one loss this outdoor season, to her teammate Maddie.
Wiltrout is on the outside looking in but with this being the NCAA
Championships you can never truly count anyone out. With that being said I
still feel Otabor will win, with her lead on the field and consistent performances
this year make labeling her the champion much easier.
Men
Shot Put- This event will have some fireworks. With
three strong contenders in Jonah Wilson of Nebraska, Jordan Geist of Arizona
and Turner Washington of Arizona State you are looking at an incredible field.
Washington has an NCAA title in this event and has been looking to get back to
2021 when he last did claim the title. Geist has been on a tear this year, living
up to the hype he built in high school. Wilson is another talented thrower from
Nebraska who has been fighting for the top spot this season which he has. Geist
has beaten both this season consistently including at the Indoor Championship. Most
recently he took down Washington at the Pac-12 Championship. I expect the same
this weekend.
Discus- Washington of Arizona State is in the top
three here as well. He also has a national title in this event as well in 2021.
He is truly attempting to recapture the magic of that season. Mykolas Alekna of
California has been the leader all year long and the NCAA record holder. He defeated
Washington at the Pac-12 Championship. Roje Stona of Arkansas is the third
challenger. Stona has been dominating on the east coast and in specific the SEC
Championship. With Arkansas as one of the team title contenders here his points
are crucial. Alekna however has been too good and has a NCAA record to show for
it. I expect for him to improve on that mark and claim the title.
Hammer- Geist of Arizona shows up here as a contender
for the title. He is ranked number two in the nation behind Kostas Zaltos of
Minnesota. Kenneth Ikeji of Harvard rounds out the top three. Harvard is in it
to win it in a few throwing events. Although Geist is ranked second here, I am
going to with him winning. Geist has been a big meet performer and I believe he
is looking to impress the crowd with a double.
Javelin- The defending champion Marc Minichelo of Georgia
formerly of Penn is in the driver’s seat for the title. Top mark of 2023 goes
to Keyshawn Strachan of Auburn who will not be competing. With him out Minichelo
will have an easier time defending his national title. Ethan Dabbs of Viriginia
who is the top entrant and Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi of Baylor round out the top
three. Minichelo to me is the obvious favorite, should and will win.
MULTI’S
Women’s Heptathlon
Indoors Jadin O’Brien of Notre Dame was the multi-event
queen winning the Pentathlon. She has only competed in the Heptathlon once this
outdoor season and it resulted in the Texas Relays title, very eatly in the
season. She is the only top athlete in the field not over 6,000 points but I
expect for her to still be in the mix. The leader is Allie Jones of USC, yes USC.
She is a transfer from Stanford with remarkable pedigree. She is a talented,
sprinter, jumper and hurdler and could potentially when five events out of seven.
She is the obvious favorite and my pick to win the title.
Men’s Decathlon
Kyle Garland has been the big name in the event for the past
couple seasons and has been a big name since he arrived at Georgia with an impressive
high school career. He is a big meet performer and capable of being the
all-time great in this event. Leo Neugebauer of Texas will be on his home track
and has shown to be an impressive athlete as well. Neugebauer has scored over
8,000 points this season like Garland and will give everything he has to
dethrone Garland. Heath Baldwin of Michigan State is over 8,000 points as well
and has been steadily improving over the course of his career. I still think
Garland takes it, but it will not be easy.
TEAM TITLE
Women
1.
Texas
2.
Florida
3.
Arkansas
Men
1.
Arkansas
2.
Texas Tech
3.
Florida
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