2018 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

(USC 2018 Women's NCAA Champions)

Incredible. That word came out of my mouth more than a few times this weekend. The NCAA Outdoor season has completed and the championship meet ended the season with a bang. There were more NCAA records, world leading performances and all done against less than stellar weather as the last two days of the championship meet were full of rain. The team battle was epic and the winners on the men’s side was not mentioned amongst the early top three favorites. Let us take a look back at the best performances from an amazing meet.

SPRINTS

As always, we start with the sprints. We expected for the men’s 400 to be a great race and it was. Michael Norman a sophomore out of USC certainly made sure of that. After breaking the World Record this past indoor season he followed that up with a new NCAA record this weekend in bad weather clocking a time of 43.61. His time is the fastest 400-meter time run in the world since 2016. Akeem Bloomfield of Auburn by way of Jamaica also dipped under 44 seconds finishing second with a time of 43.94 to be the fastest runner up in NCAA history.

On the women’s side the 400 was equally as exciting. The talented true freshman Lynna Irby of Georgia dazzled us with a great performance. Her time of 49.80 became a NCAA meet record and the fastest time ever ran by a freshman. Again, this was done in horrible weather, would could she have done with better weather. Senior Kendall Ellis was not able to take down a fast-starting freshman but still finished second for valuable points for USC with a time of 50.19.

HURDLES

Rai Benjamin of USC was the biggest highlight in the hurdles. Benjamin who proved this indoor season that he has impressive speed. He has dazzled all year long and launched a big time this weekend. His time in the 400-meter hurdles was 47.02. It is the second fastest time in world history and smashes the NCAA record. Benjamin is the closes athlete to the great Kevin Young’s world record time of 46.78. Benjamin may be the one to break the record.

Freshman Sydney McLaughlin of Kentucky once again dominated the field in the 400-meter hurdles. The Olympian ran a scorching time of 53.96 to win the NCAA title by almost two seconds in poor weather conditions. She set the NCAA record of 52.75 earlier in the season and followed that up with a stellar time of 53.96. McLaughlin made the decision to announce that she was going pro after this season.

DISTANCE

Ben Flanagan of Michigan was not even mentioned amongst the contenders to win the NCAA title in the 10,000-meter run. The senior missed last outdoor season due to injuries and has been working his way back to form all season long. The two time Big Ten Champion dazzled the crowd as he ran a phenomenal final lap and passed Vincent Kiprop of Alabama in the final 80 meters of the race. His winning time of 28:34.53 is a personal best. His words after the championship race were “where is my mom” has since become viral.

The women’s 10,000-meter run also had a surprise winner. Entering the meet all eyes were on Karissa Schweizer of Missouri who was expecting to complete the distance double by winning the 10,000 and 5,000-meter races. However, Sharon Lokedi of Kansas by way of Kenya had different plans. Finishing third last outdoor season Lokedi claimed victory this season and broke the meet record with her time of 32:09.20, also a personal best. The meet record was literally 30 years old when she broke it.

JUMPS

The men’s long jump had huge team title implications, most especially from Florida. With Grant Holloway and KeAndre Bates in the long jump the Gators were counting on big points from each of them. Out of the two they were only able to garner two points with Holloway unable to score. Zack Bazile of Ohio State won the long jump with his second jump which was for 27 feet 5 ½ inches. His mark was more than a foot farther than the runner up. Bazile is the Ohio State Buckeye to win a national title in 25 years.

Senior Keturah Orji of Georgia went out in a bang. The talented jumper has dominated the triple jump her entire career become only the second woman in NCAA history to win four straight titles. Orji also believe it or not won her first long jump title as well. Her winning long jump mark was 21 feet 10 ¾ inches and her winning triple jump mark was 46 feet and ¾ of inch. She has been as the top all her career and has broken the NCAA record many times. She ended her career on a high note. Having performed well on the International Stage it is safe to say she may have a impressive professional career.

THROWS

Denzel Comenentia of Georgia had one of the more impressive performances at the NCAA Championship. It is difficult to compete in two events in one day and win both of them as a runner. It is even more difficult as a field event athlete. Comenentia proved to be more than capable however winning both the hammer throw and the shot put scoring 20 huge team points for Georgia. His winning marks were 250 feet 8 inches in the hammer throw and 67 feet 7 ½ inches in the shot put.

Senior Maggie Ewen of Arizona State was also able to double. Ewen claimed titles in the discus and shot put to continue that winning tradition at Arizona State. Ewen has had an impressive career filled with collegiate records and championship trophies. She avenged her performances from last season in both events where she finished second in the discus throw and sixth in the shot put. Ewen now has a national title in three throwing events after having won the Hammer Throw last year.

RELAYS

USC Men’s and Women’s 4x400 Relays put on quite a show. The Trojans were not in the team title hunt but still had a impressive time in the event winning with a time of 2:59.00. Their time is now the NCAA record, breaking a 13 year old record. The Lady Trojans however had to win the event to win the title. Senior Kendal Ellis got the baton back well of first place Purdue. Ellis did not let that deter her she ran the anchor of her life splitting 50.0 to surpass Purdue anchor in the final few meters to win with a time of 3:27.06.

The 4x100 Relay on the men’s side has a new record holder. The Houston Cougars clocked in at 38.17 to break the NCAA Record, Meet Record and Facility Record. They were defending champions and were heavily involved in the team title chase. This great performance being what was a great meet for the Houston Cougars were Cameron Burrell would win the 100-meter title as well.  

LSU women continued their dominance in this event and won another national title clocking in at 42.29. They were the only team under 43 seconds in the field. It is the final time they will have Aleia Hobbs and Mikiah Brisco. Hobbs also won the national title in 100 to complete a day where she won two events.

CHAMPION OF NOTE

Kentucky senior Tim Duckworth set a personal record in the men’s decathlon with a total of 8,336 points to win the NCAA title. Duckworth had several impressive performances most noticeably in the long jump. His mark of 26 feet 3 ½ inches would have him in the top three in the long jump. Duckworth completed an impressive career and we should look to see him do more at the professional level.

TEAM TITLE

Florida’s men entered the meet heavy favorites but after a rough day in the long jump the Gators had to watch as their rival Georgia claimed the national title, the first in school history with a total of 52 points. Houston finished third with a total of 35 while Florida had 42.

On the women’s side USC just edged out Georgia 53-52 thanks to a great final 4x400 relay anchor from Kendall Ellis. There was a protest after claims of bumping. It was not enough to warrant a disqualification. USC earned the national title with a gutsy meet that included a surprise 200-meter champion Angie Annelus.

What a year. With the quality training at this level it is quite possible that more records will fall next year. Although there is a bevy of athletes going pro there is still plenty of talent returning next season. LLet us not forgot the many athletes that will competing over the summer for the first time professionally or just simply as a part of their country. Be on the lookout for more posts this summer.