2019 Opening Weekend Recap

2:38.58

(Danae Rivers)

Well we are picking up where we left off last season. A record breaking pace and times that are normally seen at the end of the season at the beginning. What makes this an even more impressive opening weekend is the fact that there are several ranked teams that still have not competed and the marks are still quite impressive, In this recap we are going to highlight some of the top performances from this weekend that are of notoriety. 

Obi Igbokwe was one of the many big transfers this off-season. The All-American transferred from Arkansas to Houston and is going to be a heavy lean for their team title hopes. He opened his season with a bang clocking in at 20.84 to lead the nation in the 200-meter dash. Igbokwe is primarily a 400-meter runner but with solid speed like that Houston could consider for the 200 meters as well.

*Another sprint mark of note is Kasaun James of Florida State. In the prelims of the 60 meter dash at the Orange and Purple Elite meet he clocked in a national leading time of 6.57 but was unable to win in the finals. 

Also, on the men’s Logan Orndorf of Portland gave us our first sub 4-minute mile of the season. The talented senior won the UW Preview at the University of Washington clocking in at 3:59.94. Although it is early it is still an impressive time for the senior.

On the women’s side Mary Best Sant of Colorado State continued her season of dominance. The senior further improved upon her number one ranking in the 60-meter dash with her winning time of 7.18. The competition was less than stellar but Sant’s time proves her exodus from Oregon was the smart thing to do.

Danae Rivers was our record breaker this weekend. Rivers now a junior at Penn State competed in the non-sanctioned 1,000-meter race at the Nittany Lion Challenge on her home track. The junior clocked in a record time of 2:38.58 breaking the old collegiate record held by Kaela Edwards of Oklahoma State. Rivers who competes in the 800 and mile for Penn State is having another great start to her season.

In the field events number one ranked men’s team Texas Tech has taken a page out of Florida’s book and developed some quality jumpers. Seniors O’daine Lewis and Charles Brown both surpassed 26 feet this past weekend. Lewis with a mark of 26 feet 2 ½ inches for the win and Brown for runners-up with a mark of 26-0 ½. Their marks are currently ranked number 1 and number 2 in the nation in the early season but a great sign for the team title hopes of Texas Tech.

On the women’s side Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee has continued her strong start to the season in the weight throw. Scarvelis this past weekend broke the school record and further increased her grip on the number one ranking with a mark of 73-11 ¼. Scarvelis is one of the contenders for the NCAA title in this event as well and with this past weekend’s performance she made a strong case to be considered the favorite.

RELAY OF THE WEEK

Relay of the week will go to the South Carolina’s women 4x400 relay. Their mark of 3:34.43 ran at the Clemson Orange and Purple Elite meet is two seconds ahead of the next closest competitor. This is an impressive mark early in the season.