(Grant Holloway)
(Potential double and leader of the Florida Gators)
We have made it to the finish line of the 2018 Indoor
Season. This has been quite a year with several NCAA records broken and even
nearly a world record. With the Indoor World Championships coming to an end
last weekend, it is entirely possible that the NCAA Indoor Championships will
be a more competitive meet in several events.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
In the sprints a huge hole was left after Christina Coleman
of Tennessee left before his eligibility expired to compete on the professional
circuit. This clearly has turned out to be good idea as he is currently the
world indoor champion at 60 meters and clearly in the driver’s seat to be the new
world number one in the 100-meter dash.
Andre Ewers of Florida State sent a warning shot early in
the season that he was the replacement. His debut for the Scarlet and Gold saw him clock in at 6.52 to win
the 60-meter dash at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational. Since then he has yet to
meet that time and even lost the ACC Championships. However, he still leads as
the nation’s best and cannot be ignored. Jeryl Brazil of Louisiana Lafayette is
currently second and in great position to challenge Ewers. Elijah Hall of
Houston is also a serious threat with his time of 6.58.
In the 200-meter dash talented freshman Divine Oduduru of
Texas Tech by way of Nigeria is the obvious headlining favorite to win this
event. He clocked in a time of 20.18 on his home track a few works sending a
warning shot throughout the world. However, since his performance was at
altitude is was converted to a time of 20.25, his time was still number one in
the nation. Senior Ncincilili Titi of South Carolina and Nick Gray of Ohio
State are tied for number two in the nation with a time of 20.45. Gray coming
on strong later in the season looks like a real threat to Oduduru as Titi ran
his top time early in the season and has just not performed at the same level.
The 400-meter dash is finally going to give a much-anticipated
match up. Two sophomores Michael Norman of USC and Akeem Bloomfield of Auburn.
Both were high school studs and garnered plenty of attention from their
country, Norman the USA and Bloomfield Jamaica. Norman leads the nation in his
lone performance of this season with a time of 45.00 and Bloomfield is a close
second with a time of 45.02. Bloomfield has competed far more this season than
Norman and now has SEC title to his credit. However, Norman’s fresh legs maybe
just what he needs to beat Bloomfield in a race where 44 seconds is likely.
The 60 meter hurdles there is one of our few defending national
champions. Grant Holloway is the leader of the Florida Gators and a lot of
their team title hopes are riding on him performing well. His national leading
time of 7.42 is the new NCAA record and still the world number one. Senior
Ruebin Walters of Alabama is currently the closest challenger with a time of
7.61, however he has already been beaten by Holloway. If Holloway sticks with
his technique he should successfully defend his crown.
DISTANCE
No event is the gap greater between the leader and the rest
of the field than in the 800. Michael Saruni of UTEP by way of Kenya is the latest
800 prodigy to come out of UTEP and his time not only leads the nation it would
have earned him a gold medal at this past weekend Indoor World Championships. Saruni
leads the nation with a time of 1:44.89. The next closest athlete is more than
two full seconds behind him in Bryce Hoppel of Kansas who ran 1:47.09 during
the season. Saruni is just a sophomore but his time shows that he is extremely
talented and capable of running a great time without having to have great
competition.
The mile is one of the few events were there is a defending
national champion. Josh Kerr shocked the nation when he defeated superstar
Edward Cheserek of Oregon last season in the mile. He followed that up in the
outdoor season by winning the 1,500. The tables have turned on the young
sophomore this season as he has the target on his back and leads the nation
with a time of 3:54.72. He has a strong challenger in Jonah Koech of UTEP who
has ran 3:55.81. Although Kerr has the top time it will likely take his best to
fight of the supremely talented Koech.
Justyn Knight of Syracuse is attempting to complete the long-distance
double. The talented junior has clearly filled the void left by Cheserek after
he graduated. Knight has competed and performed well in the mile, 3,000 and
5,000 throughout the season. He is currently ranked number one in the 3,000 and
number two in the 5,000. Adding to both those top tier rankings is his number
four ranked mile performance. The 3,000 is perhaps his best bet to win it all,
he currently holds more than a two second lead with a time of 7:45.86 over
Northern Arizona senior Andy Trouard who has ran 7:48.21. The 5,000 has Mike
Tate of Southern Utah as the leader with a time of 13:37.33 to Knight’s
13:39.59. Knight won the Cross Country national title this past fall proving
that he is championship ready but this is a big step up, however Knight seems
poised to do it.
