Weekly Recap Conference Championship Weekend

20.08!

(Divine Oduduru-Texas Tech)

Conference Championship weekend lived up to the hype! If you paid any attention at all this weekend you saw some impressive performances and the team title picture got clear. As we prepare for the final indoor showdown let us recap what stood out this past weekend.

SPRINTS

As always, we will begin with the sprints, the women’s sprints. Senior Destiny Smith-Barnett of UNLV is no stranger to top tier performances or to this blog. The talented senior has had quite the dominant career in the mountain west and is one of the contenders to win the 60-meter dash at nationals. This weekend she had the top time wining the Mountain West title with a time of 7.15. Her time is converted due to the altitude to a time of 7.17 for third in the nation. Barnett is looking to end her indoor season on top and is in great position to due so.

In the 200 Anavia Battle of Ohio State blazed the track to win the Big Ten Indoor title with a time of 22.80. Perhaps even more impressive is that she did at the University of Michigan. The super sophomore is a Michigan native which likely made winning the race all the more special. The event is wide open and there has been changes to the ranking almost weekly. Battle was not a preseason favorite going into the season but after a dominating performance at the Big Ten Indoor Championships she has become one.

Lynna Irby of Georgia finally claimed a number one ranking this season. After a phenomenal freshman season Irby has been quite for majority of the indoor season. At the SEC Championships she proved she still has what it takes to be number one. Against a quality field Irby clocked in a national leading time of 52.02. This is Irby’s second SEC indoor title of her career and a reminder to the doubters that she is still the favorite.

On the men’s side the sprints were highlighted by two impressive doubles. Divine Oduduru of Texas Tech by way of Nigeria lived up to the preseason hype. Oduduru set the track on fire winning the Big 12 title in the 60 meter and 200-meter dashes. His 60 time of 6.52 ranked him second in the nation and 200 time of 20.08 ranks him as number one. His 200 time is also third fastest indoor time in world history. Oduduru already has an NCAA title from last outdoor season and this weekend he made a strong case for more.

Grant Holloway of Florida continues to perform at such a high level. He surprised some when he stepped onto the track and competed in the 60-meter dash. Holloway ran away with the event title and still holds the number one ranking with a time 6.51. Holloway is one of the most versatile superior athletes ever seen and he continued his impressive performances this past weekend. Against some of the world’s best as the SEC Indoor Championships he pulled off the impressive 60-meter hurdle, 60-meter sprint double. This was last completed by Olympic Medalist Terrance Trammell, making his accomplishment more impressive. His winning marks of 6.54 and 7.44 are all time marks. It remains to be seen if he will attempt both at the National Indoor meet but without him competing in both Florida will struggle in the team title race.

Senior Kahmari Montgomery of Houston had an up and down season last year. He did not win the NCAA outdoor title but a few weeks later found himself at the USATF National Champion. He has clearly had a clear focus all season and this past weekend proved why he should be considered number one. The talented senior stormed the track at the American Conference Championship with a time of 45.04. He won the race by over a season and had over a two second lead over majority of the competition. Remember the 400 is a long sprint making this even more impressive. The 400 has seen a late boost with many great sub 46 second performance but Montgomery’s performance takes it over the top and he may provide our first sub 45 of the season.

DISTANCE

The distance events had no new number one rankings but still had some impressive performances. Senior Rachel Pocratsky of Virginia Tech continued Virginia Tech’s recent string of great 800 runners. Pocractsky won the ACC title with a time of 2:03.43. Her time moved her up to the number four spot in the national rankings.

Hannah Meier of Michigan ran a impressive race at the Big Ten Indoor Championships on her home track. The senior battled Ohio State senior Julia Rizk to the line to claim the Big Ten title in the mile. Her winning time of 4:32.46 moved her to fourth in the national rankings. Meier is having quite the senior year and will look to close out the indoor season strong.

