Collegiate Update

THE FINALS ARE HERE!!

First of all, I apologize for being away for so long, but you know the reason.

This past weekend we were treated to the second year of the new regional format for NCAA Track and Field. As stated last year this is so pointless. I do not understand why the outdoor season can mirror the indoor season with a provisional qualifying time and a automatic qualifying time. But instead we get the first two rounds of the NCAA finals as our regional format.


EASTERN CONFERENCE REVIEW

There was a nice little debate on flotrack.com over the weekend of which coast was more tough. My vote went to the eastern conference. The reason is due to the fact that the best teams are in the region. Florida and Florida State are currently 1-2 in my book. This past weekend the Gators and Seminoles did not nothing to diminish that.

In the sprints the major qualifiers for the men are Jeff Demps of Florida and Maurice Mitchell of Florida State in the men's 100. In the 200 Mitchell and Horatio Williams of LSU were tops. In the long sprint Kirani James of Alabama and Clayton Parros of North Carolina were the best qualifiers.

In the high hurdles Barret Nugent of LSU and defending champion Andrew Riley of Illinois still reigned supreme in their event both qualifying to the NCAA Championship meet.

In the jumping events Florida was well represented. In the long jump and triple jump Florida qualified both of the championship jumpers in Will Claye and Christian Taylor. From Florida State Ngondizashe Makusha also qualified and will try and stop the 1-2 finish from Florida in the long jump.

The high jump is missing a key ingredient, Derek Drouin of Indiana defending NCAA Champion is out with an injury. Future star from Ole Miss sophomore Ricky Robertson did qualify and is one of the favorites to win the the national title. In the pole vault top qualifying honors went to Cori Mattix out of Michigan State.

In the middle distance events Robby Andrews of Virginia and Casimir Loxsom of Penn State, both returning All-Americans qualified for the NCAA Meet. Matthew Gibney took home top honors in the mile qualifying in a time of 3:46.29.

In the shot put true freshman from Auburn Stephen Saenz was top qualifier. Saenz has been solid all season competing very well as a freshman for Auburn, putting up big time marks. He will be a serious threat at nationals.

This was an abbreviated review, just discussing some of the more notable qualifiers. Please don't forget the PREFONTAINE CLASSIC will be on TV this weekend live on NBC.

NEXT POST: WOMEN'S EASTERN CONFERENCE REVIEW

Update

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I currently am recovering from pneumonia after just having had the flu. The internet in our home is also down. Please bare with me I plan to get back to weekly postings. Thank you for your continued support.

Weekend Review

This past weekend is one of the best weekends for track and field. The last weekend in April always includes the Penn Relays. The Penn Relays is America's premier track and field event. This three day carnival attracts over 100,000 fans from through the North and Central American continent. To go along with the Penn Relays there was the USC-UCLA Dual and the Drake Relays.

PENN RELAYS (MEN)

LSU DOMINATES SPRINT EVENTS

It was all about LSU. Under Dennis Shaver the LSU men have become even more competitive in the sprint events. Shaver has focused strongly on developing some depth. At the Penn Relays it was clear LSU had the superior stick work. The Tigers were surprisingly the only team under 40 seconds in 400 meter relay. It seems three key teams (Florida, Texas A&M and TCU) struggled to get the baton around well. The LSU tigers clocked in 38.77 in the 400 relay almost breaking the meet record set by TCU. The quartet included Keyth Talley, Horatio Williams, Tristan Walker and Gabriel Mvumvure.

In the 800 meter relay there was more a challenge. The Texas A&M Aggies took LSU to the line. The Tigers held on to win in 1:20.62. The time is the 8th fastest collegiate team in Penn Relay history. The quartet consisted of Riker Hylton, Horatio Williams, Tristan Walker and Gabriel Mvumvure.

In the 1,600 meter relay there was no quit in the LSU Tigers as they pressed towards the finish line against Texas A&M. It was a game of cat and mouse with each leg between LSU and Texas A&M. In the end Texas A&M senior Demetrius Pinder was just strong enough to hold off LSU. Pinder ran a 44.9 to hold off Ryker Hylton of LSU. Texas A&M clocked in at 3:01.73. Along with Pinder the Texas A&M quartet included Bryan Miller, Tran Howell and Tabarie Henry. LSU clocked in at 3:02.33.

Mvumvure also claimed the 100 meter dash running a 10.33 in to a decent headwind. Mvumvure is the 2nd ever LSU tiger to win the 100 meter title at the Penn Relays. Teammate Barret Nugent tried to defend his 110 meter hurdle title, Nugent fell short finishing 2nd in 13.70. Omo Osaghae of Texas Tech took the event in a time of 13.35. Teammate Bryce Brown finished 2nd in the 400 hurdles at 50.92 while Leford Green of Johnson C. Smith claimed the title in 50.00.

Osaghae was joined by Jamele Mason, Brandon Tucker and Shane Brathwaite to claim the Shuttle Hurdle Relay title over Florida.

In the Sprint Medley Relay Penn State was able to outlast the University of Florida after an amazing race. Penn State clocked in at 3:17.10. The group included Aaron Nadolksy, Brady Gehret, Casimir Loxsom and Ryan Foster.

In the 4xMile Princeton claimed the title as the first Ivy League title since 1931. The group of Chris Bendsten, Donn Cabral, Kyle Soloff and Mark Amirualt. The winning time of 16:19.98 included a 4:02.8 anchor from Amirault.

In the Distance Medley Relay Villanova won the 24th title in the event. After a great starting leg from Brian Tetreault and excellent anchor from Matthew Gibney, Villanova was too much for Arkansas to compete with. 24 titles in one event is just pure dominance.

FIELD EVENT WINNERS


LONG JUMP: MARQUISE GOODWIN (TEXAS) 26-3.5

TRIPLE JUMP: OMAR CRADDOCK (FLORIDA) 54-0 (BACK TO BACK TITLES)

SHOT PUT: HAYDEN BAILLIO (TEXAS) 64-0.25

DISCUS THROW: JAMES PLUMMER (RUTGERS) 191-1

HAMMER THROW: WALTER HENNING (LSU) 208-3

JAVELIN THROW: BRANDON HEROUX (WILLIAMS AND MARY) 239-9

HIGH JUMP: MAALIK REYNOLDS (PENN) 7-3.25

POLE VAULT: JARED JODON (VIRGINIA TECH) 17-0.75