Men's NCAA Indoor Championship Preview 2019

FLORIDA AGAIN?

Similar to the women, the men’s NCAA Indoor Championship seems to be a two team race between Texas Tech and Florida. Both are bringing fire power from multiple sides. There is also plenty of headliners for teams not necessarily competing for a national title.

SPRINTS/HURDLES

The sprints will be huge in the team title picture. Both Florida and Texas Tech have a great athlete looking to double. For Florida it is Grant Holloway and for Texas Tech it is Divine Oduduru. This year Holloway added the 60-meter dash to his array of events where he has proven to be incredibly talented. He leads the NCAA in both the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles with times of 6.51 and 7.43 respectively. Oduduru has ran 6.54 in the 60 and 20.15 in the 200. Something must give. It will be the first time the two have met in a race and it looks to be full of fireworks. Holloway has the busiest weekend so I think with more rest Oduduru will surprise the superstar and pull off the sprint double.

The 400 could be a 1-2 sweep by Houston. Kahmari Montgomery came into the season with a lot of hype after winning the USATF National title last season. He has lived up to the hype and is currently ranked number one in the world with his time of 45.04. His teammate and Arkansas transfer senior Obi Igbokwe has shown impressive speed in the 200 and 400. His time of 45.35 ranks third. They have made a strong case for a 1-2 finish all season long. Wil London of Baylor is one of the top challengers. The senior has made Team USA in the past and has performed well throughout his career. He is currently ranked second with a time of 45.30 and will look to add the only thing missing in his career a national title.

As dominating as Grant Holloway of Florida has been this season, including making ESPN’s top 10 he is vulnerable in both events. In the 60-meter hurdles he is ranked number one as well with his time of 7.43 but will have strong challenge from Kentucky junior Daniel Roberts. Roberts took Holloway to the line with a time of 7.48. Roberts will have the advantage of fresh legs since it is the only event he is competing in. However, I still feel that Holloway has been holding back slightly and will look to dip under 6.4 for the win.

DISTANCE

Devin Dixon is the latest 800-meter star out of Texas A&M. Dixon can compete at a high level in the 400 as well which has proven to be his advantage. His NCAA leading time of 1:44.97 is one of the best times in NCAA history. What perhaps is more surprising is that he actually could lower with his blazing 45 second speed in the 400. Marco Arop of Mississippi State is perhaps the only challenger with a time of 1:45.90 but Dixon already beat him at the SEC Championships two weeks ago. It is clear this maybe the only sure-fire victory on the track, but stranger things have happened in the 800.

The mile provides with an impressive group of 16 sub four-minute milers led by junior Oliver Hoare of Wisconsin. Hoare was a highly touted recruit out of high school in Australia who has had quite an impressive career. His leading time of 3:54.83 was achieved competing against professionals at the Millrose Games in New York. He has a two second lead on the number two ranked runner Waleed Suliman of Ole Miss. Suliman is apart of what has become one of the best distance programs in south. His time of 3:56.78 was earned early in February at Boston University. Hoare has more championship experience and better results on the big stage and has shown he has the tactical ability to win a major race.

The 3,000 will give us a rematch of the Cross Country National Championship. Grant Fisher of Stanford was taken down by Wisconsin senior Morgan McDonald in the final seconds of the race. Fisher was the heavy favorite going into the meet and will be here as well. Fisher already gained a victory on McDonald in the regular season with his national leading time of 7:42.62 but this is a championship meet and McDonald clearly knows how to shine. He will joined by his teammate Hoare and it will be a difficult task for Fisher to defeat them both. Keep an eye on Amon Kemboi of Campbell who is ranked third with a time of 7:44.77. He has been somewhat ignored this season due to the success of Fisher and McDonald but he will be in heart of the race competing for a national title.

McDonald and Kemboi will both be looking to double by competing in the 5,000 but neither are the current favorites to win. Tyler Day of Northern Arizona has led the event since the beginning of the season. The talented junior has a leading time of 13:31.36 and he will not have to worry about competing in another event since this is sole event to compete in. Couple that with having the leading time makes him a strong candidate for the title and the obvious favorite.

