(Keturah Orji-Georgia)
In this post we will continue our 2018 NCAA Indoor
Championship Preview. Just like the men, the women have had a record breaking
season. Although there a lot of new faces and few returning champions this meet
still shapes up to be one of the best.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Senior Mikiah Brisco of LSU began this indoor season as one
of the dark horses to potentially compete for the National title. Although she
is the defending outdoor 100-meter champion she has was not in the 60-meter
dash. Oregon’s Hannah Cunliffe was the headliner at the beginning of the season
but she has since left school and turned pro. Brisco also had the challenge of
dealing with her own teammate in Aleia Hobbs who is the top returning 100-meter
athlete in NCAA history with her personal record of 10.85. Brisco has led since
late January and further cemented her status as the top short sprinter at the
SEC Championships with her national leading time of 7.10. Teammate Hobbs has a
personal record of 7.12 and will give strong chase leading to a potential 1-2
finish for the Lady Tigers.
Brisco will also compete in the 200 where she is ranked
number two with a time of 22.81. However, a talented freshman in Lynna Irby
from Georgia leads the way. Irby is attempting to double in both the 200 and
400. She is ranked number one in the 200 with a time of 22.66 and number two in
the 400 with a time of 50.62. Irby is being ask a lot for team title contending
Georgia but the true freshman has already proven she is capable of so much
more.
In the 400 another true freshman leads Irby, Sydney
McLaughlin of Kentucky. McLaughlin was an Olympian as a high school athlete and
is the world junior record holder at the 400 hurdles. McLaughlin also set many
indoor records in the open 400 and has proven to be on that path again now that
she is at Kentucky. Her time of 50.52 is the fastest non-altitude time in
collegiate history. At just a freshman McLaughlin is truly living up to the
hype. Like Irby she is also attempting to double and is currently ranked 9th
in the 200. Irby and McLaughlin gave us our first preview of the race at the
SEC Championships with McLaughlin prevailing. The dark horse for this race is
the top outdoor returnee in senior Kendall Ellis of USC. She has only run the
400 once this season and her fresh legs maybe too much for the young freshmen
to overcome.
The 60-meter hurdles race is poised to be a fantastic race.
The top three have times so close together either of them could win. Leading
the way however is Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Kentucky with a time of 7.95. On
her heels are Dior Hall and Anna Cockrell of USC at 7.96. Quinn and Hall have
not raced this season however Quinn and Cockrell have with Quinn getting the
edge in 7.95. Both Cockrell and Quinn have great speed over 200 meters and will
be threats to score this outdoor season. Hall however has shown to have more
polished technique throughout her career. Hall was one of the preseason
favorites this season and has yet to lose this season. Hall has all the
intangibles need to win the NCAA title.
DISTANCE
The 800 looks to be one of the best in history. In this
field is Indoor Collegiate Record holder in Jazmine Fray of Texas A&M and
talented senior from Middle Tennessee State Agnes Abu. Joining the two will
super sophomore Danae Rivers of Penn State. Abu and Fray currently share the
number one ranking with their time of 2:02.30 this season and Rivers follows
them with a time of 2:03.13. Fray has not been able to match the speed that she
presented last season when she ran the collegiate record of 2:00.69. However,
with the meet being held on her home track Abu and Rivers may challenge but
expect the home crowd to give Fray a favorable lift.
The mile is set to be a two-woman race. There is NCAA leader
Elinor Purrier of New Hampshire with her time of 4:26.55 and Dani Jones of
Colorado with her time of 4:29.32. Jones is moving down from the 3,000 which
she won last season. Purrier was second in this event last indoor season and
will be looking to prove herself to be among the distance elites in the NCAA.
Purrier comes from a smaller school that does not have the long-storied history
that Colorado has. Purrier has not let the small school title hold her back.
With the NCAA lead she is great position to win the title but will have to
fight off the championship pedigree of Jones.
In the 3,000 and 5,000 Karissa Schweizer has been commander
in chief. She is currently ranked number one in both events with time of
8:41.60 and 15:17.31. The talented senior from Missouri has plenty of
championship pedigree including winning the 5,000 both Indoors and Outdoors
last season. She did finish runner up in the 3,000 and will look to avenge her
lone defeat. Purrier of New Hampshire is also attempting to double by running
the 3,000 and is currently ranked second with her time of 8:55.68. As great as
she has been it looks like it she may not have enough to defeat Schweizer in
the 3,000. Junior Ednah Kurgat of New Mexico is currently the only athlete in
the field of the 5,000 within striking distance of Schweizer. Kurgat has a
season’s best of 15:19.03 and looks to be the only challenger in the field.
JUMPS
When you think of jumps you think of the University of
Georgia. The Bulldogs have been so dominant in recent years in the jumping
events the trend looks to continue. However, in the high jump we see the
defending champion unable to produce at the same level as a season ago. Senior
Madeline Fagan is currently ranked seventh this season and does not even appear
to be a threat. She is the defending champion so she still should earn respect.
