NCAA Championship Preview

(Michael Norman- USC)

It is finally here, the Division 1 NCAA Outdoor Championship. It is our final stop on what has been an exciting collegiate season. The theme for this season picking up from last season has been record breaking. We practically did not go a week this year without a new NCAA record or top three all time performance. With the meet being held at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field we are hoping to see that usual Hayward Magic. In this preview we will look at the most intriguing events that may give us a new national record.

100 Meter Dash

On the women’s side there are a total of four athletes who have legally gone under 11 seconds, the most in NCAA history. Senior Aleia Hobbs of LSU leads the way with a wind legal time of 10.90. Hobbs has been under 11 seconds every race this outdoor season. She is currently ranked number two all-time and is the fastest female sprinter since the great Dawn Sowell wore the purple and gold. With three other strong competitors in the field expect for a great race.

On the men’s side Jaylen Bacon of Arkansas State became the new favorite when he ran the fastest legal time of the year clocking in at 9.97 to be the top qualifier out of the West Region. Elijah Hall of Houston entered the season as the favorite but after an injury at the Mt. Sac Relays those expectations have changed. Bacon is the top entrant however this is still an open race.

400 Meter Dash

The men’s 400 is intriguing for several factors. This is perhaps the deepest 400-meter field in NCAA history. We will likely have a field were every athlete has run sub 45 in the event. Michael Norman of USC could possibly be running his last collegiate race. After breaking the indoor world record and running impressive 200-meter performances this outdoor season one would expect for the young talented sprinter to dip under 44 seconds and give us a repeat of last season. Nathon Allen and Akeem Bloomfield of Auburn by way of Jamaica will certainly give chase and depending on which journalist you ask may be the favorites. What we do know is that this should be an exciting race.

The women’s side it should also be exciting and intriguing. Senior Kendal Ellis has run under 50 seconds already this season and after an indoor season where she set an NCAA record it remains to be seen if she can duplicate that same performance outdoors. She has had moments of brilliance all outdoor season and that should continue at the championships. Winning the NCAA title is the only trophy missing from her resume. True freshman Lynna Irby of Georgia is attempting the 200-400 double and maybe to taxed to compete with Ellis but her blazing speed gives us a reason to believe she has the potential to upset the senior.

HURDLES

What a year for hurdlers on both sides. The men and the women have been devastatingly great in both high and low hurdles through the year including a NCAA record set by a freshman. This should be a meet to remember in all four events.

In the high hurdles Grant Holloway of Florida has done everything except break the NCAA record. He broke the 60-meter hurdle record indoors and set high expectations for his outdoor season. He has meet those expectations by running the second fastest time in NCAA history in 13.15 for 110 meters. Only the great Renaldo Nehemiah stands in his way with his time of 13.00 that has stood since 1979, nearly 30 years. As the defending champion and the top entrant along with being amongst the best in history all eyes will be on him.

In the 100 hurdles on the women’s side Jasmine Camacho-Quinn is looking to regain her national title that she won as a freshman two seasons ago. The talented hurdler who represents Puerto Rico has been known for her blazing speed and has seemed to take another step in her technique. Training with a world record holder will do that to you. Her time of 12.40 is also the fastest wind legal time in the world this year. With a deep competitive field of national and international competition this race should be electric.

The 400 hurdles on the men’s side has Rai Benjamin from USC. The speedy junior is not currently listed with any nationality but whomever gets to claim him will be exceedingly happy. He clocked a NCAA leading time of 47.98. He is the first athlete in the NCAA to go under 48 seconds since Kerron Clement of Florida and Bennie Brazzell of LSU did it in 2005. What was he even more impressive is that he won the race with such distance and without struggling to do so. Clement’s record of 47.56 maybe under threat.

Sydney McLaughlin has been the talk of the 400 hurdles since she was in high school. She made team USA after her junior year and competed at the Rio Olympics. She decided to forgo going pro early and compete for Kentucky. Coach Eldrick Floreal has brought her along slowly and was only going to focus on her speed and potentially the short hurdles. As usual she exceeded expectations running many age records and climbing all-time lists in the 200 and 400 dashes. She has already broken the collegiate record with a time of 52.75 and with the speed she has shown it is entirely possible that she will break it again and draw even closer to the American and World Record.

