NCAA Indoor Championship Review

(Texas A&M 2017 Men's Indoor NCAA Champions)

The Indoor Season has officially ended. What a great championship meet it was, not only were NCAA records threatened but so were American records. The Team Championship on the men’s side and came down to the 4X400 relay and on the women’s side Oregon blew out the competition scoring over 80 points. In this recap we will focus on specific events that help to highlight a great meet. 

Women

Oregon simply dominated the short sprints and hurdles on the women’s side. They were reminiscent of the old LSU teams that were so formidable with top tier talent in the short sprints. Although LSU qualified five athletes in the 60 meter dash only two made it to the final. The Ducks took spots 1, 3 and 5 with Hannah Cunliffe living up to the hype winning with a time of 7.14. Teammate Arianna Washington ran a lifetime best finishing in the 3^rd with a time of 7.20.

Washington followed that performance up by winning the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.42. Her teammate Daeja Stevens ran an NCAA and American record in the preliminary round with a time of 22.28. However she was disqualified after she crossed over into another lane. Cunliffe finished 2^nd with a time of 22.53.

In the hurdles senior Sasha Wallace of Oregon ran a personal best of 7.87 in the preliminaries which caught everyone’s attention and followed that up with a time of 7.90 in the finals. Teammate Alaysha Johnson was 8^th with a time of 8.13.

Perhaps the most shocking performance of the meet came in the mile. Defending Champion senior Kaela Edwards of Oklahoma State was having a great season and seemed in perfect shape to defend her title. However Karisa Nelson of Samford shocked Edwards winning the race with a time of 4:31.24. Edwards still owns the top time in the NCAA this season but Nelson has the championship hardware. Even more shocking is that Edwards didn’t finish 1^st but 4^th.

Another shocker happened in the women’s 800. Jazmine Fray of Texas A&M was on her home track and riding high after setting the NCAA record early in the season. Fray seemed to be in perfect position to take the crown from defending champion Raevyn Rogers of Oregon. Rogers has proven to have an outstanding kick, especially in big moments. Rogers ran a smart race and was not fooled by the performance of Fray earlier in the season. Rogers was able to outkick her competition to win clocking in at 2:01.09. She won the race by more than a second and earned her 4^th NCAA title.

The 5k was simply a repeat of the Cross Country Championships. Entering the meet Erin Finn of Michigan and Anna Rohrer of Notre Dame came in with majority of the hype. Then a stunning victory happened with Karissa Schweizer of Missouri winning. This indoor season things were a little different. Finn did not enter as much of a favorite after finishing 3^rd at her conference championship. However the race unfolded the same. Schweizer out dueled Finn and Rohrer to win the race with a title of 15:19.14, an 8 second victory that left me again stunned.

There were not that many NCAA records actually broken even though several of them were threatened. A record that was broken was the 4x400 relay. USC has been the number 1 team all season and further proved that by defeating the Oregon Ducks with a time of 3:27.03. Their time broke the long standing record held by a great Texas team in 2004.

In the field events Georgia was simply dominant. Every event they entered number one in they left with a championship. Keturah Orji, the American record holder in the triple jump led the charge. She claimed her signature event with a mark of 46-3 ½. She also led a strong contingent in the women’s long jump where they finished 3,4 and 7. Senior Shakeela Saunders of Kentucky again wowed the crowd with a jump of 22-7 ¾.

Senior Kendell Williams of Georgia joins an illustrious group of athletes. Williams was able to win her fourth consecutive pentathlon. She scored a total of 4,682 points and was just 21 points shy of tying her NCAA record. She will now turn her attention outdoors to defend her title there as well.

Raven Saunders of Ole Miss continued to her Championship dominance and reclaimed the Indoor crown. Her throw of 64-2 ¼ was a new collegiate record. Saunders more than showed out against a quality field by defeating her closest competitor by almost four feet. Her legend will continue outdoors where she has shown to be best.

In the team battle Oregon just simply dominated their competition. They scored 84 points on the back of four individual titles. Outdoors expect them to be better with more points available Oregon will be lethal. With the talent in the short sprints they could also take down the NCAA record in the 4x100 relay and become the first team under 42 seconds.