JUMPS
Senior Trey Culver of Texas Tech and true freshman Vernon
Turner have dominated the high jump all season long. Culver is just the latest athlete
to dominate in the high jump for Texas Tech. He is the defending Indoor
National champion and is currently tied for the number one ranking with a mark
of 7 feet 7 ¾ inches. Turner is the guy tied with him and in the first
championship meet Culver was successful in winning the Big 12 title. Turner is
a freshman and truly has nothing to lose, Culver has the pressure and the
target on his back as the defending champion. The edge is still with Culver but
Turner makes an interesting case to win it all.
KeAndre Bates of Florida has been up and down all-season
long. He is the defending champion in the long jump and was runner up in the
triple jump last indoor season. Last outdoor season he completed the double by
winning the NCAA titles in both events. Those same expectations were placed on
the senior entering the season. Currently he is ranked tenth in the long jump
and second in the triple jump. Bates however is still capable of pulling off
the double it will be challenging to do so. In the long jump fellow senior Zack
Bazile of Ohio State is rounding into shape at the right time and leads the
nation with his leap of 26 feet 8 ¼ inches which is farther than Bates’
personal best. His teammate Grant Holloway is also a threat to win it but he
also has been off currently ranked seventh in the nation. In the triple jump another senior in Scott
Newsome has lead the with a mark of 54 feet 6 ¾ inches. Although Bates has a
personal best that is farther he has not hit that mark this season. It will
likely take a 55-foot jump if he is to win the NCAA title.
Chris Nilsen of South Dakota has been the man in the Pole
Vault the entire season. He is the only athlete in the field with a mark over
19 feet. He won this event last indoor season as a freshman and is in great
position to defend his title. Matthew Ludwig is the latest prospect from Akron
and he is currently ranked second with a mark of 18 feet 6 ¾ inches. Although
Ludwig’s mark is impressive is does not seem to be enough to currently
challenge Nilsen for the title.
THROWS
The throwing events are quite exciting this season. Each
week there seems to be a new number one in one of the throwing events and
all-time top 10 greats. In the shot put a freshman will lead them in Jordan
Geist of Arizona. Geist was the number one athlete in high school last season
and has not skipped a beat. His leading mark of 70 feet 4 ½ inches is the only
mark in the NCAA over 70 feet. He will face a strong challenge from the
defending champion in senior Mostafa Hassan of Colorado State who is currently
ranked number three and SEC Champion senior Josh Awotunde of South Carolina who
is ranked number two. Hassan was the preseason favorite obviously returning as
defending champion but his personal best from last season has been surpassed by
both Geist and Awotunde. Their marks are still close together and Hassan is
still the defending champion. It would not surprise me nor should it surprise
you if he puts everything together to successfully defend his title.
In the weight throw two heavy hitters already have competed
against each other. Number one ranked senior Josh Davis of NC State and number
three ranked junior Joseph Ellis of Michigan. Ellis took the number one ranking
from Davis during the season and during the head to head beat Davis. Davis used
the ACC Championship to reclaim his number one ranking with a mark of 78 feet 2
¼ inches. Ellis also set a personal record at the Big Ten Championships with
his mark of 77 feet 6 ¾ inches. Ellis has already proven he can beat Davis
regardless of his ranking or previous performance a guy to keep an eye on is
the number two in Denzel Comenentia of Georgia the field event school. Either of
these three men could win it.
HEPTATHLON
This event is Kentucky’s Tim Duckworth’s to win. He has been
the favorite sense the preseason. He finished second last indoor season and has
the top performance this season with a total of 6,071 points. However, he will
still have to earn the victory and will have strong competition from fellow
senior Hunter Veith of Witchita State who has scored 6,023 points.
RELAYS
The 4x400 relay will be quite interesting there are three
solid teams capable of winning. USC, Florida and Texas A&M. Florida and
Texas A&M have been rivals for the past decade so nothing is surprising
there. USC has the best quartet is school history and that is saying a lot for
a school with such storied history. The USC Trojans lead it with a mark of
3:01.98 and are currently the only group under 3:02. Florida has run 3:02.23
and Texas A&M has run 3:02.35. The team title could certainly come down to
this event and I would not put it past any of these times to win it.
The Distance Medley relay is currently led by New Mexico who
has ran a time of 9:24.73 and have the courtesy of having Josh Kerr on the
anchor. Utah State is a close second with a mark of 9:25.91. The two schools
gave us a preview at the Mountain West Indoor Championships were the finished
1-2. Expect for the battle to be even more intense with a national title on the
line.
TEAM TITLE
I’ll keep it simple, Florida. Georgia, Texas Tech and Arkansas will be close.
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