LONG JUMP

The long jump on both men’s and women’s side have major team implications. On the men’s side the Florida Gators look to their superstar in Grant Holloway. Holloway won his first SEC Championship in the event a few weeks ago and looks to add a national title to his trophy case. Damarcus Simpson of Oregon is a threat to win the event and spoil the party for Holloway. Simpson will also be on his home track and will have the Oregon crowd behind him for support.

Georgia has garnered the title of the field events school with such dominant performances in the field events most notably the jumping events. Kate Hall, Keturah Orji and Tara Davis make a powerful 1-2-3 punch in the jumps for the Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs need for all three to perform well so that they can score enough points to win the national title. Orji is having the best year of her career in the long jump and Kate Hall is the defending champion. Expect for a great performance by all three and potential jumps double by Orji.

MAGGIE EWEN

Yes she is getting her own category. I was hopeful that she would try the triple. Instead she will attempt the double in the shot put and discus. Ewen who is a senior at Arizona State carries the weight of that great Arizona State tradition. She has had one of the greatest throwing seasons ever by leading three events at one time. As the overwhelming favorite in both the shot put and discus the talented senior will look to go out with a bang.

MEN’S HAMMER THROW

This event has major team title implications for the Florida Gators. They incredibly qualified their top guys to the national meet, Anders Erikson, freshman Thomas Madral and AJ McFarland. With it being a championship meet it is possible that all three could score or none of the three. Either way this event is very important to the Gators. Gleb Dudarev of Kansas and Denzel Comenentia of Georgia lead the field with great marks set earlier in the season. This event should be hot.

5,000 METER RUN

This event will have a track loving crowd to pull them along to a great performance. Justyn Knight of Syracuse leads the men and Karissa Schweizer of Missouri leads the women. Both have been headlining stars in this distance events all season long including the indoor season. Schweizer is attempting a challenging double by competing in the 10,000 as well. These two talented youngsters will have tough fields to compete against but both have proven their abilities to persevere in challenging situations.

800 METER RUN

Michael Saruni of UTEP seems to break a record every time he steps on the track. The talented Kenyan is the latest distance star from UTEP and maybe the best they have had. He broke the NCAA record with a time of 1:43.25 during the regular season. His time is more than two seconds ahead his closes competitor indicating that this could potentially be a full blow out.

Sabrina Southerland of Oregon leads the 800 on the women’s side. Her NCAA leading time of 2:00.72 was earned at the West Regional Meet. With the home crowd to support her and the Oregon Ducks competing for a national title Southerland will be tough to beat. Oregon has had some great success over the years in this event and Southerland will look to continue that trend. On her heels will be true freshman Sammy Watson of Texas A&M and her teammate Jazmine Fray.

RELAYS

4X100

On the women’s side we may witness history in the event. LSU set a new NCAA record with a time of 42.05. Kentucky is not far behind with their time of 42.30. With LSU’s solid core of short sprinters, we may witness the first team under 42 seconds.

4x400

The team race on the men’s side may be all locked up by the time the 4x400 relay comes around however there will still be a lot of pride on the line. USC, Florida and Texas A&M gave us an incredible race this past indoor season and are in line to give us another spectacular race. USC has the luxury of having Michael Norman on anchor but Florida and Texas A&M have strong teams as well. This race should be exciting.

TEAM TITLE

On the men’s side it looks as if Florida may have the meet locked up before the 4x400 relay but if not, they have a great group to add critical points. Houston still is sending a strong contingent along with Texas A&M but the Gators were solid at Regionals and have their heads on straight.

On the women’s side it will be a clash of several great teams, Georgia, USC, LSU, Kentucky and Oregon. Georgia will rely heavily on their jumpers and talented freshmen Lynna Irby and Tara Davis. USC brings a phenomenal sprint core capable of scoring multiple athletes in several events. They also have a great hurdle group with two great relays.