MEN

Edward Cheserek again was the king of the meet. The talented senior distance runner from Oregon carried his team scoring a total of 28 points. He attempted the distance triple by competing in the mile, 3k and 5k only to come up short in the event whose record he broke a few weeks ago. His first event the 5,000 went as expected. Cheserek had a rather convincing win with a time of 13:41.20, more than two seconds ahead of closest competitor. Things were a little closer in the 3,000 winning with a time of 7:55.91 only a half of second ahead of the number two runner. In the mile however he met his match in freshman Josh Kerr of New Mexico who blasted off a time 4:03.22. It wasn’t a pretty race and the time is well below expectations but it was a victory of the King. Cheserek still has won more NCAA individual titles than any athlete in history.

Christian Coleman of Tennessee was perhaps the crowned prince of the meet. He too left the championships with two pieces of championship hardware. He tied the NCAA record in the 60 meter dash with a blistering time of 6.45. His time was not altitude which makes his time the legitimate fastest time in NCAA history he will however share the record with Leonard Myles-Mills of BYU. In the 200 Coleman rocketed around the track with a winning time of 20.11. His time nearly broke the NCAA and American record time of 20.10 set by Wallace Spearmon of Oklahoma. Coleman becomes the first athlete since another Tennessee great in Justin Gatlin to complete the sprinter’s double.

Senior Fred Kerley of Texas A&M has been the guy with a target on his back all season long. He came into the championship meet with the only time under 45 seconds. The target clearly did not bother him and he had hometown support. Kerley dominated his heat winning with a time of 44.85 lowering her personal best indoors or out. He won his heat by more than a second. It is quite possible that he could’ve lowered his time in a more competitive race.

Josh Kerr of New Mexico would not be the only freshman NCAA Champion. Grant Holloway who has been the leader in the 60 hurdles all season was being counted on heavily by the Florida Gators. After a disappointing outing in the men’s long jump where he did not garner any points Holloway lined up in the 60 meter hurdles and did what few have done before him. He won the race with a time of 7.58 tying his number one ranked mark from early in the season and provided his team with 10 huge points. His impressive time for a freshman and championship performance places his in a rare group.

KeAndre Bates of Florida again stepped up against the competition. He left the building as the NCAA Champion in the men’s long jump. He jumped out to an early lead within the early rounds of the event. Perhaps the only shocking story to note was that his teammate and standout freshman Grant Holloway did not make the final. Bates entered the event as a contender and not the favorite but wound up winning the long jump with a mark of 26-4 ½. Bates returned in the triple jump to finish 2^nd with a mark of 54-6 behind champion Clive Pullen of Arkansas who leaped to 55-3 ¾. Bates scored 18 team points for the 2^ND place Florida Gators.

Senior Devon Williams of Georgia has dealt with a myriad of injuries throughout his career at Georgia and has not been able to garner the same notoriety as his younger sister. However during his final season he has had some truly great performances. The heptathlon was one of the most competitive events at the championship meet. It took a top five performance in the men’s 1,000 for him to win the crown. Williams scored a total of 6,177 points just 12 ahead of Kentucky’s Tim Duckworth. The Williams completed a rare brother and sister double and cemented Georgia’s field event dominance.

Chris Nilsen of South Dakota was another freshman that claimed a national title. That talented freshman was rather convincing as the best pole vaulter in the nation. His mark of 18-8 ¼ is nearly 6 inches farther than his closest competitor. What is perhaps more impressive is that even after he won the event he continued to compete giving his best and attempting a personal record. If anything it won’t be too long before Nilsen takes down the Pole Vault record held by Shawn Barber.

The 4x400 relay may perhaps have been the highlight of the meet. It determined the national champion as Florida entered the race with a 1.5 point lead and needed to finish ahead of the top ranked Texas A&M Aggies who were on their home track. Florida led the race on legs 2 and 3 thanks in part to an outstanding 2^nd leg by freshman Grant Holloway who split 44.8. However Ryan Clark was not able to hold off Mylik Kerley of A&M who crossed the finished line first and in record time on a regulated track with a time of 3:02.80. Texas A&M was able to win the meet by a half point in front of their home crowd. We are without question going to see two teams that run sub 3 minutes this coming outdoor season.

As we close the door on a fantastic indoor season let us prepare for what should be a record setting outdoor season. I look forward to the many great performances and new stars.