FIELD EVENTS

Shelby McEwen of Alabama has had the top mark in the high jump for majority of the season with 7 feet 7 inches. JuVaughn Harrison of LSU is currently second with a mark of 7 feet 5 ¾ inches. At the SEC Championship Harrison took down McEwen amongst a real quality field. McEwen who was the defending conference champion maybe looking to exact a little revenge by claiming the national title. Harrison has consistently stepped up to the competition all year long performing at a high level, the win may have only confirmed what he personally may have been feeling.

In the Long Jump Florida does not have its depth that is has had in the past. However, they have Grant Holloway who is currently ranked second in the nation. He has the legitimate chance of winning all three events or losing all three. Florida will rely heavily on him for their team title hopes and when he failed to score last outdoor championship it proved too difficult for them to recover resulting in their runner up performance. Rayvon Grey of LSU has led the nation most of the season and is part of resurgent jumps program at LSU. His leading mark of 26’5 ½ is slightly ahead of Holloway’s 26’3 ¾ mark. At the SEC Championships Grey was still able to claim victory of Holloway. Even knowing that, he must be conscious of the Holloway magic he has shown all season. It would surprise no one if he wound up winning the event.

The triple jump has been dominated by Tahar Triki the moment he began his season. The junior from Texas A&M has a strong lead with a mark of 56’2. No other athlete has gotten over 56 feet all season. In the field is defending champion O’Brien Wasome of Texas. Although Wasome is the defending champion indoors, Triki is the clear favorite after a strong start to his season and his outdoor national title as well. This should be an easy victory for Triki.

The Pole Vault has been controlled by freshman superstar Mondo Duplantis of LSU. After a recording breaking high school career the freshman takes his record holding exploits to LSU and has continued that trend. Having broken the collegiate record this season he owns the leading mark of 19’5. Only one other athlete in the entire field has gone over 19 feet and he is Matthew Ludwig of Akron. Akron has had a history of great pole vaulters and Ludwig is certainly the next in line. Defending champion Hussain Al Hizzam of Kansas almost seems like a non-factor with his seventh placed ranking but he was not mentioned last season and went on to win. With that being said, it’s all about Mondo.

Senior Payton Otterdahl of North Dakota State has been the king of throws this season. He is currently the leader in both the shot put and weight throw. He may be from a small school, but he puts up big time performances. His leading mark in the shot put is 71’6 ¾ and he is the only athlete over 70 feet. In the weight throw his mark is 78’11 ¼. Otterdahl will not be without his challengers, mainly Denzel Comenentia of Georgia who is also competing in both events and ranked in the top three in each. Comenentia has the benefit of having already won National titles last season. Outdoors he won the shot put and hammer throw, indoors he won the weight throw. No other athlete in the field seems to pose Otterdahl more of a threat than him.

The Heptathlon looks as if it is Johannes Erm of Georgia event to win. The Georgia Bulldogs have won the heptathlon seven straight times indoors at the SEC Championships and is testament to their dominance in the event over the years. They routinely have an athlete competing at a high level in this event. The sophomore enters with a point total of 5,996. Although he arrives as favorite he will not be without a challenge, especially from this quality group. There are three other athletes over 5900 points including Harrison Williams the senior from Stanford who has score 5961. Erm gets the nod because of his championship history and ability to perform at a high level in a challenging environment.

RELAYS

The 4x400 relay on the men’s side is sure to have some fireworks. As always it will have the two usual suspects in Florida and Texas A&M but Houston will enter as favorite. Under the direction of former world record holders Leroy Burrell and the great Carl Lewis, Houston has become a sprint factory. The boast two of the top three runners in the 400 and have already beaten a solid team in Texas A&M. Their leading mark of 3:01.51 was a school record and one of the fastest in NCAA history. Florida has not ran against any challengers all season and are a big of enigma. The pulled out of SEC Championships since they had already looked up the team title before the event. How fresh will Grant Holloway be. Texas A&M who ran a 3:01.56 was barely beaten by Houston and always shows up at the national meets. In this race because of the unknown I will push.

The Distance Medley Relay is always a fun event to watch since it is only run indoors at the national level. Notre Dame brings the top team who have a time of 9:26.10. What is more impressive is the fact that the entire field has teams who all can run under 9:30. The Irish still have a three second lead on the field and will fresh legs since none of the individuals on their relay will be competing in individual events.

Texas Tech has a lot of depth and Florida feels to reliant on one athlete. I feel the amount of quality that Texas Tech is bringing they are my favorite to win the national title.