2019 NCAA Indoor Championship Review

This past weekend track and field fans were treated an outstanding national championship meet. Some big names lived up to their hype while others fizzled. Along with our theme in recent championships more collegiate records fell.

Grant Holloway has come up short in the Bowerman Award in the past two seasons. This season he should win it by default. The performances he displayed this season and in specific this past weekend have been nothing short of spectacular. New to the 60-meter dash, it did not matter. The moment he debuted in the event he has held the number one ranking on lock. He ran a personal best in the final clocking in at 6.50. Before he did that, he broke the American and Collegiate record in the 60 hurdles with a time of 7.35. The only athletes who have ran faster than that are Olympic Gold Medalist Dayron Robles of Cuba and world record holder and Olympic Medalist Colin Jackson of Great Britain. A truly sensational sprint performance.

In the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles on the women’s side it was all USC. The lady Trojans got a stunning victory from Chanel Brissett. The talented sophomore held on to her top ranked time from earlier in the season and clocked in at 7.90 for the win over defending champion Payton Chadwick of Arkansas. Twanisha Terry tied the top time on the season with a time of 7.14 in the 60 dash to defeat favorite Kortnei Johnson of LSU and Teahna Daniels of Texas. The double sprint victory was huge for USC and a sign of their potential for outdoors.

The 200 is where Divine Oduduru of Texas Tech was able to shine. After a disappointing performance in the 60 dash he had something to prove in the final. He followed Kasuan James of Florida State around the track until the final 40 meters or so he surged pass with a strong effort to claim victory in a time of 20.49. His performance was one of the few highlights for Texas Tech. The number ranked team going into the meet had a disappointing showing.

Kayla White of North Carolina A&T proved her number one ranking early in the season was no fluke. The talented senior ran a close race in the 60 hurdles to finish second and she came back in 200 to blast past Kynnedy Flannel of Texas to win in a time of 22.66. White is North Carolina A&T’s first 200 finalist and champion.

The 400 had a surprise victor on the men’s side. Senior Kahmari Montgomery went into the race as the heavy favorite with his NCAA leading time of 45.04. He did nothing to put doubts in the mind of anyone after a strong preliminary race that saw him run 45.32. Senior Tyrell Richard South Carolina State would also run an impressive preliminary winning his heat win a time of 45.65. In the finals Richard got to the 200-meter mark first after an impressive first 150 meters from the outside lane. He would never let up with Montgomery hot on heels and stopped the clock at impressive time of 44.82. 

Lynna Irby of Georgia entered the meet as the favorite to win the women’s 400, that’s not how it turned out. USC got another national title from their talented sophomore Kaelin Roberts. Roberts ran a strong race nipping at Irby’s heels throughout. Irby seemed to be missing her speed. Roberts seemed to have it surging pass her in the last 50 meters to win with a time of 51.50. This is now back to back wins for USC in this event with a bevy of top tier recruits coming next year. USC seems to have taken the title as 400 U.

The 800 was quite an interesting race on both sides. For the men the favorite Devin Dixon of Texas A&M was not involved in the final lap of the race. Instead it was Marco Arop of Missisippi State who was making a strong charge on his final lap only to be passed by Big 12 champion Bryce Hoppel of Kansas. Hoppel was not discussed as a possible favorite even though he was ranked amongst the top 10 in the country. He ran a smart tactical race that saw him finish with a time of 1:46.46. Arop would finish in second while pre-meet favorite Dixon finished in fourth.

Danae Rivers of Penn State was the favorite to win the 800. If not for a strong charge within the last 30 meters she would have not been. Ivy League queen Nia Akins of Penn made a push with a lap to go and got out front. It seemed as if another top seed would be upset. Within the last 30 meters Rivers gave an amazing effort to surpass Akins at the line 2:03.69 to 2:03.74. For Akins it was a personal best and a sign that can compete on a high level.

Like the 800 the mile for both men and women were more tactical races that saw the favorites come home empty handed. Julia Rizk of Ohio State who was the Big Ten runner-up clearly did not seem to concern when Karisa Nelson of Samford, the 2017 NCAA Champion passed her on the final lap. She waited until the homestretch to due her damage to retake the lead and win the race in a time of 4:37.64. She is the first NCAA Champion in the mile for Ohio State and this also her first NCAA final with the Buckeyes. What a way to perform in your first opportunity.

Another newbie to the NCAA finals was Geordie Beamish of Northern Arizona. Although Northern Arizona has a great program history with distance athletes Beamish was not considered a threat. The race was extremely tactical which gave him the advantage in an event that technically is not his best. He had the kick that many others did not, and he was fresh and rested. His winning time of 4:07.69 is not a barn burner but it is a winner.