On the men’s side the most notable distance performances start in the 800 at the Big 12 Championships. Junior Bryce Hoppel of Kansas ran a strong race against solid competition. His winning time of 1:46.84 was a season’s best and moved him to the number three ranking. Hoppel has now won the Big 12 Indoor title in back to back seasons.

Morgan McDonald of Wisconsin had the other notable distance performance this past weekend. The senior Cross-Country National Champion won the 5,000 meter Big Ten Indoor title with a time of 13:37.85. McDonald seems to be rounding into championship form at the right time. He has the threat of winning the cross-country national title with plenty of All-American experience to add. He is now ranked sixth in the country and has also qualified for the 3,000 as well.

In the throws senior Payton Otterdahl of North Dakota State has dominated all season long. He has been at the top of both throwing events since mid-January. At the Summit League Indoor Championships, he strengthened his hold on the number one ranking in the shot put with a winning mark of 71 feet 6 ¾ inches. He is still the only thrower over 70 feet this season. He also had the top throw in the weight throw this weekend as well with a mark of 77 feet 9 ¾ inches. Otterdahl has certainly proven throughout the season that he has was it takes to win both titles at the national level.

Senior Sade Olatoye of Ohio State also earned the top mark in the throwing events this weekend at the Big Ten Indoor Championship. It seemed this weekend that Michigan’s rivals had great success on their track. Olatoye threw two number one marks, 78 feet 11 ¾ inches in the weight throw and 58 feet 8 inches in the shot put. Olatoye was one of the favorites to win the weight throw but has proven that she should be considered a favorite for the Shot Put as well.

Senior Yanis David of Florida was the preseason favorite to win both the women’s long jump and triple jump. The senior had quite the weekend at the SEC Indoor Championships wining both events and was the top point earner of the weekend. Her winning mark in the triple jump was 45-5 which vaulter her to the number one ranking and her long jump mark of 21-2 ½ currently ranks number two. She is performing at a high level just at the right time and to continue that great tradition of Florida jumpers.

The twins of Arkansas continued their dominance this season with are first 15-foot marks in the women’s pole vault. Alexis was the victor at the SEC Indoor Championships with a mark of 15-4 ¼. Sister Victoria was second with a mark of 15-1. The two create such a potent 1-2 punch for Arkansas that they practically have 18 guaranteed points at every major championship.

Keeping with the Pole Vault theme freshman Mondo Duplantis of LSU continued his record setting season. He also claimed an indoor at the SEC Championships winning with a mark of 19-5. No other athlete in the field vaulted over 19 feet. Another weekend another NCAA record for the talented freshman. Is it even conceivable that someone can be the talented youngster at the national meet?

Senior Tahar Triki of Texas A&M clearly has no plans of letting go of his number one ranking. The talented senior leaped to a mark of 56-2 to win the SEC title. He won the event by almost 3 feet in one of the toughest conferences in the sport. His mark is a season’s best and further solidifies his number one ranking.

Johannes Erm of Georgia is continuing Georgia’s traditional of great field event athletes and multi-eventers (is that a word). He claimed the SEC title in the heptathlon with a point of 5,996. The talented sophomore is now the number in the country but does not have a great distance between him and number two. He will likely have to surpass 6,000 to win it all.

Senior Michelle Atherley of Miami was the big star who started conference championship weekend on the right foot. The senior nearly broke 4500 points scoring 4,498 points to win the ACC Indoor title. She would later return in the same meet and place in both the 60-meter hurdles and the high jump scoring valuable team points. She is now the number ranked athlete in the nation and in great position to win her first NCAA title.

RELAYS

Texas A&M won the race of the weekend at the SEC Indoor Championships. Against a field that had the top four times in the country all under 3:30 the Aggies claimed victory with a time of 3:29.15. Syaria Richards has turned out to be quite the transfer and 51 split again vaulted her team to victory.

Weekly Recap Pre-Post Season

10:54.47!

