Conference Championship Review (Women)

(Molly Seidel-Notre Dame)

What a great weekend it was for college track and field. There were quite a few upsets and new number 1 rankings.  Each conference provided it's own unique story to add to the book of a great indoor season. Let's look at how each event unfolded around the country.

SPRINTS

60 Meter Dash- Mikiah Brisco had a fabulous weekend at the SEC Indoor Championships. She has been in the shadow of Shayla Sanders of Florida all season. Sanders holds the number 1 ranking in the country with a time of 7.17. Brisco was also attempting a very challenging double winning the 60 and the 60 hurdles. She beat Sanders to the line with the number 2 ranked time this season in 7.18. Brisco's time validates her as serious threat to win the Indoor title especially after beating the number 1 ranked athlete.

200 Meter Dash- Felicia Brown of Tennessee was having a great season. She has consistently been under 23 seconds but has had to sit behind the defending indoor champion Kyra Jefferson of Florida. Brown did not allow the champion to deter her from her goal. Brown sprinted around the track clocking in 22.45, one of the fastest times in indoor history. Brown now sits alone at the top heading to Nationals.

400 Meter Run- Courtney Okolo had quite a meet this past weekend at the Big 12 Championships. She was already having a great season with her number 1 ranking in the 400. She solidified her position and improved upon her number 1 ranking with a time of 51.06. She also wowed the crowd her short speed by dominating the 200 with a time of 22.79. Her 200 meter performances hints at the possibility of her setting a new collegiate and NCAA record. It remains to be seen what she can do, we will have to wait until Nationals.

60 Hurdles- Devyne Charlton of Purdue has sat behind Michigan's Cindy Ofili for years. Ofili has been the dominant hurdler in the conference since her sophomore year. Ofili now a senior led not only the Big 10 Conference but the nation in the women's 60 meter hurdles and was one of only two athletes under 8 seconds. Charlton crashed Ofili's hopes of a three-peat by matching her season best time of 7.97 to claim the Big 10 title. With both now with personal best at 7.97 it will be interesting to see who will be crowned National Champion.

4X400 Relay- Tennessee ran it's best time in the 4x400 relay since the early championship days of the J.J Clark era when Caryl Smith-Gilbert was the assistant. Their time of 3:30.56 was the best of the weekend and helped to lead them to a SEC Indoor title and the number 4 ranking overall.

DISTANCE

800- Olivia Baker was a top tier 400 runner coming out of high school. She was one of the best not just in the country but in the world among high school competition. She was also a good 800 runner most notably anchoring the Columbia High School 4x800 relay. Since an interesting try at the 400 as a freshman Baker has been moved up to the 800 where she is having great success. Baker was the best in class this past weekend with a time of 2:04.28 to win the MPSF 800 title. Her season best of 2:04.10 still has her among the top 16 in the nation and she has qualified for Nationals.

Mile- Iona Lake of Virginia took home the ACC Indoor title with the best mile time of the weekend. Her winning mark of 4:36.11 moved her to number 8 in the country. With her time ranked in the top 16 Lake has qualified for nationals.

3,000 & 5,000- These events have been combined because of the oustanding athlete who doubled and claimed the top times in the event for the weekend. Molly Seidel of Notre Dame continued her championship season this past weekend winning both the 3,000 and 5,000 meter race at the ACC Indoor Championships. Her time of 9:02.24 won the 3,000 and her time of 15:19.64 in the 5,000 moved her to the number 1 ranking overall in the event. She is already sitting comfortably at number 3 in the 3,000. It is quite possible that Seidel who won the Cross Country title goes on to double at the National Championships as well.

FIELD

High Jump- Akela Jones had another great weekend to continue with the great indoor campaign she has had. Jones who is currently ranked number 1 in the pentathlon earned her second number 1 ranking of the season with a winning mark of 6-4 in the women's high jump at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.

Pole Vault- Talented senior Megan Clark of Duke validated her number 1 ranking in the Pole Vault by winning the ACC Indoor title and garnering the top performance of the weekend with a mark of 14'10. Clark heads to Nationals tied for number 1 but clearly in the driver's seat.

Long Jump- Akela Jones of Kansas State garnered her third number 1 ranking with a mark of 22-1.75 to win the long jump at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. Quaneesha Burks of Alabama who has lead the entire indoor season hit the same mark to win the SEC Indoor title. Both share the number 1 mark in the country with only Nationals left.

Triple Jump- Keturah Orji of Georgia remains the top of class in the women's triple jump. The sophomore leaped out to a mark of 46'2.50 to win the SEC Triple Jump title against a loaded field. Orji's mark kept at the number 1 mark in the country.

Shot Put- Normally this slot belongs to Raven Saunders. However Christina Hillman of Iowa  State had the top performance of the weekend in the women's shot put. Her mark of 58'10 helped her to win the Big 12 Indoor title and firmly rank her as the number 2 thrower in the country.

Weight Throw- Kelsey Card of Wisconsin was the best in class in the women's weight throw with a winning mark of 72'7.75 to win the Big 10 Indoor Championship. Her mark also placed her as the number 1 ranked competitor in the event.

Heptathlon- USC's Miss Everything continued to prove that she belongs. Amalie Iuel had a great performance at the MPSF Indoor Championship competing in the women's heptathlon. Her mark of of 4,444 points garnered her the conference title and the number 4 ranking in the country. Iuel has booked her ticket to nationals.