(Grant Holloway-Florida)
Will it be the Grant Holloway show?
Conference Championship Preview 4
Power 5 Conference: SEC
This is the conference of champions. Perhaps the most
challenging conference in the NCAA is the SEC. This conference is fully loaded
with world class talent in every discipline. Two programs in the conference in
Arkansas for men and LSU for women have recording setting National Championship
streaks and countless Olympians. This year promises to be no different, with a
bevy of young talent and solid veterans this promise to be an exciting meet.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Women
Mikiah Brisco of LSU returns as the defending champion in
the women’s 60 meter dash. She leads a loaded sprint core for LSU, which seems
to be loaded every year. LSU has a total of four athletes ranked in the top 8. Her
time of 7.19 is currently ranked 2nd in the conference behind senior
Javianne Oliver of Kentucky who leads with a time of 7.18. Brisco had a late
start to her season and seems to be rounding into shape just at the right time.
The two are also national headliners ranked 2nd and 3rd
respectively.
Senior Jada Martin of LSU leads the conference in the women’s
200. Martin is currently the only athlete in the field with a season’s best
under 23 seconds with her time of 22.95. Martin is currently ranked 5th
in the nation. The senior looks to continue LSU’s tradition of dominant SEC
Champions.
The Florida Gators do not have the depth that they have
had in recent years but they are still quite talented. Sharrika Barnett was a
top recruit a couple years ago and this season has more than proved why. Her
conference lead of 52.07 has yet to be challenged by anyone this season. The
talented sophomore currently ranks fourth in the nation and she is the highest
rated underclassmen. Barnett has more than a half second left on her closest
competitor and will look to improve upon her time.
In the hurdles Brisco is set to defend here too. She
completed the impressive double last season as a sophomore and now looks to
continue that success as a junior. Her conference leading time of 7.98 ties her
for 2nd in the nation. She’ll be challenged by Kentucky’s Jasmine
Camacho-Quinn who like Brisco is a speedy hurdler. Quinn also has the
distinction of being the defending NCAA Outdoor 100 meter hurdle champion, an
event she won as a freshman. This promises to be an exciting race that could
potentially produce a new national leader.
Men
Christian Coleman of Tennessee has been the story of this
conference and the nation all indoor season. He has yet to be defeated and has
put up world class times all season long. His national leading time of 6.51 in
the 60 meter dash and 20.46 in the 200 meter dash are two impressive times for
a collegian. The talented junior has been huge for the sprint resurgence of the
Tennessee track program. Kendall Williams of Georgia just recently tied his
national leading mark in the 60 meter dash and has the best chance of defeating
Coleman. Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of LSU perhaps has the best chance of defeating
Coleman since he is the defending conference champion who however still lost to
Coleman last season at the National Championship.
The 400 will be another race to keep your eye on. The top
six athletes in this race are ranked in the top 8 in the entire country. This
is the SEC’s best individual event from top to bottom. The irony in that is,
none of the top six include the defending champion Khamari Montgomery of
Missouri.
Montgomery is currently ranked
11th in the conference and will have to provide some of that same
magic as last year if he wants to defend his title. Fred Kerley leads an
impressive group for Texas A&M with his national leading time of 45.02.
Kerley will be looking for a sub 45 second performance and 10 huge team points
for the Aggies.
True freshman Grant Holloway of Florida is the current
leader not only in the conference but in the country with his impressive time
of 7.58 in the 60 meter hurdles. Holloway was a top tier recruit and high
national champion with an impressive resume. He has backed that up with his
phenomenal performances all year long. The Gators will need 10 points from
Holloway to secure the team title.
DISTANCE
Women
The defending champion Morgan Scheutz of LSU has not been
the talk of this event all season. That is because of Texas A&M’s super sophomore
Jazmine Fray who set the indoor collegiate record with a time of 2:00.69. She
has a more than two second lead over Schuetz in the event. Her time sent
shockwaves through the country after she broke was many thought was a
unbreakable record. This sophomore clearly has a bright future ahead of her.
The mile has will be looking to crown a new champion and
what better place to start than with an Arkansas Razorback. The Razorback are
perhaps more known for their distance prowess than the men nowadays. Nikki
Hiltz leads the for Arkansas with a time of 4:35.10. Her teammate senior Therese
Haiss is sitting comfortably in 3rd with a time of 4:37.27, either
athlete would be a great win for the Razorbacks who will rely on their distance
core for huge team points.
True freshman Taylor Werner of Arkansas is the current conference
leader in the 3,000 with a time of 9:06.34. Sitting right behind her is Karissa
Schweizer of Missouri with 9:06.60. It can be quite intimidating to compete at
the SEC Conference Championships but Werner has done well so far this season
and sits ranked 10th nationally. She is also the 2nd best
freshman in the nation. Werner will not
only look to garner her team the 10 points but to also improve her
national standing in a race against a highly competitive field.
Schweizer of Missouri could be potentially double, she is
ranked 2nd in the 3,000 and first in the 5,000. Her conference
leading time of 15:37.40 is 16 seconds ahead of her closest competition and
ranks her 2nd nationally. What’s perhaps more impressive about her
time is that it has stood since the beginning of the indoor season December
2016.
Men
Senior Andres Arroyo of Florida has had quite a career at
Florida. He has had some ups and downs throughout. In 2015 he claimed his first
conference title winning the 800. He lost his title last season to a record setting
freshman from Texas A&M. This season he has returned to the top of the conference with a time of 1:47.25, a time he has surpassed before. He is also
ranked 7th nationally.
The Florida Gators will need him to be on his
“A” game and garner the 10 team points if they want to win the SEC title.
Arroyo can also use this as a platform to improve his national ranking in the
event as well.