(Alice Hill, Chloe Foster, Aurora Rynda, Hannah Meier)

This past weekend was quiet but there were still quite a few notable performances. Overall there were three new number one performances and a small cast of quality top ten performances. The team picture is becoming ever clearer. As we head into the post season we have all become aware the fun part is about to begin. 

We begin our recap with Kortnei Johnson of LSU. LSU a school that is home to may great sprint queens. Johnson is clearly the next in line. The senior among a host of other LSU Tigers competed on their home track at the LSU Twilight. Against last years sprinter queen and now professional Aleia Hobbs, Johnson darted out to a second-place finish behind Hobbs with only 0.01 seconds between them. Johnson stopped the clock in a national leading time of 7.14. Her performance is just in time before the SEC Championship were she we will go toe to toe with the previous number one Kiara Parker of Arkansas.

On the men’s side the most noteworthy performance was Tyrell Richard. Although his performance did not rank him number one, he did garner the number two ranking. The senior from South Carolina State blazed South Carolina’s indoor track to the time of 45.39. He is 0.04 off the NCAA leader and immediately stepped into the contender seat with a time like that. After missing last indoor season Championships Richard is making his final season count.

The Distance Medley Relay took center stage this weekend as expected. Many top programs used that as a week to put their best foot forward to garner a top 12 time. The reason for that is most of the athletes will be competing in multiple events this weekend at their respective conference championships. Over the past few years top tier programs use this as a week to strengthen their chances to qualify since the athletes will only be competing in one event.

The Michigan women is one of the top tier programs who used this philosophy. Competing at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame the Michigan women broke a school and Big Ten Record with a winning time of 10:54.47. The group beat second place Indiana by three seconds solidifying their strong performance. For Michigan this is quite the impressive feet since the school almost regularly sends a team to nationals and have won the event a few times as well. The Lady Wolverines now rank number one in the nation over Oklahoma State.

Host Notre Dame impressed in the Distance Medley Relay this weekend in front of their home crowd. The Irish put their best foot forward beating favorite Wisconsin with a time of 9:26.10. Their time is one of the best times in the history of the event. Wisconsin ran 9:26.24 in a solid runner up effort. The Irish’s time is even more impressive since they do not have an athlete ranked in the top 16 in any of the distance events or the 400. This is a solid group of runners with a common goal.

UPCOMING

Yes this post was small. There were many premier athletes resting this past weekend in preparation for conference championship weekend. This week I will provide previews to the major conference championships and their major story lines. No preview will be given until the declarations and heat sheets are available and who is running what is made known. Get ready for a outstanding post-season.

Weekly Recap

7:42.62!

(Grant Fisher)

What a weekend! This weekend’s marks have changed the landscape of team predictions as expected. The team battle was altered and different discussions are being had. There were quite a few number one performances this weekend and a world record continuing or record breaking theme over the years. As we wind down the regular season and head into the post season the performances keep getting better. It's only a matter of time before we have another NCAA record. 

SPRINTS

The women’s 200 has been largely dominated by freshman. This is no surprise since they had a strong presence last season.  Senior Kayla White of North Carolina A&T decided to change that. White who is also quite the hurdler blazed the track at the Tyson Invitational to a NCAA number one time of 22.82. She beat a slew of top 200 runners to claim the event title and is also nationally ranked in the 60-meter hurdles. Look for more from this talented senior later this season.

Obi Igbokwe of Houston was the story on the men’s side. The transfer from Arkansas was one of the preseason favorites and this past weekend he certainly proved why. The senior outlasted a strong field at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational to win with a time of 45.35. His time is not only number one in the NCAA but also the world. Igbokwe has now firmly cemented himself as the favorite.

DISTANCE

The Millrose Games produced a bevy of number one times this weekend. On the women’s side Dane Rivers of Penn State stepped up to the mile and competed in a professional field. Although she finished 8^th in the race her time of 4:29.47 is tops in the NCAA. She is the only athlete under 4:30 in the women’s mile and she is also top three in the 800 meters as well. Rivers has given us a glimpse in her potential to double and clearly, she makes a strong case for it.