Many, including myself though Oregon senior Jessica Hull would compete in her specialty this indoor season the mile. Instead she stepped up to the 3,000 and claimed the title. The star senior winning time was 9:01.14. Favorite Alicia Monson of Wisconsin did not have the kick that she had the previous day before winning the 5,000. Her time of 15:31.26 was a personal best and may have left too tired to keep up with Hull. Hull who ran a great anchor in the Distance Medley Relay to Oregon to another title in the event was fresh enough to win the 3,000 in impressive fashion.

Morgan McDonald like teammate Alicia Monson attempted to the distance double competing in the 3,000 and 5,000. Unlike Monson however McDonald came away winning both events including a star studded 3,000. He was able to exact revenge against Grant Fisher of Stanford after losing to him at the Millrose Games. The senior from Wisconsin ran a time of 7:52.85 setting a facility record. The performance is perhaps more impressive since the day before he set the facility record in the 5,000 with 13:41.76.

The men’s long jump competition top four were separated by mere inches. This certainly was one of the closest competitions in NCAA history. Rayvon Grey of LSU who led for majority of the season vaulted to the top mark on his very last jump. His mark of 26 feet 1 ¾ inches was enough to surpass Trumaine Jefferson of Houston who was runner up with 26’1 ½. Grant Holloway secure six points for the Gators finishing third with his mark of 26’1. He only completed three jumps and led for majority of the competition to only be passed by Jefferson and Grey.

In the men’s triple jump there was a big withdrawal. Top seed Tahar Triki of Texas A&M was removed from competition leaving the title up for grabs. Jordan Scott of Virginia was the man to step up. The junior leaped to a facility record of 55-5 over senior Odaine Lewis of Texas Tech.

The women’s triple jump did not have the same suspense. Number one seed senior Yanis David of Florida led the competition from her opening jump with a mark of 46-0 ½. After years of chasing Keturah Orji, David finally broke through to win her NCAA title. It was a nice way to rebound after finishing third in the long jump after Jasmyn Steels of Northwestern State won the competition on her first jump with a mark of 21-2 ½.

Payton Otterdahl of North Dakota State lived up to the hype. The senior completed the double while breaking two facility records. He threw for a personal best in the weight throw with his throw of 79-1 ¼. In the shot put his winning mark of 71-2 ¾ and he served as the only athlete in the field who went over the 70 foot mark. The collegiate record holder is setting himself for a impressive outdoor season and winning two national titles this past weekend.

Senior Sade Olatoye of Ohio State did not begin her weekend the way she wanted. The favorite to sweep the throwing events found herself finishing fifth in the shot put with a mark of 56-6 ½ well off her personal best. Samantha Noenning of Arizona State continued their winning tradition with her mark of 58-9 ¼. On Saturday Olatoye rebounded in weight throw. Her throw of 80-3 was a personal record and the first mark over 80 feet this season. She also broke the facility record as well along with winning by almost seven feet.

Remaining Champions

Pole Vault (Men): Mondo Duplantis (LSU)- 19-1 ½, the talented freshman was the only competitor over 19 feet and concluded an incredible freshman indoor season.

Pole Vault (Women): Alexis Jacobus (Arkansas) 15-1 ½, the only competitor in the field over 15 feet and continues to separate herself from her sister Victoria as the better vaulter.

Pentathlon: Michelle Atherley (Miami) 4,547- The senior had a dominant meet, either winning the event in which she competed or finished among the top competitors.

Heptathlon: Harrison Williams (Stanford) 6,042- The senior stunned favorite Johannes Erm of Georgia with a personal best performance. Although he only won one event out of seven he was amongst the top performers in the other six events.

4x400 Relay: Neither men’s or women’s relays surpassed their top times for the season but there was a lot of heart. On both sides it was clear the affects of a long indoor season and less the favorable track had took its toll. The South Carolina women won their first 4x400 relay title since 2007 with a time of 3:30.7. It was their first victory over conference Texas A&M all season. On the men’s side it seemed as if Florida was going to end the meet in a exclamation point but Kahmari Montgomery of Houston surged pass to give the Cougars their first NCAA title in the event with a time of 3:05.04.

The team titles went to the defending champions. Florida scoring 55 points and Arkansas women scoring 62 points. Both programs had very dominant performances. Florida received 26 points from Grant Holloway alone. Arkansas women scored all over the track. For Texas Tech men this is the second time that they arrived at the meet as favorites and failed to prove their ranking. The irony is this is what Florida went through a few years ago. Arkansas just keeps on chugging along with their ability to score in every area. They will likely carry that success to the outdoor season. Expect for a stronger challenge to the Florida dominance come outdoor season from Texas Tech.