In the mile defending champion Robert Domanic is a part of
an impressive group of milers for Ole Miss. The Ole Miss Rebels have three athletes
in the top five in the conference. Domanic is currently ranked fourth in the
conference and his teammate Sean Tobin leads with a time of 4:00.09. With this
being the SEC Championships expect for the winner to dip under 4 minutes.
Ole Miss senior MJ Erb will look to complete the long
distance double by winning the 3,000 and 5,000 meter races. His conference leading
times are 7:54.77 and 13:43.55. He is ranked in the top 16 in both events, 14th
in the 3,000 and 7th in the 5,000. He has a three second lead in the
3,000 and a four second lead in the 5,000. Erb is looking to complete quite the
impressive double against a class field but the distance between his time and
competitors show that his performance could be quite impressive.
FIELD EVENTS
Women
Defending Champions: Alexis Weeks, Arkansas-Pole Vault; Quanesha
Burks, Alabama-Long Jump; Keturah Orji, Georgia-Triple Jump; Raven Saunders,
Ole Miss- Shot Put; Kendell Williams, Georgia-Pentathlon
Quite the impressive group of defending champions, in five
of the seven field events defending champions will compete. Several of the
defending champions are national leaders as well. This is another discipline
were the SEC can brag about their prowess.
Alexis Weeks and Quanesha Burks are two of the defending
champions who are not ranked number one in the respective events. Weeks is
listed as 2nd in the pole vault behind her twin sister Victoria
Weeks who has a mark of 14’10.25. Alexis has a mark of 14’7.25. They’ll both
look to continue the tradition of great pole vaulters for Arkansas. Burks has
not only an SEC title but in her trophy case is also a national title. Burks
sits in the 3rd position with a mark of 21’4.75 in the long jump
behind conference leader Sha’Keela Saunders of Kentucky who has a mark of 22’1.
Saunders is the only athlete in the nation over 22 feet.
Keturah Orji, Raven Saunders and Kendall Williams are not
ranked number one in the conference in their events but also in the nation. All
three also have national championship hardware and Olympic experience. All
three competed for team USA in the respective events.
Orji has a leading mark of 46’3.25 in the triple jump and
will be challenged by Yanis David of Florida who did in fact beat Orji in their
high school days. Saunders likely will not meet a challenger her mark of 62’8
is five feet farther than 2nd ranked Lloyrdrica Cameron of Florida.
Williams leads the pentathlon with a total of 4,476 points. Williams has a nice
200 points lead on her competition and will be looking to improve upon her performance.
Williams also is a part of Georgia’s impressive jumps core as she is ranked in
the top five in the long jump and high jump in the conference.
Conference Leaders: Madeline Fagan, Georgia-High Jump;
Tatiana Gusin, Georgia-High Jump; Janeah Stewart, Ole Miss-Weight Throw
Both remaining conference leaders are from programs that
have depth in their field events. Fagin and Gusin are tied for the conference
and national lead in the women’s high jump with marks of 6’2.75. They Bulldogs
could possibly when every jumping event except for the Pole Vault in the conference.
They could also potentially sweep those same events on the national stage. The
same could be potentially said for Ole Miss in the throwing events. Stewart
leads the Weight throw with a mark of 71’8.75. Her teammate Saunders also has a
mark over 71 feet could mark for quite an impressive 1-2 punch.
Men
Defending Champions: Ken LeGassey, Arkansas-High Jump; Clive
Pullen, Arkansas-Triple Jump
The jumps have been an impressive part of the championship
machine that Arkansas Razorbacks have. They’ll have their hands full this
season with a talented young group from Florida. LeGassey is currently ranked 6th
in the conference behind two very impressive freshman. Clayton Brown of Florida
leads the nation with a mark of 7’4.50 and Darius Carbin of Georgia sits right behind
with a mark of 7’3.25. LeGassey is going to have to have quite the performance
if he wants to defend his title.
In the triple jump senior
Clive Pullen has pulled away from his closest competitor KeAndre Bates of
Florida. Pullen leads the nation with a mark of 56’4.75. Pullen had proven to
show up at the big moments when his team needs and they’ll need him this
weekend in order to win the conference title.
Conference Leaders: Audie Wyatt, Texas A&M-Pole Vault;
Grant Holloway, Florida-Long Jump; Josh Awontunde, South Carolina-Shot Put; Johnnie Jackson, LSU-Weight Throw; Tim
Duckworth, Kentucky-Heptathlon.
Holloway was the national leader in the long jump until a
couple weeks ago. He sits comfortable with the number two mark in the nation
and the top mark in the conference with 26’5. His teammate Bates is 2nd
with a mark of 25’8.75 and it is important that they finish that way for
Florida to win the team title.
Senior Johnnie Jackson of LSU stills leads the nation with
his mark of 77’3.75. He has almost a four foot lead on his closest competitor.
Jackson will look to add to great throwing tradition at LSU.
Tim Duckworth of Kentucky is currently ranked 2nd
in the nation in the Heptathlon with a total of 6,006. Duckworth and national
leader Luca Weiland are the only two in the country over 6,000 points. Although
he has over a 100 point lead Duckworth will still need to perform at his best
to win the conference. Georgia’s Devon Williams is close behind and the senior
has missed a lot of time in recent years due to injury, this is the senior’s
last chance to claim a conference title.
RELAYS
Top Ranked
Women
4x400: Texas A&M 3:29.74 (Ranked 1st
nationally)
Distance Medley: LSU 10:57.66 (Ranked 4th
nationally)
Men
4x400: Team A&M 3:02.52 (Ranked 1st
nationally) * NCAA Record
Distance Medley: Ole Miss 9:26.55 (Ranked 1st
nationally)
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