Alicia Monson of Wisconsin likewise stepped up to compete against professional athletes, but her result was much better. She also earned the number one ranking in the 3,000-meter run but also won her race against the pros in the field with a spectacular time of 8:45.97. Monson finished 4^th at the Cross-Country national meet and has made her case to be listed as the favorite in a event that she now has almost a eight second lead.

Oliver Hoare of Wisconsin joined his teammate Monson at the Millrose Games. The talented junior competed against quite the professional field that included a few Olympians and former NCAA Champions. Hoare finished 7^th in the race with a time of 3:54.83 and was the only collegian in the field. His time gives him almost a two second lead on the number two ranked athlete. As stated previously he won the NCAA Championship outdoors last season in the 1,500 is proving to be quite the miler. He has now had consecutive performances cementing his number one status.

It seems the 3,000 was the event for collegians at the Millrose Games. Junior Grant Fisher of Stanford claimed the event with a time of 7:42.62. What is perhaps more impressive of his win is that not only did he defeat a professional field but that he also beat the Cross-Country NCAA Champion Morgan McDonald of Wisconsin who beat him to the line at the Cross-Country Championship. Fisher has consistently been a favorite all season long but beating McDonald at the Millrose Games had to give him a boost of confidence.

HURDLES

Chanel Brissett picked up were she left off. Brisett improved upon her number one ranking at the Tyson Invitational this weekend. The talented sophomore beat a strong field with a winning time of 7.90. Her time is the second fastest time in USC history and keeps her in the driver’s seat as the nation’s best hurdler. Brissett is a key piece in USC team title hopes and this weekend she proved why. Look for more from this talented young lady later this season.

Grant Holloway of Florida continued his dominance this season. He bolted down the track at the Tyson Invitational with a time of 7.43. He improved upon his number one ranking and almost broke his own NCAA record. He will be at the same track for the SEC Championships and he should improve upon that time giving us another NCAA Championship record.

FIELD

Tahar Triki of Texas A&M won the triple jump last outdoor season and was the favorite this indoor season. The super junior dominated a quality field and his performance help to vault Texas A&M team’s expectations. His mark of 55 feet 9 ¼ inches was a new overall personal record in the event indoors or out. Florida has been jumps university for the past few years but with the performances this season it looks as if there will be a change.

The weight throwers this weekend was on fire. Sade Olatoye of Ohio State reclaimed her number one ranking and has proven to be the most consistent top thrower this season. At the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson Olatoye took down fellow preseason favorite Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee with a winning throw of 77-1 ¾. Olatoye’s performance made a big statement.

Payton Otterdahl of North Dakota State continued his dominance of weight throw this season. At the South Dakota State Indoor Classic the senior further clamped down on the number one ranking with a throw of 78-11 ¼. Otterdahl currently ranks number one in the shot put as well and is the best candidate to double this coming Indoor Championships.

RELAY OF THE WEEK

The Tiger Paw Invitational takes the cake as the top meet of the weekend. Both number one 4x400 relays came from this weekend. The Houston men set a world record defeating Texas A&M with a time of 3:01.51 thanks to two 44 second splits.

Texas A&M women became the first sub 3:30 team of the season with a mark of 3:29.96 thanks to a 51 second anchor from Syaria Richardson an Ohio State transfer. South Carolina was a close second with 3:30.67.

This coming weekend is the final weekend of the regular season. This weekend we will likely see plenty of great times for the Distance Medley Relay. Very few teams stock their top Medley relays teams at the Conference Championships. Many big-name athletes will potentially rest in preparation for the post season. However, we still complete a weekend recap that will still include some exciting performances.

Weekly Recap

20.30!!!