This is the business of what you have done for me lately but this is athlete
still capable of winning. Her personal best of 6 feet 3 ¾ inches is still the
class of the field including current number one ranked senior Logan Boss of
Mississippi State. Boss defeated Fagan at the SEC Championships a few weeks ago
and currently has the season lead with a mark of 6 feet 3 ½ inches. Boss now
has the confidence and evidence that she can beat Fagan for the title all she
needs now is to simply put it together and do it again.
In the long jump Kate Hall of Georgia is continuing her
success as dual threat for Georgia. She has qualified for the meet in two
events both the 60-meter dash and the long jump. It is her performance as a
jumper that the team is focused on. Hall is the number one long jumper in the
nation and a critical member of the Bulldogs team title hopes. Her NCAA leading
mark of 21 feet 9 ½ inches is one the best indoor marks in NCAA history. It
remains to be seen if she will join her teammate Keturah Orji and set an NCAA
record in the event. Her performance is more critical because of her challenger
the number two ranked Taliyah Brooks of Arkansas. Arkansas is also in great position
to win the team title and Brooks with her personal record 21 feet 6 ¾ inches
are huge piece to that puzzle. They’ve already met and competed with Hall
coming out on top, but with this being the biggest stage in college upsets
always happen.
Senior Keturah Orji of Georgia is the triple jump. She has
set the American record both indoors and outdoors multiple times and broke the
collegiate record multiple times. It is hard to believe this talented athlete
is now a senior but four years have truly gone by. She is looking to win her
third straight indoor title and is great position to do so. Her NCAA record
performance of 47 feet 8 inches was done in one jump early in the season. She
just recently finished fifth at the Indoor World Championships and again won
her fourth straight SEC Indoor title. The title was more difficult to earn than
she thought. Yanis David of Florida led the competition for majority of the
rounds. Her number two ranked performance 46 feet 3 ½ inches led until the
final round when Orji surpassed it to win. David beat Orji when they were
competing at the IAAF World Youth Championship, David may not have the 47 feet
jump but has proven to herself she can compete and beat Orji. Orji however,
will still be confident that she can win.
The Pole Vault was supposed to be led by Arkansas, it has
been an event they have been highly successful at for many years. Oliva Gruver
of Kentucky has proven that winning this event is not a rite of passage for
Arkansas as she proved that by winning the SEC title. The Arkansas Razorbacks
have a total of three athletes in the top 8 and look to score huge team points
but Gruver is the leader in the pole vault with her mark of 15 feet 3 3/4 inches.
Alexis Jacobus of Arkansas is the only other athlete in the field over 15 feet
but Gruver has the advantage having already won.
THROWS
Maggie Ewen’s dominant performance is the shot put this
season has not allowed us to miss Raven Saunders who left school (Ole Miss) for
personal reasons. Ewen leads the NCAA with a throw of 63 feet even. She is the
only athlete in the field over 60 feet and her closes competitor is nearly four
feet behind. Ewen could further set herself apart break the NCAA record and
restore the great throwing tradition that Arizona State had developed.
The weight throw is full of heavy hitters, senior Annette
Echikunwoke of Cincinnati, senior Kaitlyn Long of Minnesota, senior Janeah
Stewart of Ole Miss and junior Sade Olatoye of Ohio State. Echikunwoke is the
current leader with her mark 81 feet 3 ¾ inches. She is the only athlete over
80 feet in the field but the field is special as they all have joined the
all-time collegiate top ten list this season. It is not inconceivable that one
of the other three ladies could defeat Echikunwoke. This is a special group and
we are in for a treat and a great competition.
PENTATHLON
Nina Schultz is the latest multi-event athlete from Kansas
State. This talented sophomore proved that she would be a great reminder of a
previous great Akela Jones. Schultz leads the NCAA in the Pentathlon with a
point total of 4,502. She has high jumped over 6 feet and long jumped over 20
feet. She will also be competing in the long jump as she qualified for that
event individually. Taliyah Brooks of Arkansas is a close second with her
season’s best of 4422 which is currently ranked number two in the nation. Just
like in the long jump Arkansas is relying on Brooks to provide them with huge
team points.
RELAYS
The 4x400 relay seems to be USC’s to lose. The lady Trojans
lead the NCAA with a mark of 3:27.56 and are the only team under 3:30. Purdue
and Oregon have outside chances but USC should not only win but should break
the NCAA Indoor record of 3:27.03 which they own.
In the distance medley relay Boise State has vaulted to the
top of the NCAA with their mark of 10:55.32. Allie O’Strander anchors this
great quartet and she has proven to be quite a threat in the mile as well as
the 3,000 for which she is competing in. With a two second lead on the field
Boise State is clear favorite to win.
TEAM TITLE
This will be a two-team battle between Arkansas and Georgia.
Arkansas will be able to compete with Georgia is some of the jumping events as
well as the sprints and hurdles. It may simply come down to the mile or the
pentathlon, or potentially the sprints. Either way it will be a great team
battle that will be decided before the 4x400 relay. Dark horses in this meet
will be Kentucky who are heavy favorites to potentially win four events and USC
who is bringing a fully loaded sprint core with a great 4x400 relay.
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