(Kenny Bednarek-Indian Hills CC)

The first weekend in February has come and gone. It goes without saying that we can no longer ignore this young talented man. Kenny Bednarek of Indian Hills Community College. He was an incredibly talented runner coming out of high school with a personal record of 20.43. Many thought he would end up at a division one school. For what the reason he is at his local community college in Wisconsin. It is clear they may know a thing or two about coaching. Bednarek began to catch national attention in early December when he ran 45.93 in the 400 to open the season. It was a new personal record that he set in December and that is an impressive time so early in the season.

This past weekend he proved his early season performances were no fluke. At the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on the campus of Nebraska Bednarek blazed the track to a time of 20.30. That is not a typo. The talented freshman has the top time in all of college and made a big statement defeating several division one athletes. I for one would love to see him compete at the highest level in college however he may be a professional athlete before that happens.

The men’s 400 has been developing slowly this season. There were as of last week only three collegiate athletes under 46 seconds. Well this past weekend another joined the group. Junior Quincy Hall of South Carolina won the Carolina on his home track with a blazing 45.84. His time ties Wil London of Baylor whose time was converted down due the altitude he competed at. Hall is already a bit of household name after dominating the junior college ranks in both the 400 and 400 hurdles. Training under legendary hurdle coach Curtis Frye will certainly produce more of what we saw this past weekend.

True freshman Mondo Duplantis of LSU is living up to his well-earned hype. He debuted a week ago tied for number one. This past weekend he improved his mark further cementing he is the true number one. On his home track at Maddox Field House of the campus of LSU he leaped to a winning mark of 19 feet 3 inches. His mark also ranks him number one in the world. This young talented man will continue to put eye-popping marks throughout his time as a collegiate athlete.

Shelby McEwen of Alabama was another outstanding jumper this weekend. Prior to his performance this past weekend there was a tie at the top of the ranks in the High Jump. McEwen decided to break that tie and reach an impressive height of 7-7. McEwen is the defending SEC Indoor Champion and has created more distance between himself and the rest of the field. This season he is making a case to that he can win the National Indoor title as well.

WOMEN

The Camel City Invitational was competed on a flat track in Winston Salem, North Carolina. The meet produced two new number one marks. The times were converted up because of the flat surface. Martha Bissah of Norfolk State claimed the number one mark in the 800 with a time of 2:02.58 after finishing tops among collegians in the race. Elly Hines of North Carolina State had her time converted to 9:01.72 in the 3,000 meter run to garner the top time in her event as well. Both lost their races to impressive professional marks but were tops among the collegians in the field.

Loretta Blaut of Cincinnati tied the number one mark in the high jump. The senior leaped to a winning mark of 6-1½ to match the mark of Andrea Stapleton-Johnson of BYU. Johnson has held the top mark in the NCAA for two weeks. With this event producing fewer jumpers over 6 feet the top group of jumpers has remained small.

Bonnie Draxler is not from Arkansas but is the new number one in the women’s pole vault. The senior from San Diego State won the New Mexico Classic with a mark of 14-10. Draxler had her first major competition since last year’s indoor championship. Her performance is a huge personal best and positive sign to start the season.

The weight throw was only supposed to be between Sade Olatoye of Ohio State and Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee. They were the preseason favorites. However, a new name is jumping in to the ring, literally, to challenge for the title. Laulauga Tausaga of Iowa had a throw of 76-3 ¾ at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. We are closer to the post season and a mark of that quality shows that Tausaga is a legitimate threat.

No relay of the week in this post as there was no truly impressive relay performance. This weekend will more than likely bring that out. The Tyson Invitational is this weekend along with the Iowa State Classic and the Husky Classic. Those three meets have historically been the biggest meets of the second weekend in February. There are still several quality meets such as the Music City Challenge at Vanderbilt, Texas Tech Shootout, Spire Division 1 Invitational in Ohio, Don Kirby Collegiate Elite at New Mexico University, Grand Valley State Big Meet and the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson. Expect for some impressive performances and the championship picture